Shelby is 9 years old and races her Jr Dragster in the Rookie category. Her rail is named "Just a Wild Hare" and it moves like one too!
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This was written by Mike Eames with the Ogden Standard Examiner in his BLOG. Mike is also a track announcer at RMR.
Friday night, 10-year-old Shelby Schoenfeld of Magna proved to me that she is toughest kid I know.
Shelby competes at Rocky Mountain Raceways in her Junior Dragster in the “Minor” category. Her big brother Austin also competes with his Junior Dragster in the same class.
Her dad Matt? Racer.
Mom MarDee? Always on the starting line.
Uncle Steve? Racer.
The patriarch of the Schoenfeld racing family is Shelby ’s grandfather, Sonny. Sonny Schoenfeld is one of the legendary racers from this area. If I had to bet, I’d wager that Sonny has easily made over 5,000 passes through the quarter-mile in his lengthy career. At 82 years old, Sonny was behind the wheel of his dragster just last year.
Racing is what this family does together.
About 15 years ago, the NHRA decided that it made a ton of sense to build its future by allowing youngsters to compete on the same tracks as the big boys. Kids between the ages of 8-17 can compete in a “Junior” Dragster. The racers compete in a 1/8-mile race instead of the traditional ¼-mile.
These dragsters are rear-engine, short wheelbase replicas of a normal dragster that competes in races throughout the country. All the safety measures are the same. Junior competitors all must wear fire suits, helmets, arm restraints, gloves, and neck collars.
The engines are based on a 5-horsepower Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engine. Don’t be fooled. These engines can propel the young racer to speeds up to 85 miles per hour in just a 1/8 mile. Those numbers outperform most any car found on the street.
At RMR, three classes of juniors are raced: Rookie, Minor, and Major. The rookies are 8-9 years old and can only travel the 1/8 mile in 12.90 seconds. The minors are 10-12 years old and get to go 8.90 seconds. The majors get to go 7.90 seconds and are 13-17 years old.
Shelby Schoenfeld spent the last two seasons racing in the rookie class. Friday night was Shelby ’s debut in the minor class. During her first time trial, Shelby was in the left lane. After she drove her car past the finish line, her dragster made a violent move to the right. The dragster spun like a top at least twice upright on all four wheels, only to flip and barrel roll a couple of times before finishing on its side.
Emergency personnel were on the scene instantly.
Shelby competes at Rocky Mountain Raceways in her Junior Dragster in the “Minor” category. Her big brother Austin also competes with his Junior Dragster in the same class.
Her dad Matt? Racer.
Mom MarDee? Always on the starting line.
Uncle Steve? Racer.
The patriarch of the Schoenfeld racing family is Shelby ’s grandfather, Sonny. Sonny Schoenfeld is one of the legendary racers from this area. If I had to bet, I’d wager that Sonny has easily made over 5,000 passes through the quarter-mile in his lengthy career. At 82 years old, Sonny was behind the wheel of his dragster just last year.
Racing is what this family does together.
About 15 years ago, the NHRA decided that it made a ton of sense to build its future by allowing youngsters to compete on the same tracks as the big boys. Kids between the ages of 8-17 can compete in a “Junior” Dragster. The racers compete in a 1/8-mile race instead of the traditional ¼-mile.
These dragsters are rear-engine, short wheelbase replicas of a normal dragster that competes in races throughout the country. All the safety measures are the same. Junior competitors all must wear fire suits, helmets, arm restraints, gloves, and neck collars.
The engines are based on a 5-horsepower Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engine. Don’t be fooled. These engines can propel the young racer to speeds up to 85 miles per hour in just a 1/8 mile. Those numbers outperform most any car found on the street.
At RMR, three classes of juniors are raced: Rookie, Minor, and Major. The rookies are 8-9 years old and can only travel the 1/8 mile in 12.90 seconds. The minors are 10-12 years old and get to go 8.90 seconds. The majors get to go 7.90 seconds and are 13-17 years old.
Shelby Schoenfeld spent the last two seasons racing in the rookie class. Friday night was Shelby ’s debut in the minor class. During her first time trial, Shelby was in the left lane. After she drove her car past the finish line, her dragster made a violent move to the right. The dragster spun like a top at least twice upright on all four wheels, only to flip and barrel roll a couple of times before finishing on its side.
Emergency personnel were on the scene instantly.
From my vantage point in the tower, it was quite scary. Within moments, little Shelby emerged from her car, no worse for wear. She was very embarrassed about wrecking her car in her first race. Most kids, and understandably so, would have been done racing for a while.
Not Shelby . She comes from a racing family.
Shelby ’s old junior dragster still sat in the trailer. Shelby knew that there was one more time trial session before eliminations started. Semi-reluctantly, her dad Matt agreed. Shelby came back for the second session in her old car. She had a reaction time of .002 (just two thousandths of a second away from perfect) and qualified No. 1 (the junior classes all qualify based on reaction time).
She took that momentum with her through four rounds of tough racing only to get beat in the final round. Shelby went from crashing her car, to No. 1 qualifier, to the final round in the span of a few hours.
We have an outstanding group of racers that compete in all junior categories at RMR. These young men and women are good students and good sportsmen. Racing in this area has a very bright future.
My favorite part of the juniors? After each race, the parents will shake hands behind the starting line. It’s something that you just don’t see in most sporting events.
Not Shelby . She comes from a racing family.
Shelby ’s old junior dragster still sat in the trailer. Shelby knew that there was one more time trial session before eliminations started. Semi-reluctantly, her dad Matt agreed. Shelby came back for the second session in her old car. She had a reaction time of .002 (just two thousandths of a second away from perfect) and qualified No. 1 (the junior classes all qualify based on reaction time).
She took that momentum with her through four rounds of tough racing only to get beat in the final round. Shelby went from crashing her car, to No. 1 qualifier, to the final round in the span of a few hours.
We have an outstanding group of racers that compete in all junior categories at RMR. These young men and women are good students and good sportsmen. Racing in this area has a very bright future.
My favorite part of the juniors? After each race, the parents will shake hands behind the starting line. It’s something that you just don’t see in most sporting events.