‘Kids on Track’ program merging students’ interest in STEM with motorsports

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — There was action on the track and inspiration in the stands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.

A free program called “Kids on Track” is connecting the dots between racing and students interested in STEM. Several “Kids on Track” students were at IMS for the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday.

“The only experience that I’ve had with racing really is my dad watching it on TV,” said Addison Roehling, a student at Perry Meridian High School. “He’s been twice. This is my first time ever being at the speedway, so it’s completely a change from watching it on TV every year.”

“Kids on Track” students at IMS on Saturday got an up-close look at the role science, technology, engineering and math play in IndyCar.

“Being part of ‘Kids on Track’ is like really, really been like an insane experience,” Roehling said. “Like meeting all these drivers and employees of all these companies. It’s been a great experience.”

Litzy Martinez is a senior at Shortridge High School. She’s going to Indiana University next year to learn how to develop video games. She’s never been to the track, let alone thought about a career in racing. That is until she learned it’s her brain power and skill that racers need to build simulators for practice.

“Thanks to this program, I am interested in the data analysis that they do in racing,” Martinez said. “It seems really interesting like how they analyze everything just to get a better result next race.”

“Kids on Track” is a collaboration between Nextech and CoForce. It gives students like Darreon Jennings, a future software engineer and current junior at Ben Davis High School, a chance to see their interests in a new way.

“One of the racers showed us the computer they actually use to graph the data and stuff,” Jennings said. “That interests me and taking a career behind the scenes in motorsports and racing, I would do it. I would do it, honestly.”

The program is free and is already looking for students to sign up for next year. The students at the Sonsio Grand Prix met drivers, received free tickets, shirts, hats, goodie bags and an experience that they call life-changing.

“To be honest, I give it a 10 out of 10,” Jennings said. “I like everything around here.”