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| November 03, 2011 News |
| eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month - Trey Shannon - October 2011 |
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 | Trey Shannon and his 24 Hours for TSA crew after he completed the new Guinness World Record of 847.318-miles in 24 hours
(Photo: davidleephoto.com) |
In a continued effort to highlight the many outstanding performances by drivers around the country, eKartingNews.com is proud to introduce the ‘Driver of the Month’ program. Each month, the staff at EKN will determine the one driver who stood out above the rest and give the viewers a chance to know exactly what they accomplished and who they are.
If we were to ask you how far you could drive your kart, most would say around one to three hours, depending on your conditioning, age, and many other factors. I’m sure not many would throw out 24 hours. On October 25 at New Castle Motorsports Park, Trey Shannon set out to break the world record for a solo 24 hour kart drive. With grit, determination, a lot of planning and preparation and of course a solid supporting crew, Shannon set a new Guinness World Record. And for that, we have named him the eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month for October 2011.
His quest for the record began around 10am at the central Indiana facility aboard a MPR Motorsport Birel/Rotax machine, prepped and serviced throughout the 24 hour period by Adrenaline Fix Karting. Early into the run, a battery issue struck but was resolved within the next few stops. And for much of the 24 hours, the mechanical gremlins kept away. During the stops, he would keep himself hydrated and body stretched, working with Indianapolis-based PitFit Training’s Jim Leo. At night, the New Castle Motorsports Park rented lights to illuminate certain sections of the course to help compliment the headlight attached to the kart. Around 10:30pm, the lights at the end of the straightaway went out and the staff at NCMP worked quickly to resolve the issue, brining in some make-shift replacement lights.
The biggest hurdle was rain that hit the area. Around 2am, a storm cell passed through the area. Making a stop to switch over to a rain set-up, Shannon took to the track for his first laps ever in the rain in a kart. Lap by lap, Shannon grew comfortable with the conditions and ran stints of 70 and 60 laps, which set up for the record breaking segment of around 30 laps in the 23rd hour of the run.
At the end of 24 hours, Trey ran a total of 922 laps around the 0.919-mile course for a record distance of 847.318-miles, breaking the mark set by Lloyd de Boltz-Miller of Norfolk, UK on October 1, 2010 of 801.38-miles.
The best part about Shannon accomplishing his goal of setting a new record, was spreading the word of Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) and the Team TSA’s ‘One Lap Closer to a Cure’. Trey has been living with TS since a very young age. As he has grown older, it has reduced to some fairly mild ‘tics’ and has never prevented him from doing anything, unlike many others who are not as lucky. With his 24 Hours for TSA campaign, Shannon has been able to raise awareness and bring in some much needed funding for TS research.
 | Trey Shannon - EKN Driver of the Month - October 2011
(Photo: davidleephoto.com) |
October 2011 EKN Driver of the Month - Trey Shannon
Bio
Born: July 6, 1984 in Santa Monica, California
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Marital Status: Married (Amber Moore Shannon)
Children: None
Height/Weight: 5’5”/135lbs.
Education: B.S. Aerospace Engineering - Virginia Tech, 2007
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer
Racing Resume
Chassis: Birel
Engine/Engine Builder: MRP Rotax
Sponsors: AiM Sports, Ribtect, K1 RaceGear, Zamp Helmets, Gold’s Gym Silver Spring Maryland, PitFit, Infinit Nutrition, MRP Speed Schools, Tourette Syndrome Association, Hoosier Tires, RoboPong, VP Racing Fuels, David Lee Motorsports Media, Adrenaline Fix Karting
Series You Compete In: None, all efforts this past year have gone into preparing for the World Record
Years Karting: 11
How did you get started in karting? Like every other kid, I begged my parents until they gave in
What has been the high point in your racing career? Breaking the Guinness World Record for solo 24 hour kart drive
What are your goals in racing? Continue to raise awareness for Tourette Syndrome in any form of racing I can
In a few words, how would you describe your driving style? Smooth and calculating
Funniest moment at the race track? One time I forgot to put stops behind the trailer tires before unhitching it on a hill, right next to the track fence. My dad and I chased it down the hill as if that would have done anything. Luckily it stopped short!
Likes
Favorite Track: New Castle Motorsports Park
Favorite form of professional motorsports: F1, IndyCar
Favorite karting driver: Travis Firing
Favorite professional driver: Mario Andretti
Favorite website: EKN of course, and speedtv.com
Favorite movie: Close one between Grand Prix and Top Gun
Favorite actor/actress: Paul Newman/Scarlett Johansson
Favorite music/group: Brad Paisley
Favorite vacation/activity spot: Paris
Favorite food: Sushi
The Real Deal
What do you do when not at the track? Work, watch racing, go to the gym, and spend time with my wife and our dogs
What are your goals outside of karting? To be the best Engineer, husband, and eventually father that I possibly can be
What type of street car do you drive? 1997 Chevy Silverado
What type of street car would you like to drive? Some sort of classic sports car like a Ferrari 250 GTO or Shelby Daytona
What are your pet peeves or things that irritate you? Slow drivers and people who chew loud
What do you think could be done to improve the sport of karting? Fewer classes, with a more centralized national series
What are your favorite aspects about the sport of karting? I love how it can be so competitive, but at the same time, competing with the nicest, most helpful people there are. That and driving a kart is simply awesome!
Overtime
 | Shannon piloting the MRP Motorsport Birel-Rotax during the first stint of the 24 hour record
(Photo: davidleephoto.com) |
How much fuel did you use? I’m not 100% sure, but I think around 35 Gallons
What tires did you use, and how many did you go through (dry and wet)? One set of dry weather Hoosier and one set of wet Bridgestone
What parts needed to be repaired, removed, switched during the 24 hour period? We had one battery go bad on us, which we replaced every 6 hours anyway, and the nut on the clutch drum backed out but did not require any replacements. We also went through 4 chains, two drive gears, and two axle gears. We had to change the headlight battery at every stop during the overnight hours as well.
How many times did you use the bathroom? (HAHA) Too many to count, it was the first thing I did during EVERY STOP!
What did you eat and drink during the 24 hours? I had a Camel Back drink pouch inside my suit filled with a series of Infinit Nutrition drink products. One mixture had plenty of protein to keep my stomach full, one had caffeine for overnight, and another had electrolytes to keep my body fresh. My wife had a new pouch mixed and ready to go at each stop. Other than that the only thing I ate the entire 24 hours was a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
How long did you sleep after you clinched the record? Just the normal night of sleep when we got back home, I had to work the next day!
Do you think you could break your record in the future? With better weather I could definitely break my own record. If rain had not hit, our pace would have had us breaking the record around the 20 hour mark.
What is going to happen with the kart and engine? The chassis is already sold, and the engine will be used by MRP for display purposes, showcasing the condition of the internals after 24 straight hours of running.
October Driver of the Month - Honorable Mention:
- Logan Sargeant: Rok Cup International Final Mini Champion
- Shawn Cricca: Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix - TaG Senior winner
- Daniel Langon: Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix - Pro Shifter winner |
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