INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Kurt Busch

Harry Gant

Ray Hendrick

“The transition from petroleum-based fuel to electric power was a challenge, but the team persevered thanks to strong leadership and the dedication of its members,” White said. “What truly sets Nittany Motorsports apart is the sense of community it fosters. The team’s growth is not only reflected in its engineering prowess, but also in the increasing involvement of students from diverse fields — business, communications, architecture and more. This multidisciplinary approach leads to innovative results and provides students with invaluable, real-world experience.” 

Becca Baker, a May 2025 industrial engineering graduate, guided Nittany Motorsports in the shift from petroleum power to electric over her five years in the club. Together with other leaders, Baker developed 10 project teams led by student project managers: systems integration, aerodynamics, controls, brakes and safety, chassis, electronics, finance, outreach, powertrain and suspension.  

“There was a huge shift in the team culture, from a small group of mainly mechanical engineering majors working on the car to a much larger, more diverse group of students working on each aspect of the racecar in smaller teams,” Baker said. “We never before had project managers and leads for each aspect of the project, which made everything more organized, and going that route has improved student retention on the team.”  

The team had its most successful year of recruiting — at one point, 1,000 students were in the group chat, Michael said — and 60-75 students regularly did measurable work on the car. 

However, because the team can only take 35 students to the SAE competition due to competition limits, team leaders put together an inaugural spring banquet at the Engineering Design and Innovation Building on April 12, which honored the contributions of all team members while unveiling “Sabrina” for the first time. Team members who have committed the most volunteer hours to the car have the privilege of driving it and racing it at the competition. 

Though students were responsible for manually building the car, they had financial and expertise support through industry sponsors. The team partnered with Autodesk, who provided significant monetary support to the team, to produce 3D-printed aluminum suspension components, known as bell cranks, using AI-enabled generative design.  

Since completing the build, team members have been test driving the car at Penn State’s Larson Transportation Institute test track to ready it for competition.  

Participating in Nittany Motorsports has allowed team members’ resumes to rise to the top of the list at recruiting events, Michael said, giving undergraduates professional development opportunities and project management experience that many engineering industries look for in top candidates.   

“FSAE teams are well regarded in industry because we receive near-industry level experience in college,” Michael said. “We use the fundamentals we learn in class to propel us in competition and justify our design decisions. You’re limited in exercising all of what you learn in class if you’re just taking classes – 75% of what you need to know to be successful happens outside of the classroom, through knowledge transfer from one student to another, or by getting your hands dirty and failing until you get it right.” 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Simon Pagenaud’s career was cut short eight races into the 2023 season when he was badly injured in a crash that caused concussion-related symptoms he’s still battling nearly two years later.

He wants no sympathy, no pity, and looks back fondly on a career in which he won the Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar championship, 15 races and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

He also doesn’t want to dwell on his personal health, which has been a frustrating rollercoaster of improvements, setbacks, and constant rehabilitation to return to some normalcy and enjoy life with his wife and two young children.

But the Frenchman will never be able to shake the motorsports bug — and he has a goal of one day returning to some form of racing because without goals, what does a racer even have?

For now, though, he’s adjusting to a slow comeback that began last year when Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin asked Pagenaud to be his driver coach at the Indianapolis 500. It wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped because everything from his vision to the noise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vibration he felt as cars whizzed past the Team Penske timing stand disrupted his recovery.

Even so, McLaughlin has him back this year as Pagenaud attempts to find a career outside the racecar.

“Last year he didn’t know how he was going to feel with the noises, but he definitely feels a lot better,” McLaughlin said. “I really enjoy working with him and bringing him back to the speedway, brought him back to something he loves. He’s really intense, too. His preparation is next level.”

It’s just the start for Pagenaud’s transition: Théo Pourchaire, a fellow Frenchman, announced Tuesday that Pagenaud will be his representation as Pourchaire tries to make a full-time move to racing in the United States.

“I don’t want to be involved with the management of 30 drivers, but I want to be involved with the best,” Pagenaud said. “I want to go to teams with a guy I know can perform. I don’t want to put my name on someone and then have a team come back to me and say he didn’t perform, the guy wasn’t good enough. I’ve got to be selective and to me, I think Theo can be one of the best.”

But that’s not all for Pagenaud, who was contacted by Chevrolet and asked to help do simulator work for the manufacturer in a true case of “just what the doctor ordered.”

“I had no idea if I was going to be of use, but I was very attracted by the idea and my doctors were very enthused by the chance to test myself on a moving simulator,” he said. ”I’m not going to lie — it was a big challenge personally — but it was awesome to have a reference, a new reference, of where I was at and how much I was struggling for different things.

“And we decided that we would do this a bit more frequently. It was very useful for my recovery. It’s probably been the most useful therapy I’ve had, and when I’m talking about therapies, physical therapy, eye coordination, reconnecting the bridges in the brain, things that were not as seamless as they used to be.”

Pagenaud is also open to a more formal role with former team Team Penske, where he spent seven seasons and time with their sports car program. Team President Tim Cindric didn’t rule out a role within the organization for the driver who contributed one of Roger Penske’s record 20 Indy 500 wins.

McLaughlin has raved about what Pagenaud has brought him at Indy.

“I’m probably a detriment to my own career throughout the years — I haven’t been as intricate with looking at little details, and I think Simon is the professor in that regard,” McLaughlin said. “He strives for perfection in a lot of ways in how he sets up his car and what he feels. He’s probably allowing me to look into more details and just the way I look at myself and the driving, the lines and what I’m doing with weight jacker and bars. It’s really helped sort of accelerate my progress here, and really am enjoying working with a friend, as well.”

That knowledge could be welcome inside Team Penske as a whole at some point, Cindric said.

“Simon is always welcome within our team,” Cindric said. “But Simon has a lot going on on his own, beyond our team. I know Simon has been offered some really good things to do, but there’s only so much that Simon really wants to do.

“I think he can be a benefit for anybody around this place. I don’t think there’s any limit in terms of what he does, but at the same time, he wants to be productive. Just hanging around probably isn’t what he wants to do, either. I think we have a pretty good balance, and we’re always open to him within our team.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.