Drag Race Driver Travis Shumake Wants to Open Doors in the Sport

No, he's not on that drag race. Rather, he wants to show his pride on a real race track.

Out drag race driver Travis Shumake takes Pride to a Kansas racing strip on Friday, August 12 thanks to Visit Topeka and Pride Kansas, reports television channel WIBW 13.

The two groups will sponsor Shumake's appearance at the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals at the Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka. Shumake is the first openly gay drag racer for the NHRA, and the two groups signed on to sponsor his car.

"Shumake will race in a colorful pride-themed 24-foot, 4,000-horsepower, nitromethane burning rocket, that will be outfitted with the pride Kansas logo," writes WIBW 13.

Adds the website Speed Sport: "The dragster – a 24-foot, 4,000 horsepower, Nitromethane burning rocket – will be outfitted with the Pride Kansas logo to represent the state's inaugural week-long Pride celebration happening in Topeka on Sept. 17-24. It also features a modern geometric rainbow hood and matching parachutes.

Shumake told Speed Sport: "Just like the city of Topeka, the sport of NHRA drag racing is an unexpectedly welcoming and diverse place. Making my national event debut in Topeka sends a clear message that cities and sports with traditional conservative reputations shouldn't be overlooked as leaders in diversity. I couldn't have picked a better debut sponsor. We are both trying to provide representations, resources and hope to underrepresented groups."

Shumaker is the son of Tripp Shumake, a nationally-renowned Funny car racer who was a veteran NHRA racer. Shumake committed to the sport in February 2022 and has spent the past months finalizing sponsorship opportunities and completing regulatory eligibilities to race at NHRA-sanctioned tracks and events.

"I want to open a door for people to feel accepted who have been around the sport forever, for drivers who are in the sport, or fans in the sport that maybe aren't comfortable talking about their sexuality," he told AZ Central.

He added that he bonded with his father as a teenager when they go-karted together. "In�my teen years as I was coming out and realizing I was gay,�the thing that�kept my dad and I closest was racing," Travis said. "He's a very strong Christian man, and�we didn't ever talk about me being gay. And I had never come out to him prior to when he passed, but racing�was our thing."

He hopes that being a gay man in the sport will empower others to feel included in racing events.�""My hope is to�leverage my dad's legacy in the sport, my desire, and�my diversity to show that the sport is open and not as�conservative as it may appear on the outside," Travis said.�

"Some of these extremely conservative, wealthy race-car drivers were taking off, they were doubling their money for the race, and just putting giant Trump stickers on all of their race cars."

He added: "My friends and people who are in the sport are like, 'No, no, we have to level the playing field. That's not true. We need to show that there's more diversity to this,' and I said, 'Well, I'll just be that guy.'"�

"Shumake, 36, spent three years as director of program development for Valley nonprofit one�n�ten, which supports LGBTQ youth, before moving to New York to work for the Clinton Foundation," reported Phoenix Magazine.�