Sports Spotlight: Karlie & Kelly Hoerner

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) – ‘Like father like son.’ It’s been said a number of times over the years. ‘Like father like daughter’— that’s the subject of this week’s Sports Spotlight. We went to Dacotah Speedway to tell you about Kelly & Karlie Hoerner.

On Friday nights, Mandan comes to life with the sounds of the race track. Two of the drivers are father and daughter.

“My dad, but I like to say we came to the races. It’s all mom’s fault, mom made me sit in the stands, watch the races. Was hooked from a kid,” said Karlie Hoerner, Hobby Stocks driver.

“It’s kind of in your blood. I started back in the day, and once you quit, it’s kind of hard to stop,” said Kelly Hoerner, Hobby Stocks driver.

“Once you start, it’s hard, you get the itch. One good week, it really sets you up. It makes all those trials and tribulations much better,” said Karlie.

Kelly has been racing for over 35 years, and Karlie has been racing for about 10. They’ve made a lot of memories together on the track.

“All the wins, but it’s the hard work you see put in there, some hard nights that you go back and you think of that truly made the difference. A lot of my good times are with dad and his success,” said Karlie.

“It’s been kind of fun. She don’t like it when I beat her. She’s been kind of beating me the last couple of nights. She’s getting even now, so it works out,” said Kelly.

When you look under the hood, you can see that it takes a lot of moving pieces to get these cars going.

“Full-blown race motor. Stock exhaust for the most part, two-barrel carburetor, the rest of it: it’s a 30 over 350 Chevy motor,” said Kelly.

The Hoerner’s cars have a very distinct presence about them. There’s a story behind the hue of each car.

“My colors have been teal, teal and purple have been the theme. Dad’s color is usually purple, but my niece wanted a rainbow car this year, so this is what she got,” said Karlie.

“That came from a dare. I had picked up a two-tone Dodge pickup, and I had wrecked it, and then we put a different box on it. We couldn’t figure out what to paint the car, I didn’t want to paint it what it was, and then my friend said ‘Why don’t you just paint the thing purple,’” said Kelly.

Needless to say, the Hoerners are quite the pair.

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