BROADCAST SPOTLIGHT: FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG

From NASCAR to IndyCar: SMT expands its proven race technology to IndyCar

Thanks to Paulus Weemaes Director, Motorsports, for contributing to this report and providing images. Thanks to Video Editor Shaun Bales for the highlight reel.

In July, Paulus Weemaes, SMT's Director of Motorsports, received a call from Mike Davies, Executive VP of Field & Technical Management and Operations at FOX Sports. "Hey, can SMT track IndyCars and provide similar proven products that you have provided to NASCAR?" he asked. 

"That call set in motion months of investigating, exploring, visiting teams, meeting with IMS in Portland, and internal discussions on how to adapt our GPS and tracking expertise for IndyCar," Paulus shared. "The conclusion was that, yes, we could pull this off if we started in time.

"In early September, both Gerard and COO Kirk Brown gave us the green light to proceed on the IndyCar vector project—well before we even had a deal in place with FOX Sports."

That decision paved the way for a groundbreaking expansion of SMT’s race-tracking technology into IndyCar. After months of rigorous testing, engineering innovation and on-site execution, SMT successfully supported FOX Sports' first IndyCar broadcast at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.

The Evolution of SMT’s IndyCar Technology

• Compact Vector Tracking: SMT’s engineering team, led by Lead Electrical Engineer Isaac Walker-Stern, developed a new, compact version of our NASCAR vector technology to fit the IndyCar chassis. These redesigned vectors and antennas provided seamless tracking capabilities.

• Software Integration & 3D Rendering: A complete overhaul of SMT’s software architecture was necessary to integrate GEMStat with CC QT. Bala Lakshminarayanan VP, Engineering, spearheaded this initiative, while Principal Engineer Jim McGuffin developed a new 3D rendering platform to support a real-time Heads-Up Display (HUD).

• FOX Sports Heads-Up Display (HUD): A last-minute request from FOX Sports led to the development of a cutting-edge HUD, a 3D virtual driver dashboard that displays  throttle, real-time shifting, speed, degree of turns and tire G-force.

• IP Truck Adaptation: Late-breaking changes in IMS Production’s workflow required a complete revamp of SMT’s signal and technology systems to integrate seamlessly with new IP-based broadcast trucks.

AJ Mead, Mark Benich and Sam Dyer operate broadcast enhancements such as HUD at St. Pete.

St. Pete Race Weekend Execution

• Setup & Calibration: SMT’s updated production van and trailer arrived in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, with installation and calibration of base stations, instrumented cameras, and tracking equipment completed by Friday.

• Live Testing Success: Friday marked a major milestone as IndyCars hit the track for the first time using SMT’s technology. The HUD made its on-air debut immediately, while ISO Track pointers and data verification ensured a smooth broadcast experience.

• Interference Challenge: A signal interference issue emerged on Saturday during practice sessions, disrupting data reception on the front stretch. The SMT team quickly identified the interference’s direction and reconfigured equipment overnight to mitigate the problem.

Industry Kudos

'While you'll be the first to acknowledge there's still much to do and evolve, we can all walk away knowing Race #1 for Indy on FOX was a clean, enhanced and exciting broadcast. There’s a long road ahead, but from these first indications, it’s going to be an exciting journey.”

Mike Davies
Executive VP of Field & Technical Management and Operations, FOX Sports

'Indy hasn’t used pointers for several years. We’re very excited to bring those back. Plus, a lot of the features that came out of the SMT universe over the period when Indy didn’t have pointers will now be brought to IndyCar, including the Ghost Car and the Heads Up Display. These are things we’re excited to bring out because they made a huge difference in NASCAR; we can evolve those tools for road courses and make them more specific to IndyCar.'

Zac Fields
SVP, Graphics Technology and Integration, FOX Sports

SMT Staff for IndyCar 

• Engineering, design, development and production: Isaac Walker-Stern, Ken Milnes, Kent Mason, Tim Driedger, Patrick McLaughlin, Chris Nguyen, Jerry Russel, Charra Steele, Jeremy Tully, Jessica Dunn  
• Software development and project management: Johnny Wen, Matt Jones, Bala Lakshminarayanan, Jim McGuffin, Jeff Sue, Chris Zelenka, Dave Ball, John Wang, Alex Seguin, Jonathan Hirschberger 
• Special support and management: Maren Thompson, AJ Mead, Nick Rider 
• QA: Tran Le, Tony Mobilia, Daren Lim, Slava Lokotkin. 
• Operations: Rich Hawley, Rob McCarney, Nate Karamanski, Mark Benich, Andrew Hawley, Chris Stoddard, Sam Dyer, Glen Waldron, Jackson Jones, Jarrad Wakefield, Eugene Anderson, Dennis Clemens, Nick Villados 
• Creative: Richard Quintana, Umaru Jalloh, Evan Zappel, Jon Kaczmarski
• Purchasing: Josh Schultz and Josh King 
• Van and Trailer Build: Michael Louthan 
• IT: Macks Emanuel and Teo Albu 
• Travel: Caresse Santin and Saida Reyes 
• Client Services: Jon Marin, James DiGangi 
• Office management and dealing with Paulus’ quirks: Sam Lau 
• Accounting: Allen Dickenson and Ben Davis 
• Exec Staff: Gerard J. Hall, Kirk Brown, Brian Wulbur, Hans Weber, Matt Bertram, Robbie Louthan, John Dengler, Patricia Hopkins, Lee Brinson 

BROADCAST PREVIEW: NFL SCOUTING COMBINE

SMT’s virtual tools help break down the NFL Combine for NFL Network

Thanks to Peter Frank, Media Production Manager, for contributing to this report. Thanks to Shaun Bales, Video Editor, for the highlight reel.

The 2025 NFL Combine once again brought together top prospects, scouts and media at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and SMT again played a crucial role in enhancing the broadcast. Supporting the event for the 16th consecutive year, SMT continued to deliver industry-leading virtual enhancements that provided fans with key insights into player performance. NFL Network remained highly impressed with SMT's technology and service, emphasizing the impact of SimulCam, StroMotion and Tracer (player tracking) in bringing the Combine to life.

SMT’s Virtual Enhancements at the Combine

SMT has steadily expanded its services at the Combine, ensuring a more immersive experience for viewers. This year, SMT supported the broadcast with:

• SimulCam – Overlays multiple videos to compare player performances in the 40-yard dash.

• StroMotion – Creates clones to analyze a player’s form and path during on-field drills.

• ISO Track – Provides virtual pointers identifying players in SimulCam comparisons.

• Virtual Yard Markers – Displays 10, 20, 30, and 40-yard lines during the 40-yard dash.

• Camera Tracker Tracking – Stabilizes AR graphics, Tracer (player tracking) and virtual drill titles off SkyCam and Camera 1.

• Virtual Drill Titles – Displays text on the field identifying drills in real-time.

• Tracer – Uses discs, trails and player pointers to track movement during drills.

Key Contributions and Technical Adjustments

While SMT did not introduce new products at this year’s Combine, significant upgrades were made. The SimulCam, StroMotion, and ISOTrack systems were enhanced to support the 1080p format in which the event was broadcast. Additionally, SMT continued its partnership with Zebra Technologies for player tracking, rendering data from Zebra chips worn by players to display movement paths, speed, and positioning. Though SMT tracked Camera 1 for drill titles and player tracking, production ultimately opted not to use those enhancements due to framing limitations.

"NFL Network continues to be happy with the drill titles off of Skycam. NFL Network was also extremely pleased with Tracer (discs, trails and player pointers). Producers Mark Teitelman (T-Man) and Steve Menzel; Director of Real Time Systems, Patrick Lee; Tech Manager Rhett VanBuskirk; and Senior Graphics Producer, Brad Allen all gave SMT kudos on a job well done," said Peter Frank.

SMT Staff for NFL Combine

• Alex Caldwell: Camera Tracker Operator for Sky Cam
• Peter Frank: Project Lead; SimulCam/StroMotion operator.
• Jacob Luksik: Tracer Operator - Player Pointers, Discs and Trails (Optics – Player Tracking)
• John McDonald: ISOTrack operator
• Will Moran: Virtual Drill Title operator for Sky Cam and Yardage Marker operator.
• Adam Nichols: Camera Tracker/Virtual Drill Title operator for Camera 1 and Utility.
• Jeremy Luster: Business Development Manager (off-site)
• Aaron Durant: Client Services (off-site)
• Danny Baker: Coordinating Producer (off-site)
• Yosimar Vargas: Broadcast Systems Specialist (off-site)

BROADCAST SPOTLIGHT: RUN RICH RUN

'Run Rich Run' delivers fun and funds: SMT’s Peter Frank edges out Rich Eisen in annual fundraiser

Thanks to Peter Frank, Media Production Manager, for contributing to this report. Thanks to Shaun Bales, Video Editor, for the highlight reel.

Back in 2018, SMT's Media Production Manager, Peter Frank, ran the 40-yard dash to test SMT's SimulCam technology ahead of the NFL Combine when his run unexpectedly made it into Rich Eisen's annual “Run Rich Run” segment, which uses SimulCam to compare Rich's run with football to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which, to date, has raised approximately $5.6 million.

This year, Peter edged out Rich, celebrating with an unplanned soccer slide at the finish line! SMT’s Will Moran also made it into the segment, finishing third in a separate SimulCam comparison among NFL Network crew members.

RECRUITING SPOTLIGHT: SCAD and N.C. STATE

QA Analyst Danielle Velluci demonstrates QA's impact of integrating live data into Amazon's Thursday Night Football broadcast.

SMT expands talent pipeline with N.C. State Externship and SCAD Career Fair

Thanks to Recruiter Kenny Bores for contributing to this report. 

SMT continues to strengthen its pipeline of top talent through strategic recruiting initiatives, including the recent N.C. State Externship at SMT-Durham and participation in the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Career Fair. These efforts allow SMT to connect with students and recent graduates who are eager to apply their skills in the sports technology industry.

On Tuesday, SMT-DUR hosted its third annual spring externship with N.C. State, the university that boasts SMT-DUR’s largest alumni base. This externship provided students studying sports management, computer science and data science an opportunity to explore SMT’s innovative products and experience a day in the life of SMT professionals. Inspired by site visits to SMT-Fremont and the SMT-UNF Tech Showcase, SMT Recruiter Kenny Bores spearheaded this initiative to give students an in-depth look at SMT’s role in sports technology, broadcasting and data collection.

The externship featured engaging sessions led by project managers, QA analysts, and engineers who demonstrated SMT’s cutting-edge technology in action. Students learned about SMT’s work in hockey and baseball, explored data collection for the men’s March Madness basketball tournament, and experienced firsthand how NHL’s puck- and player-tracking technology enhances broadcasts. The itinerary included tech demonstrations, baseball analytics insights, and a ROOSTER operations walkthrough, providing a comprehensive look at SMT’s impact across multiple sports.

Meanwhile, for the first time since the pandemic, SCAD held an in-person career fair, and Kenny was there to recruit the next generation of designers, animators and creatives. Held on Feb. 21 at the Savannah Convention Center, the SCAD Career Fair attracted students eager to learn about SMT’s internship and career opportunities.

Jesse Richardson, a SCAD graduate who started as a Real-Time Specialist at SMT and now serves as Creative Technical Manager, echoed this sentiment: “SCAD’s commitment to cutting-edge technology and industry-focused education set me up for success at SMT. Now, I look forward to bringing in new SCAD graduates who are well-equipped straight out of the gates.”

With successful recruiting efforts at both N.C. State and SCAD, SMT continues to cultivate relationships with top universities to attract the best talent in sports technology and design.

A Note of Thanks

'I wanted to send a huge thank you to you and the entire SMT team for taking the time to host and meet with us yesterday. The students had an incredible experience—they raved about it and learned so much. We truly appreciate your partnership and support of N.C. State students.'

Erin O’Neill, M.Ed.
Employer Relations Coordinator, N.C. State University

Events and Remote Teams

We are staffing 66 events this week. Safe travels to all!

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