Purdue Grand Prix
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The Purdue Grand Prix is a charity go-kart race held annually on Purdue University's West Lafayette, Indiana campus. The race is generally held around the same time as a similar event on the Indiana University Bloomington campus called the "Little 500" (Little 5),a bike race.
Residence Halls and Greek organizations help build and race go-karts to raise money for the Purdue Grand Prix Foundation, a non-profit organization that conducts the kart race and related events to fund student scholarships.
Although the fraternities are a major part of the Grand Prix (13 different fraternities participated in the 2003 event), the event is open to all members of the student body. The 50-mile, 160-lap race is billed as "The Greatest Spectacle in College Racing".
Qualifications are held on 3 separate days a few weeks before race day. Every kart goes 2 laps around the track, and the top 27 times are automatically placed in the field. All other karts are placed in 3 different sprint races, which are 25 laps long, that are held on Grand Prix morning. The top 2 finishers from each race fill the final 6 spots for the main race.
Following the sprint races are 2 alumni races. Older karts take part in the first 15-lap race; more modern karts take place in the 30-lap second race. The main feature is then held, following the pre-race festivities.
The 2007 Grand Prix was the 50th anniversary celebration. Dr. David Wolf, a Purdue graduate and astronaut, was the Grand Marshal for that year's race.
The 2008 Grand Prix will be the final race held on the current track located north of Ross-Ade Stadium, modeled after the World Grand Prix Championship Track in Japan, due to the Mackey Arena expansion project. Built in 1968, it was completed in time for the 11th running of Grand Prix. The new track will be located at the corner of McCormick Road and Cherry Lane, near the Northwest Sports Complex.
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[edit] Social Event
Though the actual race is held on a Saturday, much of the surrounding festivities begin the weekend before. The student body sees this as an excuse to throw big parties and, often, skip class. Fraternities hold this time particularly important, they will usually reserve a significant portion of their house's social fund for parties held during this week.
Grand Prix is also a large event for alumni who often will make a long weekend of the event. Starting as early as Wednesday, the already packed bars, the majority on Chauncey Hill, begin to spill over.
However, all this is a build up to the greatest part of the week, besides the race, of course, the return of Breakfast Club. Early Saturday morning the Chauncey bars re-open to hordes of costume clad students and alumni. Screwdrivers and other fruity alcohol drinks are served, often in large 20oz plastic cups. Patrons dress in costume, the more outrageous or inventive the better. People not in costume are usually the odd ones out.
[edit] Winners
- 1958: Fred Bartlett, Gregory Boman, Ronald Moffett, James Moneyhun, & Kenneth Shull
- 1959: Dick Clayton, John Alexander, Robert Elsperman, John Jeffers, Tom Ross
- 1960: John Mullaly
- 1961: Tom Ellis
- 1962: John Mickley, Bert Rosendahl, Bob Whiting, Jerry Williams, Tom Williams
- 1963: Edward McDonald
- 1964: Robert Booty
- 1965: Jim Feutsal
- 1966: George Taylor
- 1967: Al Brittingham
- 1968: Al Brittingham
- 1969: Gary Van der Heide
- 1970: James Fry
- 1971: George Kozak
- 1972: Mike Goodson
- 1973: Charles Workman, Jr.
- 1974: Wayne Gerhart
- 1975: Mike Brennan
- 1976: Chuck Sprague
- 1977: Dave Jones
- 1978: Robert Keagy
- 1979: Dave Fleek
- 1980: Brian Grant
- 1981: David Fuhrman
- 1982: John Brenan
- 1983: John Shumaker
- 1984: Curtis Chariton
- 1985: Doug Wright
- 1986: Bob Pitzer
- 1987: Dave Skelton
- 1988: Steve Daughtery
- 1989: Tom Smith
- 1990: Doug Hodgdon
- 1991: Doug Hodgdon
- 1992: Brian Berrisford
- 1993: Ian Smith
- 1994: Ian Smith
- 1995: Ian Smith
- 1996: Dustin Smith
- 1997: Joe Troyer
- 1998: Kyle Smith
- 1999: Tom Gray
- 2000: James Weida
- 2001: Tom Gray
- 2002: Timothy O'Brien
- 2003: Timothy O'Brien
- 2004: Clayton Smith
- 2005: Timothy O'Brien
- 2006: Clayton Smith
- 2007: Liz Lehmann
- 2008: Jon Laski
[edit] History
- Ian Smith is the only driver to win the Grand Prix in 3 consecutive years. He and Timothy O'Brien are the only drivers to win the race 3 times.
- The Smith family has won a combined 8 Grand Prix races.
- Liz Lehmann is the first female driver to ever win the Grand Prix. The 2007 race, held on April 21, was her third try. She finished 4th in 2006; in 2007 she was in the top 5 the entire race.
- Before Liz's victory, the last 5 Grand Prix's had been won by only 2 drivers.
