April 22, 2006

Smith wins second Grand Prix, carries on family tradition

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Clayton Smith won his second Purdue Grand Prix kart race today (Saturday, April 22) at the university's kart track north of Ross-Ade Stadium, carrying on a family racing tradition at Purdue that goes back nearly 20 years.

Clayton Smith celebrates win
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Smith, a senior majoring in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Frankfort, Ind., came in as the pole sitter for the 49th annual event and dominated the race. Even though Smith previously won the race in 2004, he said he never took winning this year's race for granted.

"It was a hard race to win," Smith said. "It wasn't over for me until the checkered flag. Last year was a little rough, and this will be the last year for the Smiths for a while, so it feels good to go out with a bang."

Last year, Smith started on the pole and led most of the race before being forced to withdraw with about 50 laps remaining because of mechanical difficulties.

Smith said he credits his whole family — which includes brothers, Ian and Dustin, uncle Tom, and cousin Kyle, all previous Grand Prix winners — with the victory. Ian won in 1993, 1994 and 1995; Dustin won in 1996; Kyle won in 1998; and Tom won in 1989.

"We spent a lot of late nights working on this, so it's great to bring it home," Clayton Smith said.

Brian Mudd, a senior majoring in industrial distribution from Pendleton, Ind., came in second. Mark Komosinski, a junior majoring in industrial technology from Greensburg, Pa., placed third. Placing fourth and fifth, respectively, were Fort Wayne, Ind., natives Liz Lehmann, a sophomore management major, and Steve McBride, a junior majoring in building construction management.

Daniel Parras, a senior majoring in construction engineering and management from San Salvador, El Salvador, was in second place for much of the race before running off the course with about 20 laps remaining in the 160-lap, 50-mile race.

Complete and official results of the 2006 Grand Prix will be released Monday (April 24), following a standard review by the race's scoring board.

Thomas B. Robinson, Purdue's vice president of student services, served as grand marshal of the 2006 Grand Prix, which is organized each year by the 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 Student Ambassadors presided over race-related events. They are Joseph Camp, a junior studying social studies education from Grand Rapids, Mich., and Brad McKinney, a senior studying agricultural sales and marketing and English from Indianapolis. Ambassadors serve as spokespeople for the foundation, encouraging race support and business sponsorship, and also perform other duties. The ambassadors each received a $1,000 scholarship from the Purdue Grand Prix Foundation, and nineteen other students received scholarships ranging from $250 to $750.

The foundation also receives support from Toyota Motor Corp., Coca-Cola, Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, and radio stations WAZY 96.5, WLFF 95.3 and WSHP 95.7.

The first Grand Prix kart race, featuring cars that were made from scratch and powered by lawnmower engines, ran in 1958 and took place on an intramural field and adjacent parking lot near what is now the Recreational Sports Center. The race also was run for a time on the Engineering Mall before moving to the current track location in 1969.

Sources: Tim Birky, Grand Prix president, (765) 494-7771, tbirky@purdue.edu

Andy Fordice, productions director, ajfordic@purdue.edu

Jason Keese, special events director, jkeese@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2006/grandprix06-winner.jpg

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