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Cole Knieriem Successful at His First NMCA Event

Posted By: Mary Lendzion
By Mary Lendzion
 
The moment Cole Knieriem climbed into the cockpit of a junior dragster, his family felt confident that he was going to be successful.
 
He wanted to be there, he wanted to win and he was willing to do whatever it took to be sure he would.
 
Today, at 18, Cole can say that he is a three-time junior dragster track champion at Ohio Valley Dragway in Kentucky, and is the winner of the $10,000 Invitational at the Junior Dragster Christmas on the Coast last December at Gulfport Dragway in Mississippi, among many other accomplishments. 
 
He didn’t get there alone, as he has steadfast support from his parents, Tim and Amy, and sister, Shelby, who are racers, and other family members and friends, who have been by his side every step of the way. They were there when Cole accepted an invitation to drive Mike Baker’s Mustang at Ohio Valley Dragway last year — his first foray into door car racing — and when he accepted an invitation to drive a Libersher Racing COPO Camaro at the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines, which was March 17-19, 2023 at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida.
 
Cole, who hadn’t even sat in the Libersher Racing black naturally aspirated COPO Camaro prior to the event, competed in Micro Strategies Stock and Bracket 2. While he excited early in eliminations in Micro Strategies Stock, he wheeled all the way to the winner’s circle in Bracket 2, while clocking 9.90-10.00 in the quarter-mile.
 
When Cole is not racing, the freshman at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky studies advanced manufacturing and more, and works at Nucor Tubular Products, a steel manufacturing plant, also in Louisville, Kentucky. Read on to see what he had to say after his success at the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines.

 
WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO BE AMONG YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN JUNIOR DRAGSTER RACING?
 
I started racing junior dragsters when I was eight years old, and Ohio Valley Dragway in Kentucky is my home track. When I started getting a little older, I started going to other tracks to race at junior dragster events, like the Divisional in Indiana and the Eastern Conference Finals in Tennessee. Winning three championships and then the $10,000 Invitational were big to me, and the $10,000 Invitational was my last big race in a junior dragster, so that will always mean even more. It was not an easy win. It was a 64-car invitational, with racers handpicked from around the country, and they were handpicked because they were known to be good racers, so I was lucky. It was prestigious, and the competition was very tough. It took six rounds to win, and it meant a lot to me to be able to do that. We went out to dinner on the way home from the race to celebrate. I’m lucky that I’ve been around racing my whole life, since many members of my family race, including my parents, sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles race. I have always loved being around racing.
 
YOU RACED IN A DOOR CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME LAST YEAR. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE TRANSITION?
 
There was definitely a learning curve to go from driving my junior dragster to driving Mike Baker’s Mustang. In a junior dragster, you just have the gas and the brake pedal, but in the Mustang, I had to worry about doing a burnout, how to use a transbrake, shifting the car and things like that, and it all had to happen pretty quickly in the pass, since the Mustang goes so much faster than the junior dragster. Another thing that was different was the Mustang threw me back in the seat when I launched. My junior dragster didn’t do that.
 
HOW DID IT COME TO BE THAT YOU WOULD DRIVE A LIBERSHER RACING COPO CAMARO AT THE SCOGGIN DICKEY PARTS CENTER NMCA MUSCLE CAR MAYHEM PRESENTED BY HOLBROOK RACING ENGINES AT ORLANDO SPEED WORLD DRAGWAY?
 
My dad happened to be talking with Scott Libersher a few years ago, and Scott mentioned to him that maybe I could drive one of his cars when I got out of junior dragster racing, so it has been in the works for a few years. My dad asked if I was interested, and I thought it was a great opportunity. I had to go into it with an open mind, because I knew I would be racing against racers who have been racing door cars for a lot longer than me, and had a lot more experience. I knew I was basically starting at the bottom in this type of racing.

 
YOU MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY THAT YOU HAD MERELY SEEN A PICTURE OF THE COPO CAMARO BEFORE ARRIVING AT ORLANDO SPEED WORLD DRAGWAY. WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE TO SIT IN IT AND LEARN HOW TO DRIVE IT?
 
When I went to sleep on Wednesday, all I could think about was how much I had to learn during a test session on Thursday, and how it was going to be a completely different style of driving and racing than I was used to, but I knew I could trust my dad to help me, like he always has, and everyone on the team was very helpful, too. It was a lot different to be foot-braking the car and to be shifting twice. When I lost in the first round of Stock, it wasn’t frustrating because I had an .014 reaction time, did the best I could and was grateful for the opportunity to go to Florida and race. When I went on to win in Bracket 2, it was an absolutely amazing feeling.
 
WILL WE SEE YOU AT ANOTHER NMCA RACE SOON?
 
We’re in the process of figuring out which races we can fit around my work and school schedule, but the plan is to race Mike Baker’s Mustang at Ohio Valley Dragway and the Liberscher Racing COPO Camaro at as many NMCA races as possible. I just want to race so much, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I really want to thank Scott Libersher, my family, sponsors AFCO Racing, BAM Roller Lifters, Knieriem Racing Engines, LAT Oils, VP Racing Fuels and XS Power Batteries, and God, for allowing me to be able to go racing.

 

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