Karting notebook: Avery Scott returns after accident, Kellys keep racing in family

QUINCY — Avery Scott may have been the biggest winner at the Grand Prix of Karting.

And it had nothing to do with winning a race.

The 20-year-old Quincyan survived a tumultuous crash early Sunday at South Park, an accident that red-flagged the event for a considerable period of time.

Scott returned to race later in the day.

“I’m OK,” she insisted about an hour after the crash. “I’m just a little sore and hurt, but I’ll be fine.”

Scott was repeatedly examined by medical personnel and eventually given the green light. The crash left members of her family, including her brother and fellow racer, Riley Scott, and her dad, Jeff Scott, emotionally drained.

“It was a tough day,” Jeff Scott said.

Avery explained what happened.

“I flipped and then got hit by a couple of karts,” she said. “I don’t know how many times I flipped, but I felt like (a number of) other karts hit me right in the head.”

The family that races together

Making their first trip to Quincy for the Grand Prix was the husband-wife team of Justin and Tiffany Kelly, who reside in Omaha, Neb.

Justin managed a runner-up finish in the powerful Pro Shifter Open class, while Tiffany wound up 12th. The shifter classes can reach close to, if not more than, 100 mph on the straightaways.

“This may have been the first husband-wife combination in the same race in the history of the Grand Prix,” said Jason Traeder, assistant director of the Grand Prix.

Rough race

Ethan Arndt of Austin, Texas, was quite honest after winning the Pro FK-100 finale over Riley Scott, Pete Vetter of Arnold, Mo., and Jeff Scott.

The four drivers were involved in a tight, back-and-forth battle at the front for most of the 12-lap race.

“That was a rough one,” Arndt said, “I had the snot scared out of me when I got passed.”

Hot? You call this hot?

South Park was quite warm all weekend, and was especially muggy on Sunday afternoon.

Not everyone, however, was uncomfortable with the high temperatures and humidity.

T.J. Halsema of Atlanta, Ga., was in town coordinating timing and scoring for the Grand Prix. Halsema assured the sultry conditions would be “no big deal” in Dixie.

All that and more

Grand Prix official and Ohio resident Randy Kugler may have summed up the event best:

“It’s a party, it’s a festival and it’s great racing,” Kugler said.

Racing month continues

One down, two to go.

The Grand Prix may now be history, but the unofficial Racing Month in Quincy continues this week with the Quincy Derby, formerly known as the Soap Box Derby.

The Quincy Optimist Club-sponsored event runs Friday and Saturday on the 18th Street Hill near Quintron Way and Bob Mays Park.

Concluding the local racing trifecta will be the June 22 UMP Summer Nationals Hell Tour date at Adams County Speedway when a field of the midwest’s finest super late models invades Quincy.