MPI Partners with PRI Hoosier 500 for Steering Wheel Giveaway
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
INDIANAPOLIS – The PRI Hoosier 500 is proud to announce MPI as an official partner of the 2025 race, in addition to a special prize giveaway for this year’s event.
Bolstering an extensive prize package for winning the PRI Hoosier 500 on Sunday, December 14, MPI will donate one of its professional-grade steering wheels to the race winner.
“First and foremost, it is an honor to align with an esteemed brand such as MPI,” said Tanner Watkins, president and co-owner of the PRI Hoosier 500. “MPI is the definition of excellence in motorsports steering wheels, and it is exciting to see them bring that same level of quality to sim racing. We are pumped to showcase one of their stellar products as a highly-coveted giveaway item for our PRI Hoosier 500 race winner.”
MPI was founded in 2009 by Max and Tatiana Papis. Based in Mooresville, North Carolina, MPI has become a leading name in the professional steering wheel category. They supply steering wheels for the wide majority of NASCAR’s teams, and have additionally collaborated with Chip Ganassi Racing on their bespoke steering wheel.
“The PRI Hoosier 500 is an exciting partnership for MPI as we continue developing our SIMMAX and SIMLINK lines, combining our real-world racing pedigree with a focus on high-performance sim products,” said Max Papis, founder of MPI.
The wheel which will be presented to the 2025 PRI Hoosier 500 race winner is the SIMMAX GT, a 323 millimeter wheel with an alcantara cover, iconic MPI orange stitching and stripe, and a universal hole pattern for application to nearly any sim racing hub. It has a retail value of $268.
MPI’s SIMMAX collection is inspired by their line of real-world solutions – with a simulation touch. The line includes not only steering wheels, but also a collection of Logitech-compatible sim products, racing seats and a ton more.
ABOUT THE PRI HOOSIER 500
The PRI Hoosier 500 was created in 2019 in an effort to personalize Indianapolis’ Memorial Day classic into a virtual “500” for sim racing competitors – complete with authenticity that positions the event firmly as the World’s Greatest Sim Race. The goal of the event is to present racers with the closest experience possible to what drivers in open-wheel racing enjoy each May. The PRI Hoosier 500 is owned and operated by Indiana residents Ryan Schuld and Tanner Watkins, who are dedicated to elevating the event in the sim racing industry.
ABOUT PERFORMANCE RACING INDUSTRY
Performance Racing Industry fuels the passion for motorsports by building, promoting, and protecting the worldwide racing community. PRI supports the interests of racers, enthusiasts, builders, tracks, sanctioning bodies and businesses through legislative action and advocacy, its monthly business magazine Performance Racing Industry, and the world’s premier auto racing trade show, the PRI Trade Show. PRI also supports businesses by providing market research, education and best practices in motorsports business and racing technology. For more information, visit PerformanceRacing.com.
