MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Barely two weeks after scoring her first premier class win at Millbridge Speedway, Karsyn Elledge will take another step up in her racing career.
Elledge will make her national midget debut for Tucker-Boat Motorsports as part of Friday night’s POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League event at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo.
The race will mark continued progress for Elledge, the granddaughter of Dale Earnhardt and a graduate of the outlaw kart ranks, thanks to support from her father Jimmy – the owner of Factory QRC Karts.
Elledge will pilot the No. 83 Toyota midget for the Tucker-Boat team with sponsor support from Pristine Auctions, a long-time backer of team principal Chad Boat.
“I had talked to Chad (Boat) at the end of last year and was trying to put something together to run at the Chili Bowl, and that I guess put me in Chad’s brain when his sponsor Pristine Auctions came to him with the idea of putting a deal together,” said Karsyn Elledge. “They were willing to come onboard, Chad came to my dad and I and before I knew it, there was a midget in his shop with my name on it.
“It’s a good spot for me to be in, I feel like,” she continued. “Chad and the guys have really nice stuff and I know I’ll be in good hands with good equipment. I can’t wait to get started.”
Elledge will run a total of seven races for Tucker-Boat Motorsports this season, including a Midwest doubleheader June 30-July 1 at Macon and Lincoln Speedways in Illinois.
She’ll then take roughly two months off before returning to action in September for a two-day weekend at Lake Ozark Speedway, followed by events at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway and Belle-Clair (Ill.) Speedway to close out her planned midget schedule for the year.
All seven races are part of the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League calendar.
Elledge got the opportunity to test a midget at Belle-Clair’s fifth-mile last year, but has not yet competed in race conditions with the higher-powered cars.
She’ll get the opportunity to do so this weekend as part of a month-long stretch where she’ll also graduate from high school.
“I know I’ve been complaining about being busy and not having time to do much at home, but at least I’ll be traveling for something I really love to do,” said Elledge. “Having to go to work is like, ‘Oh boy, one more thing to do,’ but having a midget ride has me amped up and ready to go.
“This is something we’ve been talking about and working on for a couple of months now, and it finally all came together over the last month. It’s definitely a good kind of busy that I’m going through right now, with getting ready to graduate high school and getting all my college plans together as well. I’m excited.”
