McKenna Bold has been drag racing for half her life — and she’s only 16.
This week the Grade 11 Notre Dame High School student competed in her first world championship — the Summit Tournament of Champions and the Summit SuperSeries, in Memphis, Tenn.
Junior drivers, age eight to 18, race in the International Hot Rod Association competition against drivers from Canada and the United States.
Bold won enough points in four national races in the Summit SuperSeries to qualify. Drivers can also qualify by winning the title of track champion.
“This is my first time going down,” Bold said.
“When I was 11, I was one win away from being the track champion. Since I was probably about 12, I’ve always been in the top three for the point standings.”
On Thursday, Bold was testing her dragster on the track at Memphis International Raceway. Friday she raced to determine her spot among the competitors, and today is elimination day.
She said about 30 junior racers regularly compete at her home track, Castrol Raceway near Leduc. Big events attract up to 60 drivers.
The teen first wanted to take the wheel when she was only three years old and was at the track with her parents. Next spring her dad Mark Bold will be moving up to a top dragster.
“I’d always be sitting in my dad’s race cars. They thought when we got home I wouldn’t care anymore. I was like — when can I race — and it was still five years away.
“I could never get it out of my head so I started racing when I was eight in junior dragster.”
Bold still can’t get enough of the highly competitive sport, the speed and of course winning.
“It’s my passion. Your family is there. All the other racers there, they’re your family. When you’re not racing you’re hanging with your friends, but right when you’re in your car — you’re not my friend anymore. It’s serious competition. You’re racing for championships.
“There’s a big mental part to it. It’s not just hitting your gas pedal and letting off at the finish line.”
Junior dragsters race half-scale versions of top-fuel dragsters. Juniors command a five-horsepower, single-cylinder engine that can go as fast as 136 km/h (85 m/h) and can finish the eighth-mile race in 7.90 seconds.
The IHRA places speed and elapsed-time restrictions on junior racers based on age and experience.
Bold said most junior races are girls.
“But once you get up there, it’s 30 guys to two girls. A lot of girls lose interest in the sport. But there are some.”
She said at age eight or nine, drivers can’t go faster than 37 km/h (60 m/h) or reach the finish line in less than 12 seconds.
“Once I turned 12 I started going 140 km/h. Now that I’m 16, I can move up to full-scale dragsters.”
Top-fuel dragsters run a quarter-mile race in a little over three seconds with about 10,000 horsepower.
But racing isn’t all about speed. Reaction time at the starting line plays a major role, she said.
“If you leave too early you’re disqualified and if you leave too late, it’s a bad light and you’ll probably lose. There is a lot to it. I’m still learning.”
And drivers not only have to be the first to cross the finish line, they can’t go faster than the set time they predicted, she said.
Junior dragsters compete in bracket racing where drivers predict when their car will cross the finish line. Times are compared and the slower car receives a head start equal to the difference between the two.
Bold, who wants to be a surgeon, said she will continue to race during university.
“There’s always room for (racing). My dream would be to run top field dragsters for Don Schumacher Racing,” said the teen, pointing to the Schumacher team sweater she was wearing.
The high school student has never been injured in a race.
“This stage is relatively safe. You blow motors or stuff like that, but juniors don’t really crash. Once you move up the risk keeps moving up. When you start going faster, all it takes is for you to hit the wall too hard or a big explosion.”
There’s few been serious injuries for any of the drivers at Castrol Raceway, she said.
“We’re all really skilled drivers. We know how to handle those situations if something did happen.”
Bold said she feels safer on the track, racing side by side with another dragster, than on any public road.
“There’s a lot of safety equipment. You’re in a roll cage. You have a fire suit on, a helmet, a neck brace, wrist restraints — everything.”
When Bold isn’t in the drivers seat, she is working under the hood.
“You don’t send your race car away to get fixed. You pull it into your shop and pull the motor yourself. I love doing that kind of stuff, working in the shop with my dad.”
Most of the maintenance is done in the off-season. Bold’s family will take a few trips down south for competitions during the winter, but she competes at the tracks in Alberta in the spring and summer.
This weekend Bold is focused squarely on becoming a junior world champion.
“It all happens so fast. You’re at that high speed so quick. You hit the gas, you’re pushed back. Nothing compares to the feeling of being strapped in and racing.”
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com