Olivia Pellicciotti enjoys racing 125cc sprints at Shellhammer Dirt Track in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania — despite moments like this, when things get turned sideways. The high school junior brushed off this incident.
“It was frustrating,” Pellicciotti, of Reamstown, Pennsylvania, said. “I was angry at the moment. The car driven by Kyle Lindsey ran over me and collected a bunch of cars.”
The front tire of Lindsey’s sprint got stuck between Pellicciotti’s nerf bar and engine. Once pried free, she resumed racing.
“The strangest thing is that Lindsey kept racing, too, and then he ran over me again,” said Pellicciotti, who has won two features in the division. “The second time, I was able to continue, but he was out of the race. I guess it was karma.”
Pellicciotti finished 12th in the feature. She came prepared to do battle, wearing a RaceQuip helmet, gloves, and shoes; Simpson fire suit; HANS head-and-neck restraint system; and a Kirkey full-containment seat.
This season marked Pellicciotti’s fifth in the division at the 1/8-mile clay oval. Her father, Michael Pellicciotti, and crew chief, Travis Goshert, assist her at the track. Her mother, Jennifer, and grandmother, Peggy, sit in the stands with Pellicciotti’s extended family to cheer her on.
“The 125cc class at Shellhammer is a great entry-level, learning class — I highly recommend it for anyone starting out in racing,” Pellicciotti said. “Drivers from age 12 to 74 are in the division. Age doesn’t matter if you want to start racing.”
Looking forward to Wednesday nights at Shellhammer Dirt Track provides Olivia Pellicciotti with comfort during today’s trying times.
“Being there takes my mind off of everything that’s happening in my world,” said Pellicciotti. “It’s great to be around people enjoying life. We’re all doing what we love.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
