Friday, May 23, 2025
Concordia Junior/Senior High School (CJSHS) selected Kaide Gropp as the April Student of the Month.
The son of Lance and Lisa Gropp, Kaide is a multi-sport athlete who participates in football, track, and powerlifting. "I like all the sports, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be track," Kaide said.
When Kaide talks about his favorite hobby - which is really no hobby at all - his face really lights up. "I love racing," he said. "My whole family has been in it for a long time. My sister races, too. It's been a big part of my life."
Kaide has been around the local racing scene since he was young, and he began driving a race car in 2022, his freshman year in high school. "There's nothing like it," he said. "The adrenaline rush is hard to describe. Everything happens so fast. It's a thrill, really."
Kaide quickly found success, winning a race in his cruiser car, and then winning his first stock car race in Beloit last year. But, racing is racing, which means cars speeding around a track at high speed, which translates to danger. It only takes a split second for something to go wrong.
"I was racing in McCool Junction (Nebraska), and I got put into the wall, and then two more cars hit me," Kaide said. "You can see the cars coming; you know you're going to get hit hard, and that can be a little scary. It's not a good feeling. But I was lucky. I was sore for a couple days, but that was about it."
Racing is very competitive, and some racers take it too far. "Yeah, there's dirty racers. I went up against a guy last year. He'd use your car to turn you or move you out of the way. If you passed him, then he'd try to wreck you. But I beat him in points, so that's all that matters."
If you wreck a car or tear it up, you have to fix it. "Oh yeah, I've learned a lot about mechanics," Kaide said. "I don't think some people realize just how important the pit crew is to a racer. I wouldn't be out there if it wasn't for them. They work on the car all week. If you tear it up in a race, you put in a lot of hours the next week getting it ready for the next race. You're not fast unless your car is fast."
After he graduates from CJSHS, Kaide plans to attend Kansas State University to study architectural engineering and then work as an engineer. When he looks to the future he sees himself back in the Concordia area. "I hope I'm with my family and traveling a lot for work. And, of course, I hope I'm still racing."
Kaide wanted to thank his parents for all their support over the years. "They've done everything they could to make sure me and my sister had what we needed. They've always been so supportive and always let us be our own person. I can't tell you how much that meant to me."
We had one final question for Kaide: Who's the better racer, he or his sister? His answer was immediate: "Oh, me, definitely," he replied, then added with a grin, "And she knows it."
