Chris Sheil began his racing career at age 11, when his parents bought him a go-kart to race at a local rack. His dad said it would be “low-key” family fun, but it sparked a passion in Chris that led to International Karting Association of Colorado championships in both dirt and pavement series in his third year of racing. After petitioning to race in the adult class, Chris won his third IKAC Championship in 1999 before moving to oval track racing with the Rocky Mountain Minisprint Association, where Chris won Rookie of the Year, 13 of 16 feature events, and a Series championship in 2002.
After winning another championship in the higher powered 1200 Outlaws, several local racing teams took notice of this young hotshot, and he got the opportunity to fulfil a dream when Colorado Midget driver Jim Doyle asked Chris to drive his car at Big Country Speedway. He won his first feature that night and won the Rookie of the Year award that season with the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association. He landed a ride with Tony Rossi’s Racing Team for the 2007 season, with Jim Doyle as crew chief for his first full-time season in this premier racing division and won the RMMRA Season Championship.
In the next three seasons, Chis would split time between racing midgets and driving a Supermodified in Englewood Racing Association events. He won his second RMMRA Midget title in 2010, driving for car owner Mike Chrisinger and scored four Supermodified Main Events over three seasons driving for Skip Mikula. Career highlights were made during eight appearances at the Chili Bowl, the annual mid-winter indoor Midget racing event that attracts the best drivers in the nation. In 2016 Chris raced his way to the coveted Rich Vogler Hard Charger award, given to the driver that advances the most racing positions for the event.
Chris always valued his family’s role in his racing life, and it changed his career course when his dad, Rick Sheil, passed away after a motorcycle crash. Rick was an accomplished oval track driver who won a Figure-8 Championship at Colorado National Speedway and had retired from active competition to concentrate on supporting Chris’ racing career. With his passing, Chris followed a similar path in 2020 by retiring from competition to focus his attention on his two young sons. He came out of retirement to compete in the 2022 RMMRA Rick Sheil Championship race, named for his dad, and finished 5th in an emotionally charged feature event.
After a remarkable 25-year racing career highlighted by nine Championships, three Rookie of the Year awards, and time serving as RMMRA president, Chris Sheil left a positive impression on the Colorado Racing community. He is one of the youngest drivers to be inducted into the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame, welcomed with the class of 2024.
Recent Comments