AVL RACETECH and ECR INDYCAR Team Formalize Technical Partnership
AVL RACETECH has signed an official technical partnership with the ECR INDYCAR Team, expanding a collaboration that began in 2021.
- 2012
- 2021
- 110th
- 20+ years
What Happened
AVL RACETECH and the ECR INDYCAR Team have signed an official technical partnership, expanding a collaboration that began in 2021. AVL RACETECH becomes the Official Dynamic Vehicle Simulation Partner of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES team, with an enlarged scope. The partnership adds AVL's advanced vehicle dynamics simulation, centered on the AVL VSM™ RACE platform, which lets ECR evaluate setups in a precise virtual environment. AVL's cloud computing enables large volumes of laps to be simulated quickly, a key advantage with the series' tight schedule and limited preparation windows.
Based in Indianapolis, ECR first entered the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2012 and won its debut season finale, later earning multiple race victories and Indianapolis 500 pole positions. The team is led by owners Ted Gelov and Ed Carpenter and has won on every track type in the series, including street and road courses, short ovals, and speedways. For 2026, Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi drives the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet, race winner Christian Rasmussen the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet, and Carpenter, a three-time Indy 500 pole winner (2013, 2014, 2018), races at the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. AVL RACETECH, AVL's global motorsport expert, has worked in engineering, testing, simulation, and manufacturing for over 20 years and supplies teams from Formula 1 to Formula E, NASCAR, WEC, and MotoGP.
ECR first entered the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and won the season finale in its debut year.
Collaboration between AVL RACETECH and ECR began.
Official technical partnership signed; AVL RACETECH named Official Dynamic Vehicle Simulation Partner.
“Partnering with AVL RACETECH strengthens every part of our program. Their expertise gives us tools to push deeper, innovate faster, and elevate the performance standard we expect at ECR.”
“Partnering with AVL RACETECH gives us access to world class simulation and development tools that elevate every aspect of our engineering program. Their expertise aligns perfectly with our commitment to continuous improvement, and together we’re unlocking performance gains that will make a real difference on track.”
“INDYCAR represents one of the most demanding environments in global open-wheel racing. The fact that we are now transforming our collaboration with ECR into an official partnership underscores the mutual trust between us. Together, we want to achieve measurable performance advantages on the track with state-of-the-art vehicle simulation.”
“With AVL VSM™ RACE, we offer ECR a precise, fully dynamic simulation environment to validate setup decisions based on high quality simulation data, and to make development processes more efficient. Especially considering the huge variety of tracks INDYCAR races on, demanding vastly different setups, and the very limited track time, this is a clear competitive advantage.”
Why this matters
The deal makes AVL RACETECH the team's Official Dynamic Vehicle Simulation Partner, giving ECR access to advanced virtual testing tools. With limited track time in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, simulating many laps in the cloud helps the team refine setups before race weekends. For a beginner, this means data-driven preparation becomes a bigger part of how race teams compete.
Terms in This Story
- Dynamic vehicle simulation
- Using computer models to replicate a car's behavior on track, allowing teams to test setups without driving the real car.
- Open-wheel
- A type of racing car with wheels outside the main body; common in IndyCar and Formula 1.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.