24 Teams Compete in Langdon Street Race, Church Group Takes $1,500

A team of four Madison men who connected through a church group won the Red Bull Chariot Race held Oct. 17 on Langdon Street, outpacing 23 other teams before a crowd exceeding 3,000 spectators. The team, named "Fast and Fatherly," collected $1,500 and 60 cases of Red Bull.

None of the four teammates were college students, a rarity in a field made up largely of University of Wisconsin-Madison enrollees. Three are new fathers, and the fourth calls himself a "hopefully-soon-to-be dad." Their entry was built to look like a crib and adorned with their children's toys. Sam Peterson competed with a baby carrier strapped to his chest, holding a doll. "This was so much harder than I thought it was going to be," Peterson said after the race. Teammate Micah Palmer, who dressed as a baby, said he wants their children to learn "that you can humiliate yourself and still have a good time." The three fathers said they plan to put the prize money toward a family vacation.

The race paired 24 teams into 12 head-to-head heats starting outside Memorial Union. Racers reached a turnaround at Lake Street, where they solved a Red Bull Puzzle, switched positions and ran back. Judges also scored chariot construction, creativity and a pre-race skit, and Red Bull gave each team $200 toward building costs. Aaron Colton, a Red Bull athlete and professional motorcycle stunt performer, said creativity accounted for more than half the judging. He called the puzzle "the great equalizer." Kayla Ruedebusch and Jay Wanserski, owner of Wando's and Jay's Bar, served as the other judges.

"The Eagle Has Landed" took second after a patriotic skit with a choreographed lift. Senior Joe Jaroski, a Wisconsin cheer team member who appeared as Uncle Sam, said he spent hours rehearsing the lift with fellow senior Erin Kelly. "Grouchiator Maximus" placed third, followed by "Minion Mayos," which brought roughly 30 supporters dressed as Minions. Red Bull awarded both runners-up sponsored events. Madison marked the fifth of nine stops on Red Bull's chariot race tour, which the company says runs mainly through college towns.