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With the Motorsports Medicine Fellowship, doctors train to care for drivers in high-speed races such as the Indy 500.
Devan Ridgway / WTIUThirty-three drivers will bolt down the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday, pushing past 200 miles an hour trying to win the Indy 500. It’s a familiar sight for Dr. Liz Sullivan.
“I grew up a racing fan my entire life,” Sullivan said. “I didn't really know that doing medicine and motorsports was a possibility at all.”
Sullivan was selected as Indiana University School of Medicine’s single Motorsports Medicine Fellow. She’s part of a one-of-a-kind emergency medicine program with IndyCar that trains doctors for accidents during high-speed races.
Sullivan said she’s often on the road with IndyCar’s medical team, prepared to treat everyone from drivers to fans. But this weekend, she’s at home.
“This program allows me to work with some of the best people in the industry that have the experience of witnessing and resuscitating and responding to crashes,” Sullivan said. “There's no textbook for any of this.”
Sullivan said there’s no other program like it in the country.
“It’s the only place that I get to dedicate an entire year just to learn from all these amazing individuals and racing,” Sullivan said. “It kind of is a choose-your-own adventure.”
Sullivan said she’s also worked in Formula One, NASCAR and drag racing in the U.S. and Canada, thanks to the flexibility of the program.
Julia Vaizer, Motorsports Medicine Fellow director, said she always knew she wanted to pursue motorsports medicine before connecting with program founder Dr. Geoffrey Billows.
“One of the things I always talk about is being loud about your passions and seeking out allies, where you expect them and where you don't expect them,” Vaizer said.
Vaizer was the inaugural motorsports fellow, helping shape the program into what it is today with support from IndyCar, the IU School of Medicine, IU Health and the speedway.
The medical team recently added its first neurologist, Dr. Bert Varga, and a mobile, fully equipped medical unit.
“I'm obviously biased, because I'm always talking about IndyCar having the best medical and safety team, but the fact that we are affiliated with a university and with an academic hospital system gives us such an advantage,” Vaizer said. “We are in a great position to drive research, evidence-based medicine practices.”
Sullivan will graduate this summer, sticking with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and also serving as chief medical officer for rally races in Tennessee and Canada.
“We already have a line up for class of ’26 and lined up somebody for the class of 2027,” Vaizer said. “Since we're the only program in the country, we only take one fellow a year. So, you can see how this is competitive.”
Aubrey is WFIU's higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
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