Reba McEntire’s Son Races to the Finish Line
Reba McEntire is discovering a whole new world, which says a lot considering she already wears dozens of hats including singer, songwriter, actor, author and designer. The multi-faceted businesswoman, who says her most important roles are as wife and mother, is now learning about race car driving, thanks to her son, Shelby Blackstock, who drives the No. 51 Ford Mustang Roush.
Reba shifted gears from performer to spectator at a pit stop in Daytona Beach, Fla., to cheer Shelby on in the Continental Tire Challenge Grand-Am 200 on Friday (January 21).
"It's kind of like 101 race time for Reba," she told the media prior to the race. "It's been very fun and very exciting for me. I'm having a real good time with it."
Assuming her son would follow in the footsteps of her and husband-manager, Narvel Blackstock, and join the family music business, she was pleasantly surprised when he took up the sport of racing five months ago.
"I'm very happy that he's racing because that's his passion," said the proud mom. "I can understand the excitement of the race business. I'm from a rodeo family. The scare tactics and everything are very similar in rodeo. The adrenaline does flow very fast, but I'm used to that."
Reba even took to her Twitter page over the weekend to express her excitement at watching Shelby in his first professional race. "Being in the pit with the crew (who I have the utmost respect and admiration for), watching Shelby on the track racing at 170 mph was the biggest rush I've ever had!!"
Shelby, who turns 21 next month, attended the University of Arizona last year, but quickly realized college was not for him. His interest was racing, so his mother offered him a deal that if he finished the year at school he could try racing.
"It was definitely a carrot dangling in front of me," Shelby told the Daytona Beach News Journal. "It worked out though. I did not like the University of Arizona too much. The school was good. College was fun. But Tucson, I'm not a big fan of."
Marking his first time at the Daytona International Speedway, Shelby qualified 24th for Friday's 58-car, 150-minute race and split time in the seat with Roly Falgueras. The team finished in 18th place with their best lap time coming in at one-minute-59-seconds at lap No. 30.
"I've always wanted to race here," he revealed. "It wasn't really shocking until I was going around turn four and shifting into fifth gear, and I was looking around and realized I was going 160 miles per hour and that I was passing my break-zone marker."
Shelby attended the Bondurant and Skip Barber Racing Schools and made his first start last August in the Mustang Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park. He finished last and second-to-last in his first two outings, but less than two months later, he came in third and first, respectively.
"It's almost a dream come true so far," he explained. "It doesn't really have the same flare of being around concerts and everything else I've done in my life, but it's definitely a highlight."
Shelby is earning his time behind the wheel by competing in the Skip Barber Western, Southern and National Series, and he feels he has a lot more to learn about his chosen profession.
"I don't think I'm fully as ready as I need to be, because I'm still learning the track and still learning the car," he said. "Little by little, I want to make this into a career. [My parents are] supportive; they understand this is what I want to do."
Fans can catch the race on the Speed Channel on Saturday, February 5 at 3:00 PM ET.
Reba, who is making her way up the country charts with 'If I Were a Boy,' has been tapped to take part in the Academy of Country Music's CBS-TV special, 'Girl's Night Out: Superstar Women Of Country,' which will be taped April 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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