Purdue News

April 2, 1999 Former winners back for 42nd Purdue Grand Prix WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Two former winners who also are cousins will be among the 33 Purdue University students competing in the 42nd annual Purdue Grand Prix on Saturday, April 24. They are last year's winner, Kyle Smith of Frankfort, a senior in the Schools of Engineering, and the 1996 winner, Dustin Smith of Frankfort, a senior in the School of Management. The 50-mile, 160-lap go-kart race is billed as "The Greatest Spectacle in College Racing." Rookie orientation starts Saturday (4/3), and general practice begins Tuesday (4/6) on the kart track north of Ross-Ade Stadium. Qualifications will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 17, and 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, April 19 and 20. 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 on the starting grid will go to the top two finishers in each of three sprint races starting about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24. 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, or check out the Alumni Gala Week Web site. Race day activities will begin at 10 a.m. April 24, with a car show in the parking lot between Mackey Arena and Ross-Ade Stadium. The entry fee for those displaying vehicles is $10. Admission is free. The kart track will open at 10 a.m., and qualification sprints will run at 11:30 a.m., noon and 12:30 p.m. Between the sprints and the main race, Les Filles Prix, an annual bed race, will take place about 2 p.m. on the Grand Prix track. This year's bed race is supported by VonTobel Lumber, Lafayette. While the bed race is running on the track, a parade featuring Purdue head football coach Joe Tiller will leave Mackey Arena, go around Cary Quadrangle and finish at the kart track. Tiller led the Boilermakers to consecutive top 25 finishes and Alamo Bowl victories in 1997 and 1998. In his first season with Purdue, Tiller was named Big Ten coach of the year and national coach of the year by the Sporting News. There will be no Grand Prix carnival of amusement rides and midway attractions this year. Revenues that would have come from the carnival will be replaced by a portion of the concession sales from the football team scrimmage at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24. 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, Purdue Memorial Union. 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 20 scholarships totaling $10,000. The foundation receives support from Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. Source: Niki Mercer, Grand Prix Foundation president, (765) 494-2708; nmercer1@purdue.edu Writer: J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; mike_willis@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page