# @thekansascitystar on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/ChH-nRxOhH3
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/19115987-thekansascitystar-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/6338074ba4.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-08-11T15:43:17.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Kansas City Star (@thekansascitystar) — https://gondola.cc/thekansascitystar

## Caption

If the past is any indication, there’ll likely be some “Let’s Go Brandon” anti-Biden chants in the crowd at this weekend’s National Hot Rod Association competition in Topeka. Almost certainly, several dragsters flying down the track at 300 miles per hour will have “Racers for Trump” decals slapped on the sides.

But attendees will also be greeted by a surprising counterweight to American motorsports’ historically conservative culture: a 25-foot, 4,000-horsepower, rainbow-colored car designed by Pride Kansas and driven by travieshu, who will be making history as the first openly gay driver to compete at NHRA nationals.

“Honestly, I’ve been surprised by how welcoming the racing community has been to me,” Shumake, 37, said on Tuesday afternoon while applying that rainbow wrap to his dragster at Randy Meyer Racing, in south Johnson County. “I think maybe it’s a little like Kansas in that way. It doesn’t necessarily have the most tolerant reputation. But you come here, and it is.”

The Menards NHRA Nationals will be held Friday through Sunday at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka.

Read more about Shumake and his journey to drag racing at the link in our bio. ✏️ David Hudnall

#DragRacing #LGBTQ #PrideKansas #TopekaKS #HotRods

## Stats

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## Tags

hotrods, topekaks, lgbtq, pridekansas, dragracing

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