STEM camp aims to boost diversity while driving a love of motorsports

Kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis got to sit in the driver's seat this week to learn about STEM skills used in racecars.

The camp comes ahead of the NASCAR Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With the hum of engines on Main Street, organizations got in on the excitement with efforts to diversify the motorsports industry.

The three-day camp is offered through a partnership with the Max Siegel Inc. Youth Foundation, Dallara, General Motors and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Participants get to learn about the sport through hands-on activities including moving small bots through a course, driving simulations and racing in go-karts.

“I love seeing the kids ask questions, and being engaged, ” said Khalek Sengsone, Dallara marketing and communications associate. “Because as a kid, when I was younger, I didn't have a lot of these opportunities.”

Sengsone said that made him unsure of what his career path might be. He’s excited to be a part of camps like this one reaching out to the local youth.

“Hopefully, showing them this today will create a pathway for them to want to be involved in motorsports, whether it's on track or behind the scenes at an engineering facility,” he said.

Twelve-year-old Kixton Gormal was most excited to try out the racecar simulator.

“It’s so fun. We got to race some small SIMs like this,” Gormal said. “We learned how carbon fiber is made for the cars and how all the other cars are made.”

For 9-year-old Winston Fort, it was all about the science.

“I really like the physics and gravity all by itself,” Fort said.

Drivers Lavar Scott and Andres Perez met with participants at the camp. Scott said programs like this are important to help the sport improve and grow.

“I think it's huge because you have a lot of different backgrounds and different ideas to bring to the table not just one thing and I think that comes with diversity and inclusion,” Scott said.

The Max Siegel Inc. Youth Foundation mission is to provide educational opportunities for at-risk youth and help kids learn leadership skills to better prepare for future success.

Foundation CEO Max Siegel said this camp, and others his organization offers, is a part of an ongoing effort to make motorsports more inclusive.

“The more we can dig down into the community and let people know that not only is it a fun sport, but there is a place for you if you want to be involved, then we’ve achieved our mission,” he said.

Siegel also founded Rev Racing MotorSports Academy to create an opportunity for interested drivers to get into the sport by reducing the financial barrier that has played into a historic lack of diversity.

“We have an annual combine. There [are] applications from across the country. And once you get accepted into the program, it's fully funded,” Siegel said. “So you have drivers like Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez, Rajah Caruth, Nick Sanchez, who all [have] been a part of the rev racing program.”

Camp organizers hope participants leave the camp and see a possible future in motorsports.

Both Gormal and Fort want to be racecar drivers one day.

Contact WFYI Reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @SamHorton5.