All four Sigma Alpha Epsilon riders held their hands over their heads. Looks of disappointment, sorrow and fatigue were etched across their faces.
Just behind them, Black Key Bulls celebrated on the infield overlooking the track with screams of joy as its fans cheered it on.
“It hurts,” SAE junior rider Lucas Lemme said postrace. “We put in a lot of fight and effort this race and leading up to it, but, man, I’m emotional right now. This loss hurts.”
SAE entered this year’s race with promise, looking to grab its third Little 500 victory after a sixth-place finish last year.
The group qualified in first place leading up to the race and senior Luke Naas, its star rider, finished first in Individual Time Trials on April 1. SAE also finished second in the overall Spring Series standings heading into race day, as well as finishing second in the Team Pursuit.
In the 74th men’s Little 500 on Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, SAE led the front of the pack for the first 110 laps of the race. In the end, it was Black Key Bulls who emerged victorious, securing back-to-back wins for the first time since CUTTERS did so in 2018 and 2019.
“We knew that we had to set a good tempo to start the race,” Luke said. “We thought that we started out a little too fast last year and the pressure got to us.”
But ultimately, in a similar fashion to last year, SAE ran out of gas down the stretch.
Last year, SAE held a monstrous 20-second lead heading into the 100th lap. However, Black Key Bulls overtook it on the 175th lap. Black Key Bulls pulled away while SAE faded.
SAE eventually finished in sixth-place behind CUTTERS, Delta Tau Delta, Chi Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
This year’s edition of the famed race followed the same script.
“We knew we had a deep and well-rounded group of riders,” SAE coach Bill Naas said. “We changed our plan to compensate for what happened last year when we got fatigued in the final 30 laps, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done.”
SAE started off hot once the green flag waved and pulled away by lap 40. It was involved in a major crash on lap 81 alongside Black Key Bulls, CUTTERS and other teams.
While SAE continued to hold its lead, Black Key Bulls caught up in the 115th lap.
Black Key Bulls were neck-and-neck with SAE from the beginning of the race, marking the first time it had caught SAE all race.
The two teams rode side-by-side for the next 35 laps. The lead kept changing, but the two were consistently within a second of each other.
Heading into the 150th lap, the teams were right next to each other. They both held an 11-second lead over CUTTERS, which was in third place.
But on the 160th lap, SAE made a change. It took out its best rider, Luke Naas, and replaced him with junior Rhett Skvarna, who was well-rested. The move was ultimately the difference in the race, as the Black Key Bulls opted not to make an exchange and instead rode with its momentum.
Because Black Key Bulls didn’t make a change for the next 10 laps, it held a slight advantage going into the first turn and then pulled away. By the time Black Key Bulls finally exchanged, it held a 30-second lead over SAE.
SAE could never catch up with Black Key Bulls, which extended its lead to more than a full lap by the 190th lap to effectively seal the victory.
SAE continued to stumble, as its once 16-second lead over the third-place CUTTERS disappeared quickly.
CUTTERS caught up to SAE in the 197th lap, but Luke did just enough. He crossed the finish line 1.1 seconds before CUTTERS to clinch second place. Still, the riders were devastated. Like Ricky Bobby, who was played by Will Ferrell, said in “Talladega Nights,” if you’re not first, you’re last.
“It hurts even more for me, personally, because I’m leaving these guys after this season,” Luke said. “I hope I made the team proud; it sucks that we couldn’t win this race the last two years.”
Looking ahead to 2026, SAE will be without Naas. However, they’ll return his brother, Matthew Naas, who’s a sophomore, along with Lemme and Skvarna.
“I loved being able to coach Luke, not just as a father but as a coach,” Bill said. “He was a pleasure to be around, and I’m crushed to let him go as a rider, but he did all he could for the team. I can’t wait to capitalize on the opportunity to compete again next year.”
