The team that won the 2011 American Le Mans Series Drivers’ and Team Championships was a bit different than most. In addition to engineers, mechanics, drivers and pit crew, Dyson Racing also retained the services of Dillon Brout, a college student.

Mr. Brout, 20, traffics in a vast universe of numbers that would make little sense to those working outside the realm of advanced physics. A student at Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Brout studies under Dr. Adam Riess, who shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with two other scientists.

In the lab, Mr. Brout learned to analyze the huge amount of data that enabled Dr. Riess to determine that the universe was expanding at a constantly accelerating rate. Last summer, he decided to apply his knowledge to a different kind of acceleration.

“I’ve been an auto racing fan for as long as I can remember,” said Mr. Brout in a telephone interview. “Before the summer break I sent a résumé to Dyson Racing. Rob Dyson interviewed me over the phone. We had a good chat, and he hired me.”

“I was a fly-in,” he continued. “They brought me in for each race. I was there when they arrived at each venue and would analyze data from the practice and qualifying sessions.”

Mr. Brout applied techniques he learned while researching the effect of dark energy on the universe. Combing a huge range of signals gathered from multiple racecar sensors, which measured engine, suspension and drivetrain variables, Mr. Brout analyzed their interrelationship and generated conclusions that could be analyzed in the pit and used to make adjustments to the racecar. The resulting calibrations improved on-track cornering speed, sector speed and top speed.

Of course, racing teams have long crunched numbers generated by on-board computer systems. According to Mr. Brout, however, team engineers usually don’t approach the task of analyzing the data from a more rigorous scientific perspective.

“I learned a lot about data analysis from Daniel Scolnic, a Johns Hopkins graduate student who is part of Dr. Riess’s team,” Mr. Brout said. “As I was working in the lab I couldn’t help but think that advanced analytic methods would be directly applicable to auto racing.”

Chris Dyson, vice president of Dyson Racing as well as a team driver, was impressed with Mr. Brout’s contributions.

“Dillon has been an exceptional addition to our team,” he said. “He brought with him some very clever ideas and applied his knowledge of mathematics and software to the parameters of auto racing. This was to the great benefit of our engineering team. I often kid Dillon and say racing is just like his physics lab — in hyper speed — but it really is just that. He’s such a well-rounded young man, and it’s been an absolute joy to work with him. We’re looking forward to doing more together in 2012.”

Mr. Brout noted that his work with Dyson was rewarding because the results were immediate. “In the lab, you take tiny steps, and it can be years before you see results,” he said. “At the racetrack, I was able to work in the same way but get immediate results.”

One result Mr. Brout didn’t get to enjoy was the celebration that followed the team’s final championship-season race on Oct. 1 at Road Atlanta. During the post-race parties, Mr. Brout was on a plane, heading back to school for a Monday morning class.

But he was soon part of another celebration, as the Nobel Prize announcement came the following day.

“That was quite a week,” he said.