Speeding through laps on the racetrack is nothing new to Zimmerman’s Eleanor Stanley. She is behind the wheel often, and can drive with the best. Not bad for a 7-year-old.

Eleanor is one of the top upcoming stock car drivers in Minnesota, and is speeding towards another summer of winning on the racetrack.

“I really like the whoops and the jumps. It’s like, where there is little jumps, smooshed together,” Eleanor told KSTP’s Alec Ausmus at ERX Motor Park in Elk River.

Eleanor races a stock car which can reach speeds of over 30 miles per hour, and she is fearless.

“Dad is pretty calm cool and collected,” said Eleanor’s mother Sasha. “Mom is not so much, mom is on the sidelines, breathing like once a minute.”

What started as driving go-carts for fun on a frozen lake in their backyard turned into building a side-by-side stock car, and started racing it. Last year, as a six-year-old she raced in a stock 170 class. She was also a series champion and named rookie of the year last summer.

“Yeah, she killed it. She blew us away,” Sasha said with a smile on her face.

Girls in racing is growing. Danica Patrick competed against men, racing in NASCAR from 2012-2018. Locally Julie Jorgenson continues to climb the ranks at Elko Speedway.

Eleanor’s racing age bracket is six to 12-year-olds, most of her competitors are boys, but it she’s used to that, and it hasn’t taken long for her to beat the boys.

“It took a little bit, but after one lap, I was fine,” said Eleanor. She can race against 30 other drivers in a single event.

While on the track, Eleanor’s father, Jake, can be her eyes in the sky, and communicate to her inside her helmet with a Walkie Talkie radio. His words of wisdom during a race helps their success but builds a bond between them.

“She likes to talk back and tell me what’s going on,” said Jake. “For me to be the one doing it, I think does help her.”

Eleanor drives more laps on the racetrack, than the total years of her age. She’s nine years from getting her driver’s license, but will have more hours behind the wheel than most kids her age. She is proving that you are never too young to fuel your passion.