15th annual Mini Indy zooms to the finish line
ST. GEORGE – SkyWest's 15th annual Mini Indy go-kart race revved its engines to raise money for charity on Friday at the old St. George airport.
The American flag arrived via skydiver around 9:45 a.m., and the race started at 10 a.m..
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's Mobil 1 car kicked off the first heat.
Thirty-one teams with custom karts, speedy pit crews and eager drivers zoomed around the "Ridgetop Raceway" for a few hours.
The overall and heat winners received trophies. Prizes were also given out for "best paint job," "fastest pit crew," and more.
"We have vendors that represent essentially every part of what it takes to manufacture and maintain an airplane at this event," SkyWest Chief Operating Officer Mike Thompson said. "We have people come from as far away as Brazil and as close as the City of St. George to help support this event."
"The fun thing is that you get to meet other people, because the city has a lot of employees and each of us is from a different department," said Switchpoint Director Carol Hollowell, who drove for St. George's team in the second heat.
SkyWest entered three teams comprised of employees, who are nominated by their peers to participate.
"They won't turn down that opportunity," Thompson said. "They take it very seriously."
Shane Henderson, part of the pit crew for SkyWest 72, was attending Mini Indy for the first time.
"It's way bigger than I imagined," he said. "The scale of the event is probably what surprised me the most."
Since 2000, the Mini Indy has raised nearly $1 million for United Way Dixie.
Funds are distributed to 17 different nonprofits throughout Washington County.
Follow Alexa V. Morgan on Twitter,@alexavmorgan, and on Facebook atfacebook.com/alexasoutah.
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