Lexi and Noah Pollard are two teens in Fincastle who have made speed a lifestyle. Both race junior dragster cars! Each race lasts less than 8 seconds and they reach speeds up to 85 miles per hour for an 1/8 of a mile. Lexi is a sophomore at James River High School and her brother Noah is an eighth grader at Central Academy Middle School. The racing competition is completed in rounds until a winner is the last one with the best overall. Dad Kevin Pollard also races. That is where they inherited the driving force.

They race on Saturdays. The Pollards race the mostly at the Shelor Motor Mile Drag Way  in the New River Valley. The past two weekends they have been going to race in Richmond, though.

Noah said, “Our cars come from a race car builder/designer named Mike Bos in Tennessee.” They load up the cars and off they go to have a Saturday full of racing competition.

Lexi explained, “We have been doing this for about five years and it is fun. We do race against each other.” The sibling duo have plenty of trophies to show for the effort as well.

They don’t just race, they have to help maintain the cars. Each knows how to change oil, add air to tires, fill up gas tanks and clean the clutch if they have, too. The family is safety conscious and keeping the cars in good order protects them as well as a helmet. Both have friends Chelsea McGuire and Ethan Austin who also race and having friends at the track is a good thing for teens.

The junior dragster season (ages 8-18) is almost complete with just one more race. But the season will begin again in March and lasts until October.

Since the Pollard’s like to play ball as well, Lexi plays softball and Noah plays baseball, look for more of them in the spring!

–Photos from the Pollard Family