Purdue student wins car lease in soccer competition, but car dealership revokes contract due to formality

During Purdue's season opener against Indiana State, student Zachary Spangler won a kicking contest called “Kicks for Cash” and looked like he would be the proud owner of a two-year lease on a car.

However, it was not to be.

The contest, sponsored by nearby Rohrman Automotive, required competitors to shoot field goals of 20, 30 and 40 yards. Spangler completed the challenge but was informed last week that he would not receive the prize, a car with a two-year lease.

According to Purdue's student newspaper, The Exponent, Spangler said he received an email from the dealership saying the video of the duel had been reviewed and his 40-yard field goal was shot five-hundredths of a second too late. That's why Spangler didn't get the two-year contract, according to Bob Rohrman Honda operations manager Trey Rohrman.

In a video the dealer sent Spangler, four different angles show him kicking while a 30-second timer is running at the bottom of the screen. The video supposedly shows the holder putting the ball down with an estimated 1.5 seconds left on the timer, but Spangler didn't hit the ball until the clock hit zero.

In soccer at any level, a shot counts as long as it is taken before the clock hits zero.

“I've got a car here that runs perfectly,” Spangler told The Exponent. “I'm just more upset that I hit the 40-yard throw and they're saying I didn't do it because it came off my foot five-hundredths of a second too late.”