Chi Are Purdue Grand Prix Race 68 Champions!

This past Saturday we competed in the 68th running of the Purdue Grand Prix. We have been preparing hard since the 1-2 finish last year and wanted to build upon the success from the previous year.

Through practice, we were immediately the karts to beat, with both Aidan and I running extremely competitive times. At the end of the practices, we were sitting in 1st and 2nd in terms of overall lap time. Unfortunately, qualifying was rained out and we were unable to improve on our times. However, this meant that we would be starting the race from the front row of the grid. 

As for the race itself, we came out swinging and had a great start. Aidan got through to the lead and I sat in second. We began running away from the field over the course of the first 20 laps and looked poised to repeat the result from last year. Unfortunately, Aidan ran into some issues with lapped traffic which took him out of contention and ultimately forced him to retire early while still running in the top 3. I was able to slip through to the lead again and never looked back, leading the rest of the laps and finishing with a commanding 12 second margin to second place. The race was a long and challenging affair, but I was able to keep my nose clean and cut my way through the traffic to see the checkered flag first. I could not be more proud of the entire team and house for the efforts these past two years and can't wait to watch the race next year as a spectator and see Chi hopefully continue the success.  

At the awards banquet, we took home 6 trophies and awards - bringing the total up to 12 in the last 2 years. 

1. 1st place trophy
2. Thomas L. Green award for the champion
3. Fastest qualifier 
4. Most laps led 
5. Mechanical Achievement award
6. 1/1 Brick from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the champion 

None of this would be possible without the continued support and encouragement from all of you, and we could not be more thankful for the opportunity to bring glory to Chi.  

Here is a link to a google drive with a selection of photos from this past weekend. 

 
AEKDB