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Although Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge didn't know her late grandfather, Dale Earnhardt the seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion, she's intent in following in his tire tracks.
“I didn't get to meet him, but I know that it makes my mom and my dad proud that I run this number,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “I've only heard how great it was with this number and this legacy and I am excited to carry it on.”
The 12 year old niece of NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race a 250cc mini Outlaw sprint car in the western United States in 12 races with sponsorship of the Nickelodeon children's cable television network.
And, in a tribute to her late grandfather, her car will carry the No. 3 which is synonymous with the Hall of Famer.
“This is huge. It is a really neat deal and it's a neat day. None of this was planned, none of this was scripted but here we are today with her standing in victory lane by something that is 50 horsepower.”
The Mini Outlaw Sprint cars weigh about 450 pounds.
Her father, Jimmy Elledge, is a former Sprint Cup crew chief who worked on cars driven by A.J. Allmendinger at the defunct Red Bull Racing team and on Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team from 2003-2008.
“It's been really easy for her from the start. She hasn't had to have a lot of guidance or direction," her father Elledge said.
"She won the first three races she ever drove, so the fourth race was really hard because she lost. So I felt like it was safe because of the full containment seats and the wings, and I thought it was going to be able to teach her a lot of life lessons about sportsmanship and competing and life in general."
Earnhardt Elledge has a pretty good resume for success on the track winning most of her races in mini sprint cars at Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina, where she leads the points standings in her division.
As the say in racing the youngster is aware of the bloodlines running in her veins. But, other than that, Earnhardt Elledge is also hoping to follow in the footsteps of another famous female driver. “I am a very big Danica Patrick fan,” she said. “She's like my idol, because she's a girl and she races and she shows that girls can do it, too.”
And Karsyn has spent time with Patrick doing television interviews.
“She always asks me how my racing is going and wishes me luck and it's different every time we talk,” she said. “It's just always fun when I talk to her, because I'm talking to Danica Patrick. What's better?”
“I didn't get to meet him, but I know that it makes my mom and my dad proud that I run this number,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “I've only heard how great it was with this number and this legacy and I am excited to carry it on.”
The 12 year old niece of NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race a 250cc mini Outlaw sprint car in the western United States in 12 races with sponsorship of the Nickelodeon children's cable television network.
 |
| Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge (Photo: HHP/Harold Hinson) |
And, in a tribute to her late grandfather, her car will carry the No. 3 which is synonymous with the Hall of Famer.
“This is huge. It is a really neat deal and it's a neat day. None of this was planned, none of this was scripted but here we are today with her standing in victory lane by something that is 50 horsepower.”
The Mini Outlaw Sprint cars weigh about 450 pounds.
Her father, Jimmy Elledge, is a former Sprint Cup crew chief who worked on cars driven by A.J. Allmendinger at the defunct Red Bull Racing team and on Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team from 2003-2008.
 |
| Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge (Photo: HHP/Harold Hinson) |
“It's been really easy for her from the start. She hasn't had to have a lot of guidance or direction," her father Elledge said.
"She won the first three races she ever drove, so the fourth race was really hard because she lost. So I felt like it was safe because of the full containment seats and the wings, and I thought it was going to be able to teach her a lot of life lessons about sportsmanship and competing and life in general."
 |
| Karsyn Earnhardt Elledge (Photo: HHP/Harold Hinson) |
Earnhardt Elledge has a pretty good resume for success on the track winning most of her races in mini sprint cars at Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina, where she leads the points standings in her division.
As the say in racing the youngster is aware of the bloodlines running in her veins. But, other than that, Earnhardt Elledge is also hoping to follow in the footsteps of another famous female driver. “I am a very big Danica Patrick fan,” she said. “She's like my idol, because she's a girl and she races and she shows that girls can do it, too.”
And Karsyn has spent time with Patrick doing television interviews.
“She always asks me how my racing is going and wishes me luck and it's different every time we talk,” she said. “It's just always fun when I talk to her, because I'm talking to Danica Patrick. What's better?”