One of K&N's Youngest Racers -Elizabeth Pyles-Rules at Maple Grove Raceway

"I don't know what I want to be, but college is going to be in my future, and I hope racing will always be a part of my life." That's a quote from eleven year old Elizabeth Pyles from East Prospect, Pennsylvania, one of K&N's youngest sponsored drag racers.
Elizabeth Pyles at Maple Grove Raceway
Elizabeth Pyles at Maple Grove Raceway


Elizabeth and her family traveled to Maple Grove Raceway last week, where she lost a close race on Saturday in the second round, and followed that up with a trip to the finals on Sunday. In the final she was runner-up to none other than the current points leader. An overall terrific showing for the soon to be sixth grader. With the journey being the thing, Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed her trip to the finals, beating the last two winners of the event, and the previous week's runner-up - indeed a highly competitive group. Elizabeth currently sits in seventh place in track points.

Elizabeth's interest in racing came as a total shock to the family explains John her father. John says he can however pin it down to the day when the racing bug triggered her genetic imprinting. It was a fall day in 2007, Elizabeth and her mother Tonya, and her sister Jordan, went to Maple Grove to watch her grandfather, Dave Leonard race Pro-Eliminator. The exploding horsepower - the roar of the crowd - and Elizabeth was in.

John also remembers getting the call at work from Elizabeth after that fateful race - "Daddy I want to race." This is her third season and she is still all smiles and loves racing and hanging with all her track friends says John.

"Right from the get-go though she understood that school came first and she does exceptionally well," remarks her justifiably proud father.

She is also involved with band, playing the flute, chorus and a number of additional academic enrichment courses. She has game as a basketball player and was a Girl Scout. All the while she has managed to excel in school, maintaining an A-average and being one of only a rare few in her class to receive the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence.

"Racing has helped provide new challenges and allowed us as a family to experience so much," expressed John. "The opportunity to establish the relationship we have with K&N has been fantastic and rewarding. Everything from the tremendous products, to the amazing support everyone there provides us, and so many others in this sport."

"K&N is our only choice for air, fuel and breather filters to protect the engine in Elizabeth's dragster, along with protecting our tow and support vehicles with intakes and filters. This provides us with the confidence to make trip-after-trip to all the tracks we compete at.

"We look forward to the remainder of this season, and to some of the large races to come at some familiar tracks, and those we have not been to yet. We continue to thank everyone at K&N for being with us, and allowing us to represent such a great product and company."

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