April 19, 2008

IUPUI student wins Purdue Grand Prix after wreck stalls race

Laski celebrates win
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Laski spent most of the race in first or second, behind junior Matt Bartolowits of Indianapolis, who was forced to leave the race under a black flag with less than 30 laps remaining.

"I don't know what happened there, but it's kind of a shame," Laski said. "I was hoping to battle it out with him."

The mechanical engineering technology major said that luck seemed to play a role in his win in the 160-lap, 50-mile Grand Prix race.

"All our hard work paid off," he said. "We didn't even have a kart together until 7 a.m. last Sunday. We qualified eighth on Monday and ran a great race. We kind of got lucky."

The race ended under a yellow flag lap run by only the top five competitors following a wreck in lap 159 that momentarily stalled the race. Lynsey Tilton, an IUPUI student from San Diego, Calif., was injured in the wreck. She was taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center, where she was being treated in the emergency room.

Josh Dailey, a junior from Lebanon, Ind., finished second. Dailey, who had mechanical problems in the last lap of last year's race, said he chose to play it safe after moving into second near the end of this year's competition.

"I just thought how I don't need to break anything," Dailey said. "I qualified third and finished second."

Racing action
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Last year's defending champion, Liz Lehmann, finished in third place. Lehmann, a senior from Ft. Wayne, Ind., said that while she would have liked to win again, she was pleased with the overall race.

"The 25 kart (Laski) was just extremely fast," Lehmann said. "He ran a smooth race, a clean race. You know people who race you fair, and he did. I just can't tell you how much fun I had out there."

Adam Berning, of Greenwood, Ind., came in fourth, while Travis Iles of Mt. Vernon, Ill., finished fifth.

The race began on schedule, but a rainy morning forced a shortened version of the traditional Grand Prix parade. The three preliminary heat races also were trimmed to 15 laps from 25 to ensure the race would start on time.

Official results of the 2008 Grand Prix will be released Monday (April 21), following a standard review by the race's scoring board.

This year's race was the last to be run on the university's track north of Ross-Ade Stadium. Originally built in 1968, the track is being eliminated to make way for the renovation and expansion of Mackey Arena. A new track is being built at the corner of McCormick Road and Cherry Lane.

The first race was run in 1958 on North Intramural Field and an adjacent parking lot. The fifth location, ready in 2009, will be near the new athletic fields at the northwest edge of campus. More details will be available on the Grand Prix Web site at https://www.purduegrandprix.org.

Christian J. Foster, first gentleman of Purdue, served as grand marshal of the 2008 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 Jessica Markstrom, a junior studying mathematics education from Northville, Mich., and Danielle Brannon, a junior studying political science from Livermore, Calif. 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 17 other students received scholarships ranging from $250-$750. The foundation awarded $10,000 in scholarships overall.

The foundation also receives support from Toyota Motor Corp., Coca-Cola, Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, WAZY 96.5, WLFF 95.3, WSHP 95.7, Purdue Memorial Union and ROCKSTAR energy drink.

Writer: Tanya Brown, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu

Sources:   Tracy Rinker, Grand Prix director of sales, (317) 403-6899, trinker@purdue.edu

Tracey Todd, Grand Prix director of promotions, (765) 438-2780, tstodd@purdue.edu

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

PHOTO CAPTION:
Jon Laski, an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis student in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program from Torrance, Calif., celebrates his victory Saturday (April 19) after the 51st Purdue Grand Prix. (Purdue News Service photo/Mike Willis)

A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2008/08grandprix1.jpg

PHOTO CAPTION:
The 2008 Purdue Grand Prix winner Jon Laski trails 2007 winner Liz Lehmann into a turn during Saturday's (April 19) 51st running of the race. Lehmann, a Purdue senior majoring in management from Fort Wayne, Ind., finished third. (Purdue News Service photo/Mike Willis)

A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2008/08grandprix2.jpg

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