World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series
Eisenschenk sisters ready for WoO debut
By Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series
Laela (15) and Amelia (1) Eisenschenk earlier this season. (speedway-shots.com)
Two drivers with rich racing history in their family will make their World of Outlaws debuts this weekend: Amelia and Laela Eisenschenk of Fargo, N.D.
While their names might be unfamiliar to some — for now — their family has a long history with the World of Outlaws. Their uncle is 10-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz.
He's also their mentor and car owner, fielding the Super Late Models they’ll pilot June 26-29 with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn. (Thursday), River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. (Friday), Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn. (Saturday), and Nodak Speedway in Minot, N.D (Sunday).
The 17-year-old twins, the daughters of Schatz’s sister Deanne, have competed in Late Models and sprint cars in recent seasons — Amelia in the No. 1 car and Laela in the No. 15. But a Super Late Model weekend is something special with Laela making her division debut and Amelia just her second start.
“We were given the opportunity to do this via some sponsors. We went ahead to take that opportunity and run with it,” Laela said. “We’ve looked up to the guys we’re going to be racing against ever since we were little. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do. We’ve gotten a lot of Late Model experience here, and we’re excited for it.”
“Obviously, we wanted to race that Minot show, and then we stuck to all three nights before it, too,” Amelia said. “We’re pretty excited. We’ve raced at Fergus Falls a lot and Grand Forks weekly. It’s kind of home territory. Laela and I have looked up to all the Outlaw guys and have had a lot of them stay at our house each year. I think it’ll be pretty fun and just a learning curve for all of us as a team.”
Racing, dirt track racing specifically, has always been a part of their lives, and the Schatz family, as their grandfather, Danny Schatz, raced sprint cars in the 1970s, and then Donny built his career with the World of Outlaws. Family trips to a racetrack were common and became the spark that led to their racing careers.
“We raced go-karts at the age of 5 and haven’t stopped since,” Amelia said.
While most associate the Schatz family with sprint cars, Late Models have been parked in the garage for several years as well. Schatz is a 10-time Northern LateModel Racing Association winner and has competed in several WoO Late Model events. When he had to leave his Late Model parked due to a busier sprint car schedule, the sisters saw an opportunity to jump into something new.
“Amelia and I were about 15 at the time, so, we started to get into those a little bit more because he wasn’t able to race them, focusing more on the sprint car stuff,” Laela said. “We can race Late Models so close to home, it’s so nice to have those to lean back on.”
“When we were racing the 305s (sprints), we kind of blew up a bunch of motors, and the Late Models were sitting there, so we were like, well, let’s go race them,” Amelia said. “It stuck ever since. We’re pretty fortunate to have the WISSOTA sanction around here. They race, three, four nights a week at racetracks within an hour or two. When we’re not racing our sprint cars, we do a lot of Late Model racing. We’ve probably done more Late Models this year than sprint cars.”
Having laps and success at the tracks they’ll be visiting with the World of Outlaws provides some comfort, but Amelia and Laela admitted there are still nerves. But no pressure. It’s a learning experience.
Laela joked that Schatz has told her and Amelia that his life would be easier if they weren’t racing, but he has been one of their biggest supporters and coaches.
“Having Donny in your corner is a very beneficial thing as a driver,” Laela said. “Team owner, too. He’s very business-minded, as our family owns businesses. He’s been with us in the way that if you wreck something, you’re either going to fix it or sit out until it gets fixed. I think that has been beneficial to us in both the racing world and just part of life. He’s teaching us life lessons, not only on the track, you know, but off the track too. He’s just a great person to have around. Amelia and I are very grateful that he is helping us in racing.”
“He was taught by our grandfather, and he kind of teaches the same way,” Amelia said. “He gets the point across that nothing in the racing world is easy. He’s pretty hard on us, but in a good way.
“There’s no pressure when he’s around. He’s very good with both cars. He races himself, unlike the guys that work on them, right? We can do something, or they can change something on the car, and he knows exactly what it feels like. So, that’s really helpful. He’s there and he knows exactly what the car does and whether to change this or that because he had to grow up working on them himself. I’d say I like having him there. There’s no pressure.”
Schatz will be with them at I-94 and Minot, but they’ll also have several competitors in the field they can lean on, too. Drivers like Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Kyle Bronson, Nick Hoffman, and Boom Briggs are family friends and have been well-versed in their careers.
But even more important, they’ll be able to lean on each other. Instances like this week are when racing, even as competitors, bring them closer together.
“We’re kind of in it together,” Laela said. “We push each other to be better every day when we’re racing. I’d say 100 percent it brings us closer.”
“I think racing against each other is good,” Amelia said. “A weekend like this, it’s definitely, we’re going to have to help each other and lean off each other for advice. We got the same type of race car (Rocket Chassis), but they’re different years. They don’t exactly perform in the same way we figured out. But we can still lean on each other for advice and different setups.”
Their goal for the weekend is to make the features and make laps. Mainly, continue to learn.
It’s their only scheduled races with the World of Outlaws Late Models this year, but they said there are plans to make their World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series debut in August when the tour returns to North Dakota, racing against their uncle.
“I don’t think many people expected us to race with the Outlaw Late Models before the sprint cars, but that’s kind of how it worked out,” Amelia said. “We’re more ready in the Late Models than we are in the sprint cars right now. We only got a few 410 races under our belt this year, just because of Donny switching to the Chevy and everything. But I think this is going to be pretty cool.
“I think it surprised a lot of people to see that. Obviously, they wanted us to race with our uncle first, but I think this will be good for us. That way, when it comes to August, we know how it feels to race against these guys. Obviously, they’re different groups, but same in the aspect of big names. Pressure and nerves. I think it’ll be good and we’re pretty excited.”
