Funny car (Photo by Chadwick Fowler)

Travis Shumake races into Dallas for Stampede of Speed

RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com

Drag racing certainly isn’t what it used to be; now it’s is all about lip-syncing for your lives and sissying that walk. But wait …. This isn’t about THAT Drag Race.

Staging lanes (Photo by Tyler Larkey)

Travis Shumake is reclaiming the term drag race and taking it old school. As the first openly gay driver in the National Hot Rod Association, Shumake has broken any rainbow ceiling hot rodding may have had, and to keep it broken, he’s also now the first openly gay owner of a professional American motorsports team.

“The LGBTQ+ community has a place in motorsports,” Shumake declared in a recent interview. “In the stands, behind the wheel and, now, in the owner’s box.”

At the time of this interview, Shumake said he was having a hard time believing where he was sitting right at the moment: “I’m inside the lounge of my new semi-truck and trailer. This is crazy to me. Every day is a new ‘wow’ moment. Today’s probably my favorite day of my life,” he said.

Shumake, 38 and based in New York, will be in North Texas this weekend to compete with his team in the Texas Fall Nationals Stampede of Speed at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis. Shumake Racing will bring out “Judith Light,” an 11,000 HP, 335 MPH Top Fuel Dragster with a list of previous owners that includes three race winners, one of whom is eight-time NHRA champion Mike Salinas.

“Don’t sleep on Judith,” Shumake said. “She’s an unexpected force of nature.” But was he talking about the actor or the car?

Racing has always been in Shumake’s blood. He is the son of racer Tripp Shumake. His mother, Susie Shumake, is in the Arizona Drag Racing Hall of Fame. So doing drag seemed a given for Shumake.

His need for speed began at a young age. By six years old, he was go-karting and dirt-biking his way through his youth. He was already racing karts by the age of 12.

Trophy kiss (Photo by Sadie Gleen)

Shumake wasn’t always intent on racing, but he was always competitive.

“I don’t think I’d have been a fan [of racing] without Dad,” Shumake acknowledged. “I grew up around it of course, but it was during COVID that it really sank in that I wanted to start racing.”

It was his desire for a challenge coupled with an “unreasonable amount” of confidence that helped sway his decision. And what a payoff he’s seen!

Shumake’s rookie season last year was impressive. With a career-best speed of 319 MPH, he placed at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, then followed up with a semifinal finish at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania.

And he did it all with out-and-proud flair at the age of 35.

Shumake’s rainbow-painted, 4,000-horsepower dragster — with the added pop of rainbow parachutes — carried him through. His corporate sponsor was Grindr, and he wore the app’s signature logo on his race suit.

Working on the engine (Photo by James Day)

“There are those who are not as accepting and think I play the gay card too much,” he said. “But the differentiator is my late father, and it’s not unusual to be a legacy driver. I think I know when to flex the rainbow.”

There are challenges, or perhaps it’s the obvious confusion: “When I talk about drag racing, people will think I’m talking about some spinoff of RuPaul’s Drag Race,” he laughed.

A collab does sound rich.

“Can someone call RuPaul,” Shumake asked. “I’ve been trying to figure out the crossover potential here.”

Follow Shumake at TravisShumake.com.