Yahoo Sports In first race since 2020, Karsyn Elledge eager to turn in solid performance at the Chili Bowl
When Karsyn Elledge departed the 2020 Chili Bowl, she had no idea her next race would not be for another three years.
A lot has changed in Elledge‘s life since that day, but the daughter of Kelley Earnhardt Miller is eager to shake off the rust and continue her family‘s storied racing tradition in the 2023 Chili Bowl. She will drive a car fielded by Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports.
Despite being out of racing for an extended period, Elledge finds herself composed as she makes final preparations for a long and grueling week in the most prestigious event in dirt midget competition.
“The nerves haven‘t really gotten to me too much,” Elledge said. “Everyone has asked me how I‘m feeling about [the Chili Bowl], and I‘m not feeling too jittery yet. I‘ve had great results with Dave Mac [Dalby] Motorsports before, so this should be a really good time.”
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Elledge‘s original plan after the 2020 Chili Bowl was to compete in the USAC Midget National Championship once again after qualifying for 17 features the year before.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced every auto racing organization to temporarily suspend their seasons, Elledge utilized the quarantine period to re-evaluate her own career before ultimately deciding to step away from active competition.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Elledge has kept herself busy by embarking on several business ventures. They include her own clothing brand in Raceline Apparel. She also handles marketing and social media responsibilities for Mamba Media, which is operated by Dylan ‘Mamba‘ Smith.
Working with Mamba Media allowed Elledge to stay close to the sport that had been an integral part of her like growing up. Despite being happy with her current job, Elledge admits she had been waiting for an opportunity to get back behind the wheel.
An encounter with Dave McIntosh of Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports led to Elledge making the trip to Tulsa for her third Chili Bowl appearance.
“I‘ve just kind of had that itch lately,” Elledge said. “I‘ve been watching some of my old outlaw kart races and my brother’s [Wyatt Miller] races, which brought back a lot of memories for me. I happened to be in the same restaurant as Dave [McIntosh], and he asked me if I was ever going to race again. Everything just started to come together after that.”
Elledge‘s most recent Chili Bowl attempt in 2020 came with Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports. She ended up finishing 22ndin the A-Main during her qualifying night, but her quest to make Saturday‘s main event ended with a 17th-place run in the first E feature.
While he anticipates a brief adjustment period for Elledge during the week, McIntosh considers himself fortunate to have her be a part of his driver roster that already consists of his son Cannon and IndyCar driver Santino Ferrucci.
“I watched a lot of film on [Karsyn], and she definitely rips, which I think comes from her Outlaw Kart days,” McIntosh said. “She is not scared of anything and puts the pedal down. That‘s what we wanted to see from her during our first Chili Bowl together, and she did not disappoint.”
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Elledge said the professionalism and welcoming atmosphere prevalent within Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports have made her feel calmer than she normally would be ahead of such a strenuous week of racing.
“My favorite thing about [Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports] is that everything is always really fun,” Elledge said. “Even though they take things very seriously, there‘s not a lot of pressure. Regardless of how everything goes, I know I‘ll have a great time with them, because everyone is always super positive. That makes my job as a driver so much easier.”
Despite their mutual excitement about working together, both Elledge and McIntosh enter this year‘s Chili Bowl with realistic expectations.
The extended practice Sunday gave McIntosh plenty of time to evaluate Elledge and ensure she had everything needed to find her comfort zone. As the week progresses, McIntosh expects Elledge to gradually become more aggressive, which he said will be imperative against hundreds of other talented competitors.
McIntosh added he does not want Elledge putting a tremendous amount of pressure on herself. He hopes she takes time to appreciate the atmosphere while staying focused on accomplishing the goals the two laid out before arriving in Tulsa.
If everything goes according to plan, McIntosh is confident Elledge can easily improve upon her performance from the 2020 Chili Bowl and potentially factor into Saturday‘s 55-lap main event.
“There‘s no reason [Elledge] can‘t make her preliminary A feature,” McIntosh said. “With where our program is at, I think we can adjust to her driving style, but once you make the feature on your prelim night, anything can happen, but that sets you up decently for Saturday.”
Simply progressing through each main during the preliminaries and the final day will be a tall task for Elledge, who finds herself amongst a group that consists of past Chili Bowl winners in Rico Abreu, Tanner Thorson and Sammy Swindell, along with NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman.
Elledge is not letting the overall challenge of the Chili Bowl get to her, as she is more focused on getting back up to speed and making the most of her opportunity with Dace Mac Dalby Motorsports.
“My goal every time I‘ve been to the Chili Bowl is to end up in a better main than I was in the year before,” Elledge said. “This year I‘m shooting for either the E or the D, and I feel like I can accomplish that. A lot of people think I‘m crazy for racing again after so long, but it shouldn‘t take too long for me to pick everything back up. We‘ll see what happens.”
Unlike 2020, Elledge currently does not have plans to race once she leaves Tulsa. For her, this puts more emphasis on showing everyone at the Chili Bowl and the auto racing industry she can still drive just like her mom, uncles and grandfather.
