Wisconsin racer Yuven Sundaramoorthy will return to the track to compete in Indy NXT thanks to a new shoe deal and sponsorship from Visit Milwaukee.
That partnership will be on display at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 near St. Louis June 6-7.
Sundaramoorthy has been selected as a driver in the race. It will be his first since he lost Clarios/Optima batteries as a sponsor.
He’ll be driving a car decked out in Visit Milwaukee theme and will be sporting a specially designed Adidas Samba shoe named “what the…” to show off his pride for Milwaukee on a major stage.
Gopal Sundaramoorthy, father and defacto manager of his son’s career, said Yuven and the family is excited about this opportunity to show off local pride in St. Louis.
“Yuven was born in Oconomowoc. He spent his early years in Wisconsin before we moved out of the country,” Sundaramoorthy said. “He is a Badger through and throughout. He is a Wisconsin boy.”
Sneakerheads can buy the shoe on June 6 at Sneex on 1320 E. Brady St. and online at sneex3rdward.com for $180. Included with the shoe is a Summerfest general admission ticket located on a special hang tag with a chip inside that can be scanned with a phone. The chip allows shoe owners to get access to special events around the city and at Summerfest.
Also those who purchase the shoe can get special deals with Cousins Subs, and one person will get a “golden ticket” of free Cousins Subs for a year.
This is the second shoe Visit Milwaukee has helped launch this year.
Driver is a 2023 UW graduate with computer science degree
Yuven Sundaramoorthy, graduated of University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023 with a computer science degree and wore a helmet that mimicked a Badger football helmet during the race at Road America in Elkhart Lake in 2024.
Sundaramoorthy is trying to help his son get back into a full-time seat in IndyNXT, the feeder system for IndyCar, with the help of the shoe and visibility of Visit Milwaukee.
“We are trying to make Yuven the proud representative of the Badger state in IndyCar,” Sundaramoorthy said.
Yuven Sundaramoorthy’s car that he’s going to be racing in St. Louis is planning to be painted with the colors that match the shoe.
“Yuven will be wearing the shoe and so will his team,” Sundaramoorthy said. “If this opens up a chance for him to be in Milwaukee (to race), he will.”
Sundaramoorthy said Yuven plans to participate with Visit Milwaukee in Summerfest related events and might work with shoe designer Eric “Shake” James on community outreach.
“This is special for us,” Sundaramoorthy said. “In addition to representing Wisconsin and Milwaukee, we take pride that we bring a diversity to motor sports being Indian American. That’s another thing that we’re proud to be.”
Shoes show a way to promote Milwaukee
This isn’t the first time Visit Milwaukee has partnered for a special shoe launch. On April 4 (414 day in Milwaukee) Visit Milwaukee partnered with James on a special shoe called the “viewfinder” that had a map of the city’s neighborhoods. The shoe was a bit hit locally, selling out in a day.
James, the shoe designer, said while the Viewfinder had a map of the city neighborhoods on it, these new shoes are the “cultural map of Milwaukee.”
“It’s a combination of all the shoes I’ve done in the past, plus mixed in there is something new,” James said. “This is a Milwaukee story that has become global.”
Partnering with a with Yuven Sundaramoorthy and his team is unique James said.
“To have the pit crew wearing the shoes is an honor, super dope,” James said. “To help amplify a local guy, a local racer as well, makes everything bigger.”
Josh Albrecht, chief marketing officer for Visit Milwaukee, said the shoes have become a “great way to promote our city.”
“We’re not just promoting or selling Milwaukee… we’re literally exporting our culture to the world,” Albrecht said.
Albrecht said Visit Milwaukee didn’t originally plan to use a shoe to promote the IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile in August, but when they heard a local driver might be involved, they started working on the idea.
“We knew we wanted to help the Wisconsin State Fair and IndyCar promote that race because that’s a big bookend to the summer season at the end of August,” Albrecht said.
Albrecht said St. Louis is a key market for the tourism organization to advertise Milwaukee, and it will be doing some “targeted marketing” in St. Louis for fans who went to the IndyCar race that weekend.
“What we’re trying to do is provide influence and top of mind awareness marketing. It’s very much like putting Milwaukee names out there… making it a first thought of where they should visit,” Albrecht said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin racer Yuven Sundaramoorthy gets new shoe deal
Reporting by Ricardo Torres, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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