Purdue News
Purdue News
Practice started April 1 on the kart track north of Ross-Ade Stadium for the 50 kart drivers who hope to qualify for the race. Qualification trials will be from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19, and 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 21. The fastest driver on the first day of qualifications will sit on the pole.
Twenty-seven of the 33 starting positions will be set during qualifications. The final six spots will go to the top two finishers in each of three sprint races starting about 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26. The featured event will begin about 2:30 p.m. the same day.
Gala Week, an annual celebration for reunion classes sponsored by the Purdue Alumni Association, also will be conducted at Purdue during the Grand Prix Weekend. Events include receptions, lunches and banquets for specific classes and at most schools. For more information about Gala Week activities, contact Nikki Horner, associate director, Purdue Alumni Association, (765) 494-5175.
This year's kart race is expecting the return of last year's winner, Dustin Smith, Frankfort , a sophomore in the School of Management, and last year's pole sitter, Kyle Smith, Frankfort , a sophomore in the Schools of Engineering
Lyn St. James, 1992 Indianapolis 500 "Rookie of the Year," will be the grand marshal for Grand Prix activities April 26. St. James drove for Team Scandia in the Indy Racing League last season and finished 12th in the points standing. This season she has started her own team, and she plans to compete in her sixth Indianapolis 500.
St. James has set 31 national and international speed records over her 20-year career in auto racing. She is the first woman to win a professional road race driving solo and is the first woman to drive faster than 200 mph on an oval track.
St. James is involved in creating more opportunities for women in professional sports as well as building self-esteem and confidence in girls through leadership development. From 1990 to 1993, she was president of the Women's Sports Foundation, the internationally recognized organization founded by professional women athletes to provide opportunities and support for women in sports through scholarships, education, grants and awards. She continues to serve on the foundation's board of stewards.
Off the track, St. James has been a commentator for the ABC, ESPN and Showtime television networks. She is the author of the "Lyn St. James Car Owner's Manual" and has served as a consumer adviser and spokeswoman for Ford Motor Co. since 1981. St. James is also chairwoman of the advisory board for the Colorado Silver Bullets, the first all-women baseball team in the North American Professional Baseball League.
As part of the 40th anniversary, the Grand Prix Foundation is sponsoring an alumni race scheduled to start about 1:20 p.m. Saturday, April 26. Ian Smith of Frankfort , the race's only three-time winner, will pace the alumni race and the main feature.
Between the sprints and the main race, Les Filles Prix, an annual bed race, will take place about 1:40 p.m. on the Grand Prix track.
Old Gold Student Ambassadors will preside over the Grand Prix events. They are Jill M. Hossenlopp, Kokomo , a junior majoring in public relations, and Edwin A. Williams, Fresno, Calif. , a junior majoring in aeronautics and astronautics.
The Grand Prix Carnival featuring Poor Jack's Amusements in the Ross-Ade Stadium parking lot will be open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. April 23 and 24; 5:30 p.m. to midnight April 25; and 11 a.m. to midnight April 26.
Race-day events will require admission to the Grand Prix track. Tickets cost $5 in advance and $6 at the gate. Grand Prix Foundation members are selling advance tickets in Room 262 of the Purdue Memorial Union, outside the Class of 1950 Lecture Hall, outside Lilly Hall and on the Engineering Mall.
The Purdue Grand Prix Foundation is a student-run, nonprofit organization that conducts the kart race and related events to raise money for student scholarships. This year the foundation awarded 27 scholarships totaling $14,000. The foundation receives support from Ford Motor Co. and Procter & Gamble Co.
Source: Aaron Whitesel, Grand Prix promotion director, (765) 494-2708
Writer: J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
