10 minute read
Checkered Ambitions
STORY BY DALE LONGWEEKEND RACING WARRIORS
ALUMNI TRIO STILL CHASING RACING DREAMS, CHECKERED FLAGS
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Though a Rose-Hulman graduate hasn’t yet been behind the wheel in the Indianapolis 500 or Daytona 500, a trio of mechanical engineering alumni have rubbed tires, bumped fenders and dashed to the finish line with some of motorsports’ elite while enjoying successful driving careers. Two years after graduating, 2007 alumnus Shane Hollingsworth put his name alongside motorsports hall of famers A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Al Unser Sr. as winners of the United States Auto Club Silver Crown series’ prestigious Hoosier Hundred race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. That 2009 victory came after a harrowing pre-race week, but more about that later.
Another sprint car racing veteran, 2011 graduate Derek Bischak, has scored victories against NASCAR Cup Series champions Tony Stewart and Joey Logano, while being named the Silver Crown series’ 2019 Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, the budding racing career of 2018 alumnus Dakota Jackson already includes top-three placings during the past two Midwest sprint car series championship seasons and being named the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans’ 2009 First-Year Driver of the Year. His racing resume also features a national championship in the smaller-scale micro sprint car series and four national division titles in five years competing in the entry-level quarter midget racing circuit.
— Derek Bischak (ME, 2011)
Derek Bischak started racing at age 6 and has had success throughout his racing career.
THE NEED FOR SPEED, COMPETITION Each drivers’ passion for racing developed well before attending Rose-Hulman, and still thrives today as they are using their engineering degrees as leaders in technical careers and settling into lives with family and cherished friends from racing. Jackson got into a quarter-sized midget racer at 5 years old at the Indiana State Fairgrounds; Bischak at age 6 and soon was spending 40 weekends a year competing—and being a place winner—at racetracks throughout the country; and Hollingsworth’s racing ambitions started at age 9 and advanced as an adult to gain notoriety in the Silver Crown series, competing alongside drivers with present and past ambitions of driving in the televised Indy Racing League and NASCAR series. “The competition, the thrill of winning and desire to be better,” says Hollingsworth about why he’s still racing today, albeit at only a handful of races annually. “There is an adrenaline rush (in racing) to push yourself to the edge and strive for improvement, whether that's finding speed on the car or yourself as the driver.” Jackson, the younger of the trio, adds, “I’m approaching 26 years old in June and (racing) is what I have done for over 75% of my life…I enjoy working on the car, putting it on the racetrack and seeing the reward of the hard work in the shop pay off at the track. It’s a thrill unlike anything I have ever been able to find anywhere else—to compete and try to be better than the next guy or do something that others think is not possible.” That’s a thrill also shared with Bischak, who states, “Intellectually, it’s a challenge to figure out the setup and dialing it in as track conditions change, and then making in-car adjustments during the race and figuring out the best ways to set up another driver for a pass or navigating lapped traffic. Driving a race car is an exhilarating experience, and the sensation of speed and adrenaline is hard to replicate in other things. I also enjoy competing against some incredibly talented drivers to see who’s best.”
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Dakota Jackson estimates that he has spent more than 75% of his young life at the racetrack. Now, family responsibilities have slowed the pace of his racing.
Alumni Feature
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LOTS OF TURNS, UPS AND DOWNS Bischak held off a hard-charging Stewart to win the 2012 Rumble in Fort Wayne midget car feature race. “I had the lead early before he overtook me about halfway. However, a couple laps later he experienced mechanical issues and dropped out, so I was able to cruise to the win from there,” says the proud race winner. “Tony races—and wins—frequently at that event, so I’ve competed against him numerous times.” Another brush with a racing legend came much earlier when Bischak helped introduce the son of former NASCAR driver Mark Martin to quarter midget racing at a track in New Smyrna, Florida. Martin was familiar with Bischak’s father as a dealer for one of the quarter midget series’ largest equipment suppliers. Derek showed the younger Martin the intricacies of driving a car and making necessary adjustments in the garage to get maximum track performance. At the end of the week, Mark Martin presented Derek $100 for his efforts. “I now say that the first ‘job’ I ever had was as a race car test driver!” recalls Bischak. The highs and lows of racing were experienced by Hollingsworth early in the 2009 racing season. His sprint car was stolen, along with a trailer, while parked overnight at a hotel during a cross-country trip to a race in Arizona. This required another car being built completely from scratch. However, mechanical problems kept the motor from starting the morning of the Hoosier Hundred race in Indianapolis. Even more problems developed during pre-race practice. Necessary repairs were made, and despite limited practice, Hollingsworth went on to win one of the nation’s most prestigious sprint car races. “Managing the ups and downs is probably the biggest challenge (in racing),” he says. “I always have tried to not let the ups be too high and the lows too low. Staying focused and having fun were the keys. I always had fun because if it wasn't fun, it wasn't worth it.” The alumni racing trio has competed alongside each other at different stages in their racing careers. Each driver admits that racing at any level is expensive and a blown engine, accident on the track or stolen race car can impact the rest of the racing season. The key to success is getting aligned with a race team that has deep financial resources and experienced technical crews.
MIXING SUCCESS AT ROSE AND RACING All three racers are from Indiana and chose to attend Rose-Hulman as a pathway toward desired engineering careers. They each continued racing, on shortened schedules, while concentrating on schoolwork, athletics and other extracurricular activities. Bischak was a record-setting runner for the institute’s track and cross country teams, and Jackson was a student manager for the men’s basketball team, while being involved in Greek life. “It took some balancing and a lot of miles on Interstate 70 to make it all work, but it did somehow,” says Jackson, a native of Columbus, Indiana. “I always tried to pick my classes so that I did not have to start first thing on Monday mornings and that I was done by noon on Fridays. There were many times I was rushing out of a class on Fridays to make it to the (race’s) drivers’ meeting and then rolling
Shane Hollingsworth put his name alongside racing's elite after winning the 2009 Hoosier Hundred.
— Shane Hollingsworth (ME, 2007)
They may have been on the track during weekends, but the racers were back on campus each week pursing their mechanical engineering degrees.
into my 8 a.m. classes on Mondays, with little to no sleep and my (racing) wristband still on my arm. It was not an easy task, but I had a drive not to quit racing even though my education was my focus.” Hollingsworth modified his racing schedule throughout his four years as a Rose-Hulman student. He spent nearly every weekend at his home in Indianapolis working on developing cars for the upcoming racing season. “This gave me a different experience for sure than other students,” he admits. “I wasn't the Dean List student, but I do have a mechanical engineering degree from Rose-Hulman and that's what is important. Rose was challenging, just like racing. It expected the best from you to be successful and I think those experiences have helped me for my career path.”
— Dakota Jackson (ME, 2018) Alumni Feature WEEKENDRACING WARRIORSSTILL SCRATCHING RACING ITCH Hollingsworth’s affection for mechanics comes in handy as vice president of sales with KAPP NILES, a global machine tool builder for gear manufacturing. He lives in Lafayette, Indiana, with his wife, Courtney, who met at a Midwest racetrack, and their daughter Ava, 10, and son Connor, 8. Meanwhile, Bischak is a product engineer with Allison Transmission in Indianapolis and Jackson is a senior field test engineer with Cummins Inc., overseeing operations in Alaska and North Carolina. Jackson and his wife, Haley, had their first child, a son, Charles, on May 10. Parenthood has caused him to sell his more open-wheel sprint cars for safer and larger late model racers to compete on dirt tracks throughout Indiana. “I think I will still be able to get enough racing in to scratch my itch, so to speak, but still allow time to do everything else life will throw at us,” Jackson says. “The decision to attend college, especially one like Rose, was the right decision, no matter how bad I wanted to go give racing for a living a try. It has afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with my now wife, be around my family more, and make a nice living that allows me to keep racing in some capacity. I think I could join the racing world in the engineering capacity, if I want to at some point, with the contacts I have made through my own racing. For now, I am still focused on my own racing and starting a family.” Bischak adds, “I chose Rose as it is one of the best engineering schools in the country, and it is only a couple hours from where I grew up (Angola, Indiana). Getting an engineering degree simply made sense for me. I had always excelled at math and science classes, and it seemed a natural fit based on all the work I’d done on race cars growing up. I knew that engineers earned good salaries, and with the racing background, it seemed like a natural path to either the automotive or racing industries. “Growing up, the goal was to make it to one of those top series, more so NASCAR because it had more recognition and popularity in the late 90’s and 00's,” Bischak states. “I don't have any regrets. There are still talented drivers racing at this level (sprint cars), so the races are competitive and challenging.” While it wasn’t Indy or Daytona, Hollingsworth and Bischak have raced 500 miles. They competed with the nation’s best small-track drivers in this year’s Little 500 at the Anderson (Indiana) Speedway, on the eve of the Indianapolis 500. n ECHOES | SPRING 2021 27
