Kaitrin Blaney is a junior in the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering with a passion for motorsports. We caught up with Kaitrin in the fall to chat with her about her role in the Purdue Grand Prix, and then followed up again as Grand Prix season came around. 

 

The 68th Purdue Grand Prix weekend started off strong for Kaitrin's #17 team, but the team ran into trouble early in the main event.

 

"Kart 17, driven by Wyatt Carter, placed 1st in our sprint race which got us a spot in the main event. We started at the back of the grid in 29th, and had an impressive start.

 

Unfortunately, on lap 11, we got pushed into the barriers at 30 mph and suffered a sheared steering column, bent tie rods, a broken rim, and an exploded tire. The team did not let this stop us, though. We negotiated a steering column from another team, replaced practically the whole front end, and spent a lot of time drilling and hammering everything back together.

 

We successfully sent kart 17 back out to finish the race, and ended up 20th.

 

The other kart in my club, the #27 driven by Carter Boles, started 19th and finished 12th with very few issues."