More than four decades of success continues with new generation

Story & photos by Shawn Wood

Motorsports can often be summed up in two words: Passion and family.

The Shrawder family of Paxinos is living proof of both.

From the Thunder Valley Drag Strip in Bristol, Tenn., to their home track of Numidia Dragway, the Shrawders have won high-paying events, track championships, and have made many friends along the way since their debut in the sport in the early 1980s.

Their foray into the world of drag racing came at the hands of Stace Shrawder.

Stace said he got in trouble for street racing a few times and that’s when he decided to take the passion for going fast to the drag strip.

“Our dad, Lester, was not into racing, but he liked hot rods,” Stace said. “We do a lot of work on the cars on our own .When you get to the track, everyone there treats you like family. If you are having a mechanical problem, they come over and help or give you a part if you need one to make a pass.”

Lester Shrawder started the Shrawder Building and Excavating, LLC, business in Middleburg in 1967. Stace and his brother Vince run the family business to this day.

They had a third brother Chris, who got Vince into the drag-racing scene. Chris tragically lost his life in an auto accident in 1988 at 19.

Vince was the 2012 track champion in the Super Pro division at Numidia and he also won the prestigious Mutt & Jeff event at Beaver Springs.

“We’re a tight-knit family and there are 10 to 12 people who are helping out at the track all the time,” Vince said. “We love the competition.”

Vince races in the Super Pro division with a 1988

Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck and his two dragsters.

Vince and Lisa have two children, Angela and Vince Jr., both of whom raced Junior Dragsters.

Angela’s son, 7-year-old Gianni Ciccarone is going into his second season in the Junior Dragster division. He attends Meadowview Christian Academy. His passion for the sport can be compared with that of legendary drag racer John Force.

And that’s not a stretch.

He’s even earned a nickname, ‘The Mayor of Numidia’ as he knows everyone, helps in the ticket booth, and hands out the time slips.

Gianni’s younger brother, Nico, is ready to go racing, but he is 4 and they won’t allow you to make a pass until you are 5.

Their sister, Kierra, also raced in the Junior Dragsters.

“When he first started, I was scared to death to watch,” Angela said of Gianni in the dragster. “But he has caught on quickly.”

With trophies and plaques lining the race shop, it is easy to see the boys took to the sport quickly and have made a name for themselves not only locally, but also on the national scene.

Stace and Vince competed at US 131 Motor Sports Park in Martin, Mich., where the total prize money was more than $1.1 million in 2019. It attracted more than 1,200 cars for both divisions. Stace finished nineth overall out of 500-plus entrants in door-cars with electronics while Vince finished 18th out of 700-plus entrants in the dragster.

They’ll be looking to add to their overall awards when they head to North Carolina next week for the GALOT Motorsport Park Spring Fling.

“We try to get to do three or four travel races a year,” Vince said.

The brothers have also competed at the legendary Rockingham (N.C.) and Darlington (S.C.) drag strips.

Both men noted they can go almost two seasons’ without having to refresh a motor. They spend a couple of hours a week in the shop doing maintenance from changing the oil to checking out the valves.

“My first car was a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, but I wanted to go faster,” Stace said. “So, I switched to the

Camaro and now I’m running a 1994 Chevy Lumina and a 1968 Camaro with a big block Chevy in the Lumina and a 427 cubic inch plant in the Camaro.”

Stace’s personal best so far was a 7.91-second run or 172 miles per hour, on the quarter mile. He won the $20,000 Jim Harrington Bracket Nationals at Numidia on July 17, 2022.

Vince has two perfect passes among his accolades. They came in 1998 and 2018. A perfect pass is where you have a perfect reaction time at the starting line, and you are dead on zero on the dial-in.

Nate, who is Stace’s son, is a 2014 Shikellamy High School graduate. He was captain of the football team and ran the 4x100 meter relay in track. He raced dirt bikes before getting into drag racing. He graduated from Penn State (Main Campus) with a degree in petroleum and natural gas mechanical engineering. He races a few times a year.

As for Gianni, he’s been watching videos on his iPad of his grandfather and uncle racing since he was two. He knows all the drivers.

“I like cleaning the car and it runs on alcohol,” he said. “I beat a 17-year-old last year. That was cool.”

In beating the opposing driver, Gianni had a reaction time of .006 at the starting line.

Gianni is hoping to add to the trophies and plaques in the shop like his grandfather and uncle have.

After all, he comes from a family who eats, sleeps, and bleeds drag racing.

His passion shows it.