As part of a racing lineage that includes a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, a National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member, a championship engine-builder, and numerous winners on racing’s highest levels, Karsyn Elledge carries with her a deep-rooted heritage nurtured by the inner-drive of two racing names—Earnhardt and Elledge.
Karsyn’s maternal grandfather, Dale Earnhardt, is the seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and winner of 76 races. Her paternal grandfather, Terry Elledge, built the motors that powered Earnhardt to many of those championships and victories. Now their granddaughter, Karsyn, enters her second season in the Mini Outlaw Series box stock division at Woodleaf (N.C.) Speedway and Millbridge (N.C.) Speedway, carrying on the family traditions of people long devoted to local North Carolina dirt-track racing.
In her first season, Karsyn Elledge earned three feature wins in nine starts in the No. 38 Mini Outlaw, and she never finished worse than third. She added four heat victories to her total, and she capped her inaugural season by placing second at the 2010 East Coast Nationals at the Iredell County Fairgrounds.
The daughter of JR Motorsports General Manager Kelley Earnhardt and NASCAR winning crew chief Jimmy Elledge, Karsyn’s 2011 season will put her behind the wheel of the No. 333 Mini Outlaw, which is maintained in her father’s shop in Mt. Ulla, N.C.
The No. 333 is part of a campaign to promote North Carolina House Bill 333, which would make stock car racing the official state sport of North Carolina. The sponsorship package is in conjunction with a partnership with Bulldawg Marketing of Mooresville, N.C.
Karsyn is currently in fifth grade. She enjoys basketball, singing and riding horses in her spare time.