IUPUI teams win top honors at 53rd annual Purdue Grand Prix
IUPUI junior Justin Penix navigates around the course on his way to a win in Saturday's 53rd annual Purdue Grand Prix. Blake Deister, an IUPUI sophomore came in second, and John Floor, a Purdue freshman, finished in third. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Justin Penix and Blake Deister of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis took the first and second positions in Saturday's (April 24) 53rd annual Purdue Grand Prix.
John Floor, a Purdue freshman majoring in prepharmacy from Westville, Ind., came in third while Gordon Brooks, a Purdue senior majoring in industrial technology from Indianapolis, was fourth.
Penix, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering technology from Indianapolis, led 139 laps of the 160-lap race to take the checkered flag. He briefly fell behind Deister, who took the lead in lap 86 and held his ground for about another 20 laps. This is the second Grand Prix for Penix and his first win.
"It's unbelievable," he said. "I can't put it into words. It's a true team effort. Everyone did an extraordinary job."
Drivers pass under the bridge as the green flag waves to start the 53rd annual Purdue Grand Prix on Saturday (April 24). (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
Deister, a sophomore majoring in computer science from Mooresville, Ind., said it felt "pretty good" to hold on for second. He offered his advice for future racers.
"Preparation is a really big thing. See that your kart is prepared, and you also need a lot of practice."
Official results of the 2010 Grand Prix will be released Monday (April 26) following a standard review by the race's scoring board.
Martin Plowman, an English racer currently competing in the Firestone Indy Lights series, was the grand marshal for the 2010 Grand Prix, which is organized each year by the Purdue Grand Prix Foundation. The foundation is a student-run, non-profit organization that conducts the kart race and related events each year to raise money for student scholarships.
Grand Prix Ambassadors presided over race-related events. They were Danny Runyon of Downers Grove, Ill., who's majoring in management, and Taylor Raasch of Danville, Ind., who is majoring in professional flight technology and aerospace studies.
Marissa Nakajima of the SWE team crashes hard into other karts that were involved in an accident in turn one during Saturday's 53rd annual Purdue Grand Prix. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
Among their duties, ambassadors serve as spokespeople for the Grand Prix Foundation and encourage race support and business sponsorship. The ambassadors each received a $1,000 scholarship from the foundation. Fourteen other students received scholarships ranging from $250-$750.
The foundation also receives money from Toyota Motor Corp., Coca-Cola, Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, WAZY 96.5, WLFF 95.3, WSHP 95.7, Purdue Memorial Union, Bosch, Lockheed Martin, Monster Energy and Army ROTC.
Writer: Soumitro Sen, 765-496-9711, ssen@purdue.edu
Source: Drew McCully, dmcculle@gmail.com
Note to Journalists: B-roll, sound bites and a package will be available for download and use from ftp://news69.uns.purdue.edu/Public/GrandPrix53. For more information, contact Jim Schenke, Purdue News Service, at 765-413-4516, 765-494-6262, 765-463-3311 or jschenke@purdue.edu
