Gatton-Pollock continues racing tradition

Hagan Gatton-Pollock, daughter of Scott and Jennifer Cooper of Amherst, has been around the world of racing much of her life.

Sue Cooper, her grandmother, said their family has always been a racing family. Her husband Jerry and son Scott have raced, and her grandson Matthew once placed in a statewide race.

Gatton-Pollock got a taste of racing with junior dragsters when she was 8 years old. Since then, “she doesn’t miss the races,” said Cooper.

Gatton-Pollock will turn 15 next week, and she has just completed her first season in the Junior Street class drag racing program this summer, in which kids ages 13-16 can drag race on 1/8 mile tracks. Racers must have a co-driver, someone 21 or older, ride along with them in the vehicle during races. Both the racer and the co-driver must wear helmets. The vehicle a racer uses must be street-legal and can’t complete a 1/8 mile track in a faster time than nine seconds.

“It can go from your mom’s minivan to a nice-looking Mustang,” Gatton-Pollock said of the range of potential cars that can be used. The vehicle she uses is a 2014 Chrysler 300S.

To race in the Junior Street class, a racer has to make six passes down the track and then another one with the track official. Gatton-Pollock practices at Julesburg Dragstrip. Cooper said Gatton-Pollock was a driving force behind getting the Junior Street class reopened at Julesburg Dragstrip, where lack of participation had caused the program to be discontinued in previous years.

Gatton-Pollock joined four other kids in participating in the Junior Class point series at Julesburg Dragstrip this summer. Based on points she accumulated over five races from May-August, she won first place in the point series.

Her performance earned her a trip to regional competition in Topeka, Kansas, on Friday, Sept. 17. Champions of 15 area tracks from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa competed in the event.

Gatton-Pollock said before elimination rounds start, racers perform two time trials to see what completion times their vehicle is running that day, and the racers turn in their prediction of the time they’ll get to the race official. Two drivers race at a time in different heats until they go through the whole class. Each racer has their own set of lights, often called trees, telling them when to begin.

At regionals, Gatton-Pollock lost in the first round during the race of champions, which consisted of six other racers. She lost in the second round for the division finals race, but she improved and went faster with every race.

Cooper said Gatton-Pollock is very calm and mellow during races, and being her co-driver is not as scary as she thought it’d be.

“It’s like a family,” Cooper said of the races and the people they meet. “It’s a good atmosphere.”

As for Gatton-Pollock, she loves the feeling of racing down the track. “It’s kind of like an escape, being able to go fast legally,” she said.

After the Junior Street class, Gatton-Pollock plans to continue racing in the High School class, where the track is 1/4 mile and vehicles have a 12-second limit.

People interested in getting involved with the Junior Street class program should contact Julesburg Dragstrip for more information.