Fortunate chain of events leads to Engle winning first Quincy Grand Prix championship race

QUINCY — Skylar Engle thought his race had ended before it even began.

While racing in the Briggs Medium championship at the Quincy Grand Prix of Karting on Sunday, the chain on his kart broke, rendering him unable to continue.

“I was losing my mind,” Engle said. “I thought I was done for.”

Making matters worse, Engle had to scramble to get his kart ready for the Briggs Novice championship, which took place immediately after the Briggs Medium race.

“Luckily somebody gave me a chain and a chain breaker,” Engle said. “I threw it on and got out there.”

Having not posted a qualifying time, Engle started dead last in the five-kart field and battled the other four racers, as well as the rain that started about halfway through the race, to win his first ever title at the Quincy Grand Prix.

Engle, a Quincy native who began racing in the Grand Prix in 2024, felt some moisture well up in his eyes after he crossed the finish line.

“It’s been a dream since I was a kid,” Engle said.

Only the roar of the go-kart engines could muffle his excitement thereafter.

“I wish I was mic’d up,” Engle said. “I was screaming.”

Unlike most drivers at the Grand Prix, Engle has no sponsors to back him — only his family.

“If I didn’t have them backing me up, I wouldn’t be here,” Engle said. “There’s no way. They’re everything.”

Now his childhood dream has come true.

“I remember coming here as a kid and watching this and saying, ‘I’m going to do that one day,’ and here I am,” Engle said.