TULSA, Okla. – Karsyn Elledge will join Dave Mac Motorsports to contest the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals next month, completing the Bixby, Okla., squad’s four-driver lineup for the crown jewel event.
Elledge, 19, will pilot one of the Dave McIntosh-owned team’s Toyota-powered midgets during the biggest midget-car event in the country, Jan. 13-18 inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla.
She’ll be looking to improve on her debut Chili Bowl appearance from this season, where she made it to the G-main on championship Saturday before being knocked out of the alphabet soup.
Elledge, who drove full time in the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series this season for Tucker-Boat Motorsports, told SPEED SPORT Wednesday by phone that the deal with Dave Mac Motorsports actually came together rather quickly for her.
“I think it was probably Sunday night or Monday that Cannon (McIntosh) texted me and asked what my plans were for Chili Bowl,” Elledge recalled. “And I told him, you know, that I wasn’t super sure yet … that I wanted to race, but that I just wasn’t sure if there was anything out there that I could drive. But he goes, ‘well, we have our fourth car left and we’d love for you to drive it if we can put a deal together.’ So the next day I talked to Cody (Cordell, crew chief) a little bit and then from then I went to work.
“I emailed a couple of sponsors from last year to see if they were still interested or what they had going on for the year, and got a response back from one of my partners who was really eager to do something, and now three short days later we’re running the Chili Bowl,” she added. “It’s a really cool deal and I’m very grateful to Dave and Cody, the whole McIntosh family for having faith in me to bring me onboard.”
The partner Elledge referenced is iRacing.com, which will serve as the primary sponsor of her midget entry at the Chili Bowl after previously backing her at Tucker-Boat Motorsports for several races during the 2019 season.
Elledge is excited to represent the simulation service once again as she gears up for her second Chili Bowl attempt.
“We had iRacing on with us this past year for Kokomo and Granite City, and it’s just awesome to represent them because of what iRacing has done within my family,” she said. “Dale (Earnhardt Jr., Elledge’s uncle) just helped them with the North Wilkesboro project and obviously has been big in it since the beginning; my brother’s super into it now, my uncle Jonathan does it … and you know Steve is just a really, really great person and just loves racing and loves my family.
“It’s kind of the perfect recipe. Steve was, was really excited for it and I’m really excited and thankful to be representing their colors and their brand.”
From the owner’s side, Dave McIntosh is looking forward to having a driver of Elledge’s recognition and speed as a part of his team for the Mecca of Midget Racing, feeling she will help elevate his entire team.
“To bring Karsyn on is a big deal for us,” McIntosh told SPEED SPORT. “It really solidifies what we’ve been working toward, not just with Cannon, but just the brand itself. Cannon has a dream to race professionally, but I have dreams also as a car owner with this operation. Just to know that we can bring the caliber of drivers and talent that we can to the Chili Bowl, I think that that goes to show the direction our team’s gone and really what now that we’re capable of doing with it.
“I’ve watched her all year, and she’s had some bad breaks, but man, you talk about speed and she’s got it,” added McIntosh of Elledge. “She will get it around a race track, and that excites me at a place like the Chili Bowl.”
After a rough-and-tumble season that never quite went according to plan for Elledge, she’s hoping to bounce back in a one-off opportunity on the biggest stage that midget racing has to offer.
She’s just not thinking of it as a big stage, at least in her mind.
“I’m excited to go there (to Tulsa) with the least amount of pressure as possible, just because it is for right now just one race, even if it is the Chili Bowl,” Elledge said. “I have a really positive mindset going into this and it seems like everybody else on the team does as well.
“From here, I’m just excited to see where we can end up and what we can make of the opportunity.”
Alongside Elledge in the Dave Mac Motorsports stable will be Michael Faccinto, Joe B. Miller and Jace McIntosh, who were announced to their seats with the team on Monday.
SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!
