"Big John" a Carolinas Mainstay Getting to Know John Ellenburg
by Meghan Dillner
After Tuesday’s races at the Summer Shootout, most drivers head home to get some sleep, although they know they can’t rest for too long. For most, they will head to the shop or their garage to work on their car the next day and for many days to come in preparation for the following Tuesday night. Yet, for one driver in particular, working in the shop isn’t just another part of racing, but a way of life. As a 17-year-old boy, John Ellenburg somehow balances a daily commitment to schooling, racing, and working in a unique way.
"BIg John" in his office (LN Photos)
“I’ve been home-schooled since kindergarten. It’s nice. Home-schooling takes only like 4 ½ to 5 hours a day. Then we get over to Devo’s (Devo Motorsports, which maintains and repairs many Legends Cars in Concord, NC) at about ten in the morning. I get up probably about 4AM. I leave Devo’s at about 5PM, so it’s a pretty long day,” John said with a sigh.
Devo takes care of many cars, so John helps out with not only his, but all the other cars in the fleet. Of course, setting up Legends cars is tough and takes a lot of knowledge. So aside from his home-schooling, John is in class everyday, in essence, at the shop, with Devo as a teacher.
“In racing, he has taught me a lot of different techniques in driving. With the setup, he has taught me everything there is to know really,” explains John, who will be entering the equivalent to his senior year of high school or 12th grade in the fall.
A full-time job is a lot to cope with as a teenager and John’s job is no less complicated than the average working man’s. Legends Cars are complicated enough, and then there are often many repairs to be made each week after unfortunate wrecks at the Summer Shootout.
“It’s been pretty hectic lately setting up cars (for the Summer Shootout). I pretty much do it all now from setup to anything, basically, on the car. I guess we (he and Devo) do it all in Legends Cars,” he proudly remarks.
“It’s starting to feel like a second home to me. I spend a lot of time there and once you’ve been in the shop for a long time and you’re sharing things with Devo, it feels like everything is yours and his, even though it’s not really that way.”
Many people work for the money and not for the joy. John is different. He wouldn’t be working with Devo and living out this lifestyle if he didn’t have fun working alongside of him.
“I enjoy this lifestyle a lot. Devo is a great guy. I’ve been with him for about four or five months. We get along pretty good and if it weren’t for that, it probably wouldn’t be all that fun,” John laughs.
John’s lifestyle includes working on the cars every week, but don’t think for a moment that he doesn’t take the time to fulfill his dream by racing every week at tracks such as Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord Motorsport Park or Friendship Speedway.
“I raced Bandoleros for about two years and we were pretty successful in that. So, I moved up to Legends in the beginning of 2006 and we’ve been going from there; I love it,” he says.
As always with kids in racing, one huge question comes to mind; how did he get started in such a rare childhood sport? Was he born into a racing family, or was he a huge fan of the sport?
“My Uncle was an official track inspector for NASCAR for about ten years. I kind of went off from there. Me and my dad went to the Summer Shootout and we watched, and we thought we would try it out,” he admits.
Ellenburg's trademark #13 has been leading the pack at tracks throughout the Southeast.
John’s number-13 Legends Car in the Semi-Pro division is well-known around the track, but many people wouldn’t know the car by its number. Instead, they more commonly recognize the machine by the words “Big John” written across the door.
“When I first started racing Bandoleros, my mom and my decal man thought of a bunch of different names, and Humpy Wheeler (President of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway) came up with the design on the door for the Shootout. It was the best name for me at the time,” he says simply.
During the week, Ellenburg can be found tinkering on his and other Legends Cars at Devo Motorsports
There would be no “Big John” at the Shootout if it wasn’t for the support from his family. John’s parents are behind him in every way. They backed him up from the start of his racing career and will be there until the end. John is extremely grateful for his parents help and understands how important family truly is.
“I have a great family that helps out a lot in racing. They give me all the support I could ask for. Telling me to do what I do to the best I can do it all the time. I have my mom and dad helping me there, and they give me all kinds of moral support. It helps out a lot. In the beginning they always were behind me, supporting me in every way; moral support and money support that is,” he states proudly.
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John isn’t scared to admit that his family is an immense part of his life, but he also recognizes his friends as another essential element. Since he doesn’t go to a public school, John is forced to make friends in other events; usually, this means palling around at the track.
“I have a lot of friends at the track. Out of most of the guys I race with, there are about 5 or 6 of them that I race online with every night on the computer; (I’ll) race with Junior and Denny Hamlin. We race about three or four hours every night.”
John likes racing on the computer, but that isn’t where he makes his greatest accomplishments. Those all take place at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but not necessarily on the racetrack.
“The Spirit of the Legends award we received in the Summer Shootout last year is one of my biggest accomplishments ever. People told me that meant more than the championship. I couldn’t believe it when I got it,” he says modestly.
The Spirit of the Legends award, which is awarded annually at the Shootout to the family whom most exemplifies a “Spirit of a Legend,” may have been his biggest accomplishment at the track, but he has many other memorable experiences there. Yet, looking back isn’t what John is about; he is very much for looking to the future and is trying to map his out as he goes. Like many young drivers, he wants to take his hobby and transform it into a career.
“I want to be part of a driver development program eventually and try to work my way up in the ranks way in the future,” he states.
To get to that level, John has a lot of work in front of him. But right now his focus is at the job at hand. Like any other driver, he has goals for this season, but it’s all part of the big plan. He knows the Summer Shootout can get him places, and that’s why he is trying to leave his mark.
"Big John" is not aftraid to get down and dirty in the shop
“This year I am looking for a top-five finish (in the Semi-Pro standings). Hopefully we can get the car going pretty good,” added Ellenburg, who nearly picked off the win in week number-2 at the Shootout before being tagged by another car late in the race while leading.
John Ellenburg is a hard-working man, even though he’s only 17 years old. His goals are simple, and his work ethic is filled with determination. Will he accomplish what he has set out to do? Getting to know “Big John,” you begin to understand he will race as hard he can until he does succeed.
