Eleanor Stanley of Zimmerman will race at ERX Motor Park on Saturday, July 13
by Erik Nelson
Sports Reporter
Eleanor Stanley, of Zimmerman, isn’t a typical 7-year-old.
While a majority of kids her age want to spend the summer by going to water parks or eating ice cream, Stanley spends her weekends driving her stock car in races throughout Minnesota.
On Saturday, July 13, she will race at ERX Motor Park in Elk River during the ERX Off-Road National championships sponsored by Amsoil.
Stanley started racing last year when she was 6, which is the minimum age requirement for stock car racing.
Stanley’s mom, Sasha Stanley, said it’s been incredible to watch Eleanor grow as a racer.
“We started her in a small series [in 2023],” Sasha Stanley said. “She raced with five to seven other kids, but often it was a small group so that she could get used to driving. To go from that to this champ series where she’s racing with 30 other kids, most of them are 9-12 years old. ... She’s accomplished a lot already at a young age.”
Eleanor’s dad, Jake Stanley, bought a drag car when he was 14 and is a former drag racer. Her uncle, Alec Robbins, is a professional Formula Drift racer who lives in Becker. It’s no surprise that racing plays a key part in Eleanor’s life.
Sasha said Jake knew that Eleanor had talent when she was about 3 years old.
“Jake bought her the 170 [truck] when she was 3,” she said. “[He] put pedal extenders into it so she could reach the gas pedal and the steering wheel. We live on a big pond, so he plowed out an ice track that winter. When she turned 4, she started driving on the track. He planned to have her putz and learn the feel of it. He’d be out on the pond with her. He would give a simple direction on what to do or change in her driving, and she would do it and maintain it. She wanted to be out there every day, all day long. He knew right away. He said, ‘We need to build this to race when she turns 6.’ That was our goal. We figured we’d give it a shot.”
Sasha said that because youth racing doesn’t receive much publicity, she and Jake have had to work hard to build a team to support Eleanor and her racing dreams.
“We hit our financial goal for this year, which is cool,” Sasha said. “We work hard to promote our team and focus on our community and things like that so that people feel recognized. We’ve worked on our brand (Donuts with Eleanor). She loved to spin in donuts [on the ice]. It became a play on words. Her car is wrapped in sprinkles all over. She’s the only kid with whip lights on the back.
“You’re never too little to reach for your dreams. The sky’s the limit. Nothing’s out of bounds. If this is what she wants, she’ll change the racing world. There’s something special about her and her racing. People fall in love with her.”
Eleanor will have lots of family and friends supporting her this weekend, since Elk River is only 10-15 minutes south of Zimmerman. She drives in a pink and white car and uses the No. 56. Her car is sponsored by Whip It Light Rods, a Wisconsin-based company.
Eleanor’s goal is to finish in the top five, or at least the top 10. Money awarded to top racers is a motivator to her. If she finishes in the top three, she’ll get to stand on the podium at ERX Motor Park.
“I want to try to impress them (friends and family) because this is their first time watching me race,” Eleanor said. “I want to try and get on the podium.”
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