Arrow Electronics and Lenovo Give IndyCar’s Schmidt Peterson Motorsports a Big Data Advantage in 2017

Real-time data analytics offer competitive advantage in a sport where hundredths of a second can separate winners

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' (SPM) James Hinchcliffe in the Arrow No. 5 Honda during a test lap last week. Arrow and Lenovo are using Big Data to help SPM speed up its cars and pit crew stops. (Photo: Business Wire)

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--()--Global technology company Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW), the primary sponsor of the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) No. 5 Honda driven by James Hinchcliffe in the Verizon IndyCar series, is connecting SPM to Arrow’s unparalleled ecosystem of 125,000-plus technology suppliers, system integrators, resellers and end customers to give the racing team every technical advantage during the 2017 season.

During this past season, Arrow introduced SPM to Lenovo, a major data and enterprise-solutions supplier to Arrow’s enterprise computing solutions business. Lenovo is now working with the Indianapolis-based IndyCar team to enhance the quality and quantity of data insights derived during the team’s race and pit stop simulations.

“With Lenovo’s help, we’re finding creative ways to speed up our cars and our team’s overall operations,” said Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ co-owner Sam Schmidt. “Everyone in our sport is on the hunt for real-time data analytics like this because better data equates to better race day decisions. With the help of great partners like Arrow and Lenovo, I believe SPM stands to benefit from Big Data in 2017 more so than any other team out there.”

SPM has already conducted thousands of simulations to date, in which sensors on the team’s Indy cars feed information into a Lenovo System x3650 M5 server—yielding massive amounts of data that SPM’s engineering team have used for real-time analysis and race strategy corrections. In addition, Lenovo is helping SPM analyze every driver and pit crew movement to identify incremental adjustments that could shave as much as a tenth of a second off every pit stop.

“Big Data and enterprise computing capabilities like these are in Lenovo’s DNA,” said Scott Hawkins, executive director of marketing, Lenovo Data Center Group. “We’re excited to partner with Arrow and put our unique capabilities to work for SPM and their Indy cars.” The Lenovo x3650 M5 server is purpose built for big data workloads. It supports industry leading data storage capacity, the latest Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 high performance compute processing power, flash storage options, and energy efficient features for lower power consumption without losing performance.

“Arrow works with the biggest names in technology, and we’ve cultivated one of the largest technology ecosystems in the world,” said Sean Kerins, president of Arrow’s global enterprise computing solutions business. “We’re uniquely positioned to bring together partners like Lenovo that have the unparalleled expertise and innovative technology solutions to help SPM reach new heights.”

The No. 5 car aligns to Arrow’s forward-looking mission to operate in the world of Five Years Out—the tangible future of new technologies, new materials, new ideas and new electronics that will make people’s lives better, smarter and more inspired. This is Arrow’s third year sponsoring SPM. Follow @SPMIndyCar, @Hinchtown and @ArrowGlobal on Twitter for updates throughout the 2017 IndyCar season.

About Arrow Electronics

Arrow Electronics is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 125,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 465 locations serving over 90 countries. Learn more at fiveyearsout.com.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $45 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode Yoga brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Moto brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at www.lenovo.com.

LENOVO is a trademark of Lenovo. WINDOWS and WINDOWS HELLO are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel, Intel Core and Thunderbolt are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. DOLBY ATMOS is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. AMAZON and ALEXA are trademarks of Amazon Technologies, Inc. HARMAN KARDON is a trademark of Harman International Industries, Inc. NVIDIA is a trademark of NVIDIA Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2016, Lenovo Group Limited.

About Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Established in 2001 and owned by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt and Canadian businessman Ric Peterson, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) currently competes in the Verizon IndyCar Series. With a storied history in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series with over 70 wins, over 70 pole positions and seven championship wins, the Indianapolis-based team has also found success in IndyCar with five wins, two Indianapolis 500 pole positions and four poles claimed overall, as well as three top-five finishes in the championship points standings.

Contacts

Arrow
Meghan Macdonald, 303-824-4589
mmacdonald@arrow.com
or
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports/James Hinchcliffe:
Veronica Knowlton, 317-341-3488
veronicak@spmindycar.com

Release Summary

Arrow is collaborating with Lenovo to bring a Big Data advantage to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and the Arrow-sponsored No. 5 Honda driven by James Hinchcliffe in the Verizon IndyCar series.

Contacts

Arrow
Meghan Macdonald, 303-824-4589
mmacdonald@arrow.com
or
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports/James Hinchcliffe:
Veronica Knowlton, 317-341-3488
veronicak@spmindycar.com