27
July
1998
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York
Motorsports Program Links Alumni, Business, Academics
MOTORSPORTS LINK ALUMNI, BUSINESS AND ACADEMICS
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State University logo,
already familiar to fans of many sports, will soon be
appearing in a new arena -- professional motorsports. A new
program, "Ohio State Motorsports," announced Tuesday (7/28),
will link alumni involved in professional motorsports with
the academic and business functions of the university.
Three alumni who are professional race drivers have
committed to participate. They are Jim Head, who races NHRA
Top Fuel dragsters; Lonnie Rush, Jr., a driver on the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series; and Josh Baltes, who drives on the
ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Super Car Series. They will help raise
awareness and support for Ohio State's Center for Automotive
Research (CAR) and the Student Projects motorsports program.
The drivers will be involved in several projects with the
university, including featuring Ohio State logos on their
vehicles at selected events.
Rush, a 1989 graduate, will debut his Ohio State truck
at the Cummins 200 (9 p.m. EST, ESPN) at Indianapolis
Raceway Park, this Thursday, July 30. Head, a 1971
graduate, is pointing toward racing an Ohio State dragster
at the VisionAire Northstar Nationals, August 20-23 in
Brainerd, Minn. (ESPN/2). Baltes, who graduated in 1997,
will follow with his Ohio State stock car at the ARCA
Bondo/Mar-Hyde event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Aug.
28 (Time TBA, TNN).
"This program is a great step for Ohio State
University," said Head, the 1997 U.S. Nationals Top Fuel
champion. "I'm a very loyal person, and I'm grateful for
the education I received at OSU. With that said, I'm happy
to have the opportunity to give something back to a great
university, while promoting motorsports at the same time."
"We are excited about this partnership and the
opportunities it presents for the Center for Automotive
Research," said Don Houser, professor of mechanical
engineering at Ohio State and director of CAR. "We have had
experience in both professional and student motorsports
programs, and feel this type of cooperative effort can help
raise the awareness for our facility and programming."
CAR provides both graduate and undergraduate students
with applied research and educational opportunities. The
Center contains three major technical thrusts: noise,
vibration and dynamics; powertrain systems; and electro-
mechanical sub-systems. CAR has provided research and
technical assistance to virtually all of the major auto
manufacturers.
The student motorsports program, under the College of
Engineering, provides hands-on experience for five project
cars: SAE Mini Baja, Formula SAE, Formula Lightning
(electric), Sunrayce (solar power) and FutureCar (fuel
efficiency). The Ohio State Motorsports program will seek
to provide educational opportunities for students with the
professional race teams.
The university's Office of Trademark & Licensing
Services will administer a licensing program that will
feature the Ohio State Motorsports graphics on commercial
products. A full range of products, including apparel and
vehicle replicas, will be available over the next few
months. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these
products will benefit CAR and Student Projects.
"The commercial aspects of this program give us a great
opportunity to tell the university's story about our
engineering program, CAR and our student projects, as well
as provide support for these programs," said Anne H.
Chasser, director of trademark & licensing at Ohio State.
"The market for motorsports merchandise has exploded over
the last couple of years, and we feel university-related
motorsports products have a niche."
The university is pursuing additional alumni
relationships within professional motorsports to widen the
scope of the program and possibly add additional drivers.
#
Contacts:
Center for Automotive Research: Don Houser, 292-2226
Student Projects: Ed McCaul, 292-7931
Trademark & Licensing Services: Rick Van Brimmer, 292-
1562
