There is a particular weight to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that no other venue in motorsport quite replicates. It is a place – like where engineering ambition has always been measured in the relentless pursuit of speed and safety, and where the names of the people who built it are still spoken with genuine reverence. James Allison was one of those people. As one of the four founding members of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), and as the man who gave Allison Transmission its name and its foundational promise of quality, his legacy has been woven into the fabric of Indianapolis for well over a century.
It was fitting, then, that on May 16th, 2026, Allison Transmission returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to co-host the annual Louis Schwitzer Award ceremony — honoring the engineers whose innovations are shaping the next chapter of motorsport.
A breakthrough in safety: Tire Ramp FlapsAllison Transmission and Valvoline Global Operations, alongside the Indiana Section of SAE International, named Andrea Bongiovanni and Dominic Coffey of Dallara as the recipients of the 2026 Louis Schwitzer Award. The winning team was recognized for their development of Tire Ramp Flaps — a passive safety device now adopted by the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES that represents a meaningful advance in preventing cars from becoming airborne at superspeedway events, including the Indianapolis 500. In recognition of the achievement, Bongiovanni and Coffey also received a $10,000 prize. The elegance of the Tire Ramp Flap design lies in its simplicity. Hinged flaps are mounted flush on superspeedway tire ramps. Under normal forward airflow conditions, the flaps remain fully closed, imposing zero aerodynamic drag penalty. However, when a car enters a spin and airflow reverses direction, a small trailing edge allows the flaps to deploy automatically — generating drag and downforce to actively counteract lift and reduce the risk of the car becoming airborne. No springs, actuators, or mechanical mechanisms are required. The system is entirely passive. |
The design was validated through an extensive engineering process: computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, full-scale wind tunnel testing, and on-track validation all confirmed the device’s effectiveness. Its adoption by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES reflects the confidence of the technical community in a solution that delivers meaningful safety benefit with minimal complexity — a hallmark of genuinely innovative engineering.
Named after Louis Schwitzer — accomplished engineer and winner of the inaugural Indianapolis 500-mile race — the award has a distinguished history of recognizing concepts that advance competitive potential in INDYCAR racing while meeting strict series specifications across engine, powertrain, chassis, and safety categories.
A sponsorship rooted in shared valuesFor Allison Transmission, sponsoring this award is not simply a matter of industry citizenship. It is an expression of identity. “In some way, Allison hosting this event brings the award back to one of its homes,” said Robert Merrion, Executive Director, Mechatronics and Control Systems Engineering at Allison Transmission. “James Allison, our founder, was one of the four founding members of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Louis Schwitzer was the inaugural winner of the first 500-mile race. James Allison’s founding promise — ‘Whatever leaves this shop over my name must be of the finest work possible’ — remains embedded in our engineering culture and reflected in every product that carries our name. Allison is honored to award a team whose work embodies that same standard of excellence." |
Engineering the future, honoring the past
The 2026 award cycle drew an impressive field of submissions — a signal of the automotive engineering community’s continued commitment to advancing performance and safety in motorsport. Bongiovanni and Coffey’s Tire Ramp Flap stood out not only for its technical rigor but for the clarity of its purpose: protect the driver, with zero compromise to competitive performance.
For Allison, the evening represented something larger than a ceremony. It was a reminder that the company’s engineering culture — built on precision, accountability, and the relentless pursuit of excellence — connects directly to the same spirit that built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway more than a century ago. That culture now extends further than ever: with the acquisition of the Dana Off-Highway business in January, Allison has expanded its global reach and technology leadership across a broader range of high-performance and off-highway applications, bringing the same founding commitment to excellence to new markets and new customers worldwide. The engineers who competed for and won the 2026 Louis Schwitzer Award carry that same spirit of technological innovation and excellence forward.
About the Louis Schwitzer
Award Named after Louis Schwitzer — engineer, entrepreneur, and winner of the first Indianapolis 500-mile race — the award recognizes innovations introduced to the motorsport industry that increase competitive potential, meet NTT INDYCAR SERIES specifications, and advance engineering in engine, powertrain, profile, chassis, or safety categories. The award is co-sponsored by Allison Transmission, Valvoline Global Operations, and the Indiana Section of SAE International.