Travis Shumake breaking barriers in racing and in life — at 320 miles per hour
Travis Shumake has made a career out of breaking barriers, which is both dangerous and impressive when you consider he’s broken those barriers — and some bones — in a dragster going 324 miles per hour.
“The fastest-accelerating machine on the planet,” he said. “Faster than the space shuttle launches.”
Surviving those rides has made Shumake the fastest LGBTQ+ driver in history and, at a lanky 6 feet 4, the tallest in drag racing as well. On Sunday he’ll topple another barrier at the NHRA finals in Pomona when he turns his top-fuel dragster over to Gary Pritchett for the final race of the season, becoming drag racing’s tallest gay team owner.
All that may sound like the kind of history that gets an asterisk behind it. But in a sport that’s all about sponsorships, even people who are 6-4 have to find ways to stand out.
“This weekend I’m excited to move out of the driver’s seat and into the owner’s box for the first time,” said Shumake, who plans to mimic the old-school owners he grew up watching by clenching a cigar between his teeth while standing among the fuel fumes at the starting line.
“I’ve always been the guy in the helmet,” he continued. “This is my first race as cigar guy.”
Justin Ashley, who led the top fuel points standings for much of last season before finishing fourth, will enter Sunday’s final day of racing on top again. But that lead isn’t comfortable with three-time winner Antron Brown 44 points back and Shawn Langdon one behind that. And because the Pomona races are worth 30 points per round, four other drivers — 2021 winner Steve Torrence, 2022 titlist Brittany Force, defending champion Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican — still are mathematically in contention.
Austin Prock will clinch the funny car crown simply by making a qualifying pass while in pro stock, Aaron Stanfield and Dallas Glenn, who both are chasing their first title, are 1-2 with five-time winner Greg Anderson just 56 points off the pace in third. Defending pro stock motorcycle winner Gaige Herrera leads six-time champion Matt Smith by 123 points in that category and could clinch the title before Sunday’s eliminations.
Shumake was eliminated from title contention long ago. He ran just four events this season, qualifying as high as ninth and making back-to-back passes at 323 and 324 mph this month in Las Vegas before deciding to give up his ride in Pomona. But he found another way to make an indelible mark on the sport he inherited from his father, the late funny car legend and NHRA color analyst Tripp Shumake.
That happened two years ago when Travis steered his rainbow-colored dragster to the finish line of the nationals in Topeka, Kan., becoming the first openly gay driver in NHRA history.
For Shumake, that wasn’t so much about making a statement as it was about being true to himself. If blond-haired drivers and female racers didn’t have to hide who they were, why should Shumake, who has been open about his sexual orientation since high school?
“It’s important to be who you are. And as someone who came into the sport later in life,” the 40-year-old said, “it was important to address it early in my career.”
Read more: In NHRA, women have traction in race against men
Not everyone was welcoming, with the rabidly anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church picketing the track before his debut in Topeka.
“I definitely had taken some tough beatings in the beginning,” Shumake said. “I think I’ve earned my stripes, if that’s the right word for it. I kind of finally showed up on the racetrack and that silenced some of the critics.
“So I think the road ahead is bright for me as far as that goes and we don’t need to talk as much about the LGBTQ side because we’ve already talked about it.”
The support of the NHRA, the first U.S. motorsports series to welcome female drivers in large numbers — women have won 23 drag-racing championships, dating to Shirley Muldowney’s top fuel title in 1977 — was especially helpful, Shumake said.
“The NHRA just does diversity better than anybody else. They’re very strategic and authentic,” he said. “They’ve celebrated me in the right moments. They’ve grown alongside me while other leagues have gotten out over their skis.
“Sure we’re the fastest sport but we’re moving slow to make sure our fans see me as a driver, not a gimmick.”
Read more: Shirley Muldowney, a fighter for life, left her drag-racing competitors in the dust
In reality, the biggest challenge Shumake faced in getting started wasn’t finding acceptance. It was finding the money to put together a team.
“It was one of the smartest and dumbest things I’ve ever done. But I bought it all. I bought the cow and the farm,” said Shumake, who works at New York’s Ali Forney Center, which protects homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
“I make a five-figure [income] at a nonprofit. How the heck would I do that? I started with just the chassis; literally just the metal tubes.”
That was just the first of many obstacles he had to overcome. He crashed in a 2021 qualifying event, ripping a funny car in half and cracking two ribs. His expensive safety gear was stolen from the pits before a race in Pomona. And squeezing his NBA-sized body into a dragster cockpit traditionally built for someone a third his size has left him with bruises on his hips, cramps in his legs and regular visits to the chiropractor.
The work and sacrifice are beginning to pay off, however, so much so that Shumake was able to sign nearly a dozen sponsors this season. Now he’s trying to pay forward that help and support by renting Pritchett, a top-alcohol racer and longtime nitro crew member, the seat of his dragster for his top fuel debut. Passing up Pomona also keeps Shumake eligible for rookie of year as a driver next year.
Read more: Brittany Force becomes first woman in 35 years to win top-fuel season title
“He’s a racing icon in his own right and had put together the funding. So it just made sense for Gary to get some laps under his belt and for me to make some passive income,” Shumake said. “That’s the dream, right? Millennial top fuel Airbnb owner.”
Call it another barrier broken.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
