Schmidt to drive SAM Corvette on Pikes Peak Hillclimb
Sam Schmidt will drive the Arrow Electronics Corvette Z06 on the bottom half of the 12.42-mile Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this weekend, following his record-breaking run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Schmidt, a former Indy car driver and now team owner of the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team, has been a quadriplegic since his shunt at Walt Disney World oval in 2000. Yet in May, on Indy 500 qualifying weekend, Schmidt lapped Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 108.642mph and reached a top speed of 152mph driving the Arrow Electronics Semi-Autonomous Motorcar (SAM).
It is this same modified 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – which allows Schmidt to steer using head movements, and accelerate and brake using sip-n-puff technology – that he'll pilot this weekend on the famed Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
Schmidt will tackle the bottom 12.42 mile 156-turn course to Glen Cove after the 100 official racers and drivers, and will then lead a parade of participants down the mountain. As at IMS in May, his co-driver will be nine-time Pikes Peak class winner and four-time King of the Mountain Robby Unser.
Colorado-based Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW) is sponsoring the 100th anniversary race of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26. The so-called “Race to the Clouds” is the second oldest motor sports race in the United States and a long-standing Colorado tradition.
“Arrow Electronics is proud to sponsor the 100th anniversary of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Climb,” said Joe Verrengia, director of Arrow’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. “This longstanding Colorado tradition captivates auto enthusiasts around the world and is the perfect place to showcase the inspiring capabilities of Sam Schmidt and Arrow’s SAM car project.”
The objective of the SAM project is to enable disabled drivers to experience driving again, but all of the software and technology that Arrow developed for the car is open to the developer and engineering communities, and it has broader applications for independent living.
The SAM project is a collaborative venture between Arrow Electronics, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, the nonprofit organization Conquer Paralysis Now and Paravan GmbH, a world leader in innovative automobile conversions for drivers with severe disabilities.
For more information on the project, click here.
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