CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Colorado-based Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW) is sponsoring the 100th anniversary race of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26. The so-called “Race to the Clouds” is the second oldest motor sports race in the United States and a long-standing Colorado tradition.
Quadriplegic former IndyCar driver and current team owner, Sam Schmidt, will make the famed climb in the Arrow Electronics Semi-Autonomous Motorcar (SAM), a modified 2016 Corvette Z06 that allows Schmidt to steer, accelerate and brake using only his head. Schmidt will tackle the bottom half of the challenging, high-altitude 12.42 mile 156-turn course to Glen Cove after the 100 official racers and drivers, and then he will lead the parade of racecars, four-wheelers and motorbikes down the mountain. Schmidt’s co-pilot for the Hill Climb is nine-time Pikes Peak class winner and four-time King of the Mountain Robby Unser.
“Arrow Electronics is proud to sponsor the 100th anniversary of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Climb,” said Joe Verrengia, director of Arrow’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. “This longstanding Colorado tradition captivates auto enthusiasts around the world and is the perfect place to showcase the inspiring capabilities of Sam Schmidt and Arrow’s SAM car project.”
The objective of the SAM project is to enable disabled drivers to experience driving again by leveraging the power of technology. All of the software and technology that Arrow developed for the car is open to the developer and engineering communities, and it has promising broader applications for independent living. Just last month, Schmidt reached a top speed of 152 mph in the SAM car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway between qualifying laps for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The SAM project is a collaborative venture between Arrow Electronics, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, the nonprofit organization Conquer Paralysis Now and Paravan GmbH, a world leader in innovative automobile conversions for drivers with severe disabilities. For more information on the project, please visit http://arrow.com/SAM/ or keep up with SAM project developments on Twitter by following #ArrowDriven.
This year marks the 100th anniversary and 94th running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and it will include competitors from the U.S., Japan, Canada, Great Britain, France, Finland, Australia, Taiwan, Corsica, Poland, Brazil, Scotland, Austria and Switzerland. For information on Sunday’s race and all of this week’s Pikes Peak Speedweek events, please visit ppihc.com and pikespeakspeedweek.com.
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 100,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 460 locations serving over 85 countries.
