New organization aims to get girls interested in STEM, motorsports

Sim 4 STEM, a new organization that aims to spark girls’ interest in motorsports, science, technology, engineering and math, will launch next month with events at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sim 4 STEM was formed by former professional female athletes Nicci Daly and Stefy Bau, with the goal of bringing more women into a heavily male-dominated field.

The organization is using the Indianapolis 500 as the focus of its first event, with the intent of staging similar events to follow in other locations.

“The goal for this is to really launch in Indianapolis and visit other cities attached to other motor sporting events,” Daly said.

Sessions will be held May 1, 3 and 8 at Dallara’s Speedway facility, and May 12 at IMS, with a different group of 50 students participating in each session. The top students from these sessions will be invited to the track for an Indianapolis 500 practice day May 17 where they will meet women working in the field.

Sim 4 STEM uses racing simulators and other race-related activities to teach girls in grades 8-12 about STEM subjects and racing—and perhaps introducing them to a future career field they wouldn’t have otherwise considered. At next month’s sessions, for instance, the girls will do things like using math to figure out the fastest route around a racetrack; completing a data engineering activity involving race car telemetry; and building a steering wheel for a racing simulator.

Bau, a native of Italy who now lives in California, is a retired motocross racer who won three world championships and became the first professional motorcyclist to compete on an elite level.

“It was very lonely on the top there. There were not any women whatsoever,” Bau said of her racing career.

She retired from the sport in 2005 after suffering a career-ending injury. In 2019, Bau founded Init Esports, which offers online and in-person simulated auto and motorcycle competitions.

Daly grew up around auto racing. Her father, Vivion Daly, was an Irish race car driver. Her uncle is Derek Daly, a retired professional race car driver who now lives in Carmel. Derek Daly’s son, Conor, is also a professional racer.

Nicci Daly went on to earn an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in motorsports engineering and has worked as a data engineer for Indianapolis-based Juncos Hollinger Racing. She also competed in the 2020 Olympics as a member of Ireland’s women’s field hockey team.

In 2019 Nicci Daly launched Formula Female, which aims to get young women interested in motorsports careers.

For its part, Dallara said Sim 4 STEM fits in with the racecar maker’s mission of creating a talent pipeline into the world of motorsports.

In addition to hosting the Sim 4 STEM students, Dallara’s Speedway facility will host a separate student group from a private academy next month. The academy students will participate in a new activity that Dallara created for them, said Dallara spokesperson Khalek Sengsone.

“From the Sim 4 STEM event and the academy visiting, we are hoping to learn and find a way to better expose students to STEM/motorsport related jobs,” Sengsone said in an email. “Sim 4 STEM is going to be a great way to teach us more concepts, and for that we are thrilled to be a partner.”