My Motorsport Journey
EARLY DAYS
Eli’s obsession with cars and racing began as soon as he could walk. Through years of watching Formula 1 and IndyCar, he quickly developed an encyclopedia-like knowledge of drivers, race results and watched how his favorite drivers Lewis Hamilton and Alex Palou used their racecraft to battle for championships.
Inspired and encouraged by his off-road racing family, Eli first learned driving basics at age 5 in his Polaris RZR 170.
Watching on TV became in-person spectating with visits to the United Stated Grand Prix in 2021, and IndyCar at Laguna Seca in 2023, the latter providing direct paddock access to both the drivers and machines, cementing his desire to start competing behind the wheel himself.
2024 - Learning the Basics
Eli entered the world of karting in late 2024 with his Junior 1 (Briggs LO206) VLR Sapphire.
Committed to quickly getting to “race pace”, he trained regularly at PKRA (Phoenix Kart Racing Association) focused on learning the racing lines and fundamentals under the tutelage of Coach David Haraldsen of Next Level Karting.
2025 - Green Flag!!!
Practice paid off for Eli, jumping into the Jr 1 Novice class for PKRA’s 2025 Winter Series winning his first main before finding a P3 and another win in his next 4 races.
For PKRA 2025 Summer Series, Eli moved up into the much larger and more competitive Junior 1 class. Putting in the training and focusing on solid fundamentals, he managed 3 Top-10 finishes and ended up 10th in the championship standings.
In August, Eli jumped into K1 Speed’s Junior League rental e-karting competition, immediately finding the pace and podiuming in every event. His solid record in just 1/3 of the season was enough to earn him 3rd in the City Championship qualifying for the Arizona State competition where he finished 3rd as well – punching his ticket to the K1 Speed E-National Championship in May 2026!
Eli also signed his first driver contract in 2025 – joining as a founding member of the Next Level Karting Team where he has found friends, coaching and off-track guidance to continue to push his performance forward.
Not wanting to get too comfortable on the asphalt, Eli went back to his first driving roots and race prepped his RZR 170 for the Pure Stock class at the Best in the Desert Laughlin Classic. Dirt racing might be in the blood – or, more likely, credit to the solid coaching and prep from his Grandpa, Will Staats, and Aunt Emily and Uncle Greg Shapiro, Eli stormed into the new discipline with a P2 in class and P11 overall.
2026 - Pushing to the Next Level
This year sees Eli pushing his young racing career even further as he explores new classes and disciplines to continue his skills development.
In PKRA Winter 2026 series, Eli has moved dramatically up the Junior 1 pack with 2 podiums to date and running in 5th in championship – even setting 2 new track records along the way!
Eli has also started training in the next level for karting with a Croc Promotions and Rotax Mini Max package – double the power of the Junior 1 206 and much more grip.
Much more to come this year as Eli combines his determination, dedication and skills to push his racing even further.
Future - To The Top
With goals of advancing to the top tiers of motorsport, Eli is learning to apply his focused nature to honing his skill through hard work on and off the track.
