Winning Drivers and Teams
Louis Switzer Award Winners
Indianapolis 500
The Louis Schwitzer Award, for innovation and engineering excellence, is related specifically to cars meeting championship specifications entered in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race that have passed technical inspection for the year in which the award is given.
| Year | Recipient | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Andy Granatelli | Gas turbine engine |
| 1968 | Dan Gurney | Low-cost racing engine |
| 1969 | Colin Chapman | Monocoque chassis |
| 1970 | Bruce McLaren | McLaren chassis |
| 1971 | Josef Karasek | McNamara chassis |
| 1972 | Dan Gurney | Eagle chassis |
| 1973 | Smokey Yunick | Stock block engine |
| 1974 | A. J. Foyt Jr. | Coyote chassis |
| 1975 | Parnelli Jones | Parnelli chassis |
| 1976 | Roman Slobodynskj | Lightning chassis |
| 1977 | Bruce Crower | Automatic clutch |
| Bob Bubenik | Flat-8 engine | |
| 1978 | Roman Slobodynskj | Laydown Offy engine |
| 1979 | Jim Hall, John Barnard | Chaparral 2K chassis |
| 1980 | Geoff Ferris | Penske PC9 chassis |
| 1981 | John Ward | Gurney Eagle chassis |
| 1982 | Geoff Ferris | Penske PC10 chassis |
| 1983 | Vernon Gleasman | Torque sensing differential |
| 1984 | Robin Herd | March 84C chassis |
| 1985 | Ron Kociba, Ed Negri | Buick V6 racing engine |
| 1986 | Mario Ilien | Ilmor Chevrolet engine |
| 1987 | Stuart Grant | Goodyear radial racing tire |
| 1988 | John Lindo, Ray Sorce | Carbon clutch |
| 1989 | Anthony Purnell | Lola computerized dashboard |
| 1990 | Tim Hasmer, Bill Simpson, Mike Heid, Luciano Aguirre | Simpson “Beadall” helmet |
| 1991 | Don Halliday | Truesports All American chassis |
| 1992 | Alan Mertens | Galmer chassis |
| 1993 | Nigel Bennett | Penske chassis |
| 1994 | Mario Ilien | Mercedes 208 CI engine |
| 1995 | Don Nowicki, Chris Munroe | Tire monitoring system |
| 1996 | Dave Schneiker, Ning Wu, I-Fu Shih, Ed Rothrock | Design of Racing EyeCue |
| 1997 | Ed Keating, Roger Allen | Oldsmobile engine |
| 1998 | John Melvin, John Pierce | General Motors’ Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program |
| 1999 | Gian Paolo Dallara | Improvements to the Dallara chassis |
| 2000 | Paul Burgess | G Force GF05 chassis |
| 2001 | Dr. Robert Hubbard, James Downing | HANS Device |
| 2002 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility | SAFER Barrier |
| 2003 | Gian Paolo Dallara | Dallara IR3 chassis |
| 2004 | Yasuhide Sakamoto, Steve Eriksen, Steve Miller, Steve O’Connor | Honda HI4R-A engine |
| 2005 | Erskine Carter, Glen Gray, Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, Bruce Natvig | Delphi Earpiece Sensor System |
| 2006 | Thomas German, Justin Horning, Tom Janiczek | Rear Wing Adjuster Tool |
| 2007 | Erskine Carter, Glen Gray, Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, Bruce Natvig | Delphi Accident Data Recorder 3 (ADR 3) |
| 2008 | Bishop Steering Technologies | Variable ratio rack-and-pinion steering |
| 2009 | Jeff Horton | Head and Neck Support Extension |
| 2010 | Mezzo Technologies (Charles Becnel, Patrick Luke and Christophe Marques) and Tino Belli of Andretti Autosport | Mezzo MicroChannel Raditor |
| 2011 | Honda Performance Development (HPD)(James Goodloe, Roger Griffiths, Marcelo Martinelli and Robert Bell) | Honda Refueling Safety Interlock System |
| 2012 | Mark Kent and Matt Wiles, General Motors; Steve Miller and Steve O’Connor, Ilmor Engineering | Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine |
| 2013 | Dale Harrigle and Brett Shilling, Bridgestone American Motorsports | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Race tire |
| 2014 | Andrea Toso, Dallara | Dallara Racing Simulator |
| 2015 | Arron Melvin, Charles Ping; Pratt & Miller Engineering and Mark Kent; Christopher Berbe, Chevrolet Racing | Chevrolet Aero Kits |
| 2016 | Tino Belli, INDYCAR; Arron Melvin, Chevrolet; Alex Timmermans, Dallara | Rear Beam Wing Flaps |
| 2017 | Don Burgoon, Darin Cate, Paul Rankin, James Borner, Mark Wagner | PFC Carbon Disc Brake System |
| 2018 | Tino Belli, Andrea Toso, Antonio Montanari, Chris Beatty | 2018 Universal Aero Kit |
| 2019 | Cara Adams, Brett Schilling, Phil Severyn | Firestone Firehawk 2019 Indy 500 Race Tire |
| 2020 | Tino Belli, Marco Bertolini, Ed Collings, Craig McCarthy, Antonio Montanari, Bill Pappas, Stefan Seidel, Brent Wright | Aeroscreen Cockpit Protection Device |
| 2021 | Terry Trammell | Biomedical Engineering For Driver Safety |
| 2022 | Luca De Angelis, Luca Pierrettori, Taylor Prohaska, Simone Pusca | EM Marshalling System |
| 2023 | Selda Gunsel, Ph.D., Bassem Kheireddin, Ph.D. and Jung Fang, Ph.D. | Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel |