Purdue grad Lizzie Todd helping add more women to IndyCar
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Women of IndyCar before the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Photo: Courtesy of Lizzie Todd
Lizzie Todd was 8 years old when she attended her first Indianapolis 500, and it was love at first green flag.
Why it matters: The 27-year-old systems engineer for Pato O'Ward's No. 5 Arrow McLaren is one of few women in the paddock today.
Flashback: She knew she wanted to be part of IndyCar after that first race, she just didn't know how to get there. While attending the race was a family tradition, she grew up in Vail, Colorado.
What she's saying: "I liked math, I liked science, I liked problem solving. Everything kind of pointed me towards … you should be an engineer. It was like, 'Well, can I do this for race cars?'" she told Axios.
- She discovered Purdue University's motorsports engineering program, and then heard about and attended a summer camp Purdue held specifically for high school girls interested in engineering.
Fast forward: Todd graduated from Purdue in spring 2020 and today is among the ranks of Boilermakers populating the IndyCar garages.
- There's at least one Purdue graduate in the garage of every single American-based IndyCar team this year.
- "What drove me to being here today was my passion, was 'I'm not going to give up until I get on an IndyCar team,'" she said.
State of play: Todd's first year in the paddock, there were a handful of other women.
- Last year, there were 20. Every year, their number grows, she said.
Yes, but: There are still challenges.
- "There's a mentality — less so in the paddock, sometimes you get it with the fans — that's like, you don't deserve to be here. You don't belong here. Let the boys play."
On Sunday, O'Ward's No. 5 car will start on the front row in the third spot, and Todd will be in the pit stand all day.
- "The car does not go unless I'm there," she said.
- Systems engineer means Todd deals with all the radios, electronics, telemetry, "anything that has a wire," she said.
- The team's best-ever starting spot at the 500 is added pressure, she said, to make sure they get everything right.
"Last year was so close," she said, of O'Ward's second-place finish. "That broke my heart last year. Being two corners away, that hurt."
- "This race is the reason I work in IndyCar. I want to win this race so bad."