By Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine Staff
Photography courtesy of Shumake Racing

Travis Shumake wasn’t your typical kid growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. His playground wasn’t the local park, it was the drag strip. The son of celebrated NHRA drivers Tripp and Susie Shumake, Travis’s “average” childhood activities included chatting with racing legends, standing on the starting line, and pretending to do burnouts in the Nitro Funny Car parked in the family garage. Yet, for Travis, this wasn’t just playtime, it was the beginning of a lifelong dream.

Travis’s aspiration to follow in his parents’ tire tracks emerged early. His fourth-grade paper on “Why I Want to Be a Funny Car Driver” laid out his ambitions with the same detail you’d expect from a pit crew’s race plan. But life took an unexpected turn in 1999 when his father tragically died in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident. The loss marked the end of Travis’s go-kart racing days, shifting his focus to new pursuits like performance arts, competitive cheerleading, and student leadership throughout high school.

Travis Shumake

As a student at Northern Arizona University, Travis’s talents reached beyond the raceway. He studied Hospitality Business Administration while serving as Student Body President and captain of the competitive cheerleading team. He joined Sigma Chi fraternity, where he became Vice President and earned the title of Greek Man of the Year in his senior year. In his book contribution to “Brotherhood: Gay Life in College Fraternities,” Travis recounts the challenges he faced in the nation’s largest traditionally straight fraternity, underscoring that “change takes time.”

After college, Travis returned to Phoenix and embarked on a decade-long career in the hospitality industry, producing large-scale events for Kimpton Hotels and the Waldorf Astoria’s Arizona Biltmore. His community involvement expanded, serving on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House and Phoenix Suns Charities, earning him a spot on the 2016 Phoenix Business Journal’s 40-Under-40 list. He also coached Chaparral High School to back-to-back Cheerleading National Championships.

Beyond work, Travis devoted himself to social causes, serving as Director of Development for one-n-ten, a nonprofit supporting LGBTQIA+ youth in Phoenix. In 2017, he became a foster parent, and his bond with his first foster placement grew beyond the initial 11-month commitment, transforming both of their lives. In 2018, Travis moved to New York City to work at the Clinton Foundation, where he lives with his partner Daryl and their rescue pup Banks. He now serves as the Major Gift Officer at the Ali Forney Center, the country’s largest provider of support services for LGBQTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Travis felt a rekindled desire to pursue his childhood dream of drag racing. In early 2021, he attended Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in Gainesville, earning his Super Comp Dragster license. Later that year, he completed a series of passes in Frank’s Nostalgia Funny Car, successfully obtaining his second NHRA license.

In fall 2021, Travis realized his childhood dream with a thrilling series of passes here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in an 11,000 HP Nitro Funny Car. Among the highlights was a sunset 319.69 mph blast. Yet, racing isn’t without risk—on his second pass of the day, his Funny Car veered across the centerline, making hard contact with the guard wall. Travis escaped with only a few broken ribs, a testament to the sport’s safety protocols.

Undeterred by the crash, Travis spent early 2022 training with 5x World Championship driver-owner-tuner Randy Meyer, driving an A-Fuel Dragster. He earned his license and entered a regional event, impressing Meyer enough to join the national tour. Travis’s 2022 season culminated with a top-3 qualifying spot in Charlotte and a career-best semi-final finish at Maple Grove Raceway. He capped off the season by winning the Best Appearing Car award at the World Finals, sporting a tribute paint scheme to his late father, who won the same event 40 years earlier. This season, Travis made the move to driving a Top Fuel Dragster. Top Fuel, the fastest accelerating machine on the planet, is known as the king of the sport. Not only did he move up to the big leagues, he became a team owner.

Travis Shumake is taking the driver’s seat in more ways than one this Pride Month, leading discussions and celebrations that underscore the importance of visibility and inclusion. As part of a series of Pride Month events organized by various employee resource groups, Travis will share his insights on the power of representation with employees from major corporations such as Goodyear, Toyota, Phillips 66, and Kroger. His talks aim to foster a culture of acceptance and understanding within these corporate environments.

Stonewall Columbus Pride has also named Travis Shumake their 2024 Pride Champion, recognizing his significant contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community and his groundbreaking achievements in American motorsports. On June 2nd, Travis will be honored in Columbus, Ohio, where he will participate in a series of community and sponsor events, including an appearance with his dragster, before heading to his June 28-30th race outside Columbus.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and FOX Sports are also taking notice of Travis’s remarkable journey. During Pride Month, NHRA on FOX will air a special feature that delves into Travis’s groundbreaking career, highlighting the legacy of his late father, Tripp Shumake, his experiences as a foster parent, and his unique perspective as a New York City-based driver. This compelling package will offer viewers a glimpse into the life of a trailblazer who is not only breaking records on the racetrack but also breaking barriers in the world of American motorsports.

Travis Shumake’s journey is one of resilience, passion, and dedication. From the innocence of childhood dreams to the thrill of the drag strip, he has proven that with determination, you can cross the finish line no matter where life takes you.

This article was originally published in the 2024 PRIDE Month Issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, and can be read in its original format here.