Driving a race car and speeding around a track is a dream for many, but for seventh-grader Carson Hollst, this is a reality.

Hollst was introduced to racing by his family and has participated in the sport for six years.

“My grandpa when he was younger, he raced a lot,” Hollst said. “And then my father and then my uncle does also.” 

Hollst uses two different types of cars when racing: a door car and a dragster.

“The door car has the engine in the front like a regular car and it has exhaust that comes out like the side and then the door, there’s only two doors on the left and right in the front,” Hollst said. “The dragster is like a one-seated car with no doors, and it has a cage that’s over your head and it has the wind coming at you.”

Hollst goes to competitions about one to two times a month. 

“When I was younger, we used to go every weekend, but then since [I have] other sports now, I usually race around like once to twice a month,” Hollst said.

These competitions take Hollst to a variety of places. 

“I’m usually…all around the world,” Hollst said. “Some mainly are in the middle like the Midwest.”

In order to prepare for a race, Hollst does practice runs called time trials beforehand.

“A time trial is like a practice run to figure out if your car’s working and it’s running all good,” Hollst said. “You also figure out how fast you want to go [and] the time it takes to get down the track.”

Along with practicing to get ready for a race, Hollst has to have the proper mindset.

“If you’re not in your mindset like if you‘re thinking of something else, you’re not going to be ready,” Hollst said.

Hollst races two different distances in the competitions: a one-fourth-mile race and a one-eighth-mile race. These competitions are organized in a bracket-style where people race against others that are their age.

“You just race them and then you keep going on,” Hollst said. “It’s like a tournament or bracket.”

Hollst has found success at some competitions throughout his racing career.

“I have quite a few trophies and some are second to third place and then others are first,” Hollst said.

Other than the race itself, Hollst enjoys meeting new people at competitions.

“My favorite part of racing is talking or getting to meet new racers,” Hollst said.

Hollst plans to become more involved in racing but is uncertain about when with his busy schedule.

“When I’m older, I really want to get into racing more,” Hollst said. “But with sports right now I don’t know if I can get into it much.”

Hollst also has advice for anyone that wants to race.

“If you’re going to race, just make sure you’re ready…for going fast,” Hollst said.