Grand Prix experience reveals a new career path for Purdue student
Purdue senior Mollie Parker became fascinated with racing when she joined the Windsor Racing Team as a sophomore. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)
Joining Windsor Hall’s Purdue Grand Prix team inspired Mollie Parker to pursue a position in the racing industry
Racing has long been a part of Mollie Parker’s life, whether through attending NASCAR events with her family at the California Speedway or watching Formula One and IndyCar races on TV.
But she had never actually participated in motorsports until, as a Purdue sophomore living in Windsor Hall, she noticed the flyer that changed her life.
“It said, ‘Do you want to race?’” recalls Parker, a senior majoring in both economics and marketing. “And I was like, ‘Of course!’”
The flyer invited female students to join the Windsor Racing Team based in Purdue’s oldest all-female residence hall. Parker started out as an inexperienced mechanic working on the team’s go-karts that compete in the Purdue Grand Prix. But by her second year with the team, she had advanced into a leadership role as crew chief and race director.
“When I joined Grand Prix, it really opened my eyes to what hands-on involvement looks like in this field,” says Parker, whose Windsor team was the only all-women team to qualify for the 2023 Purdue Grand Prix and barely missed making the grid last year. “There’s something really satisfying about seeing a direct, tangible outcome from the work you put in. Implement these changes here and you can immediately see how it affects performance on the track. That kind of instant feedback is what drew me in, and I fell in love with it.”
That was only the beginning of a racing journey that has already taken Parker to internships at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at race car manufacturer Dallara’s U.S. headquarters in Indianapolis.
These experiences have helped Parker envision a future working at the highest levels of the racing industry, ideally contributing to strategy for an open-wheel team. And she credits her foundational Grand Prix experience — where she leverages a data analysis background to make decisions for a team stocked with engineering know-how — for inspiring that audacious goal.
“One thing that I think has been helpful as a nonengineer is a lot of my teammates are able to come up with a variety of innovative solutions to the problem. My role, though, has been to help guide the decision-making process and implementation, keeping us moving forward — a struggle point for some teams,” Parker says. “And so this experience has taught me to be very decisive in stressful situations, to trust my judgment and build on the strengths of the team.”
Before Parker attempts to apply these lessons in a professional setting, however, she still has some races to run at Purdue.
Working around trips to Dallara’s offices on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she remains involved in the event that helped her recognize that she could turn her new passion into a profession.
This is Parker’s second year leading the Windsor team into the traditional (combustion engine-based) Purdue Grand Prix that will take place April 26. This year she also joined Purdue’s first all-women electric vehicle team — Lady Elizabeth EV Team, sponsored by the Purdue Integrated Business and Engineering program — that won the evGrandPrix on April 18.
The EV team recently garnered a coveted sponsorship from auto giant Toyota.
“It’s great to have their support, not only supporting us financially, but through resources in both engineering and management,” Parker says.
Only a few short years have passed since Parker noticed that flyer on the wall at Windsor that set her on a path toward a career that truly excites her. It all started by working around a group of supportive women who simply enjoyed hanging out and sharing a hobby that they loved.
“Everyone truly wants to be there to have a good time. We’re all working toward a common goal of getting the kart on the track and developing our driver,” Parker says. “The results, of course, they’re fun. It’s fun when you win; it’s fun when you qualify. But seeing the kart that you have built from the ground up race is awesome, and fine-tuning it is even more fun.
“My favorite part is seeing our team dynamic, how it has changed over the years, and helping girls develop whatever skills they want to develop to get where they want to be in life,” she says.
She never expected it before joining her first racing team at Purdue, but for Parker, that might someday involve working on pit row at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
When I joined Grand Prix, it really opened my eyes to what hands-on involvement looks like in this field.
Mollie Parker
Senior in economics and marketing
