Shelby Blackstock Explained

Shelby Blackstock
Birth Name:Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock
Birth Date:1990 2, mf=yes
Birth Place:Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation:Race car driver
Years Active:2012–present
Mother:Reba McEntire

Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock (born February 23, 1990) is an American race car driver. He is the son of country music singer Reba McEntire and her ex-husband Narvel Blackstock. His older half-brother, Brandon Blackstock, was formerly married to singer Kelly Clarkson. He also has two older half-sisters, Shawna and Chassidy.

Racing career

Blackstock began his racing career in college when he went to a Bob Bondurant race school. He dropped out of college and decided to pursue a racing career full-time.[1] His first significant appearances were in Skip Barber competition in 2010 and 2011. In 2011 he made his professional debut driving a Ford Mustang in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. He also finished fifth in the 2011 Skip Barber National Championship. In 2012, he moved to the U.S. F2000 National Championship with Andretti Autosport. He finished eighth in points with a best finish of fourth at Road America. He moved up with Andretti Autosport to the Pro Mazda Championship in 2013, finishing third in points and capturing a win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park among six podium finishes in 16 races. In 2014 he continued in Pro Mazda with Andretti, but fell to fourth in points, but still captured six podium finishes, but not a race victory.

In 2015 Blackstock signed to race for Andretti Autosport in the Indy Lights series.[2] Blackstock made 50 Indy Lights starts for Andretti Autosport and Belardi Auto Racing over the next three seasons, finishing on the podium twice, both at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and had a best points finish of 8th in 2016. While he may have only had two podiums over that time, he was also consistent, registering only two DNF's. Blackstock participated in the season-opening weekend of the 2018 Indy Lights season with Team Pelfrey and finished second in the second race, his career best Indy Lights finish. However, that would be his last Indy Lights race.

In 2019 Blackstock moved to touring car racing participating in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge where he finished 4th in points in the TCR class in a Honda Civic. In 2020 he is competing in the GT World Challenge America in a Acura NSX. He and co-driver Trent Hindman won the series' Silver Cup for professional drivers by default as they were the only class entry to compete in every race.

American open-wheel racing results

(key)

Pro Mazda Championship

YearTeam12345678910111213141516RankPointsRef
2013Andretti AutosportAUS
9
AUS
3
STP
2
STP
3
IND
3
IOW
7
TOR
6
TOR
7
MOS
2
MOS
1
MOH
2
MOH
4
TRO
6
TRO
11
HOU
4
HOU
6
3rd297[4]
2014Andretti AutosportSTP
10
STP
4
BAR
5
BAR
3
IMS
2
IMS
17
LOR
7
HOU
5
HOU
3
MOH
3
MOH
19
MIL
3
SON
5
SON
3
4th235[5]

Indy Lights

YearTeam123456789101112131415161718RankPointsRef
2015Andretti AutosportSTP
10
STP
11
LBH
9
ALA
9
ALA
10
IMS
8
IMS
8
INDY
8
TOR
4
TOR
6
MIL
11
IOW
9
MDO
3
MDO
6
LAG
8
LAG
5
10th218[6]
2016Andretti AutosportSTP
14
STP
11
PHX
14
ALA
4
ALA
5
IMS
10
IMS
7
INDY
4
RDA
13
RDA
5
IOW
12
TOR
10
TOR
9
MDO
8
MDO
5
WGL
6
LAG
10
LAG
11
8th227[7]
2017Belardi Auto RacingSTP
4
STP
6
ALA
7
ALA
8
IMS
9
IMS
14
INDY
11
ROA
8
ROA
6
IOW
13
TOR
11
TOR
13
MDO
4
MDO
3
GMP
9
WGL
12
10th207[8]
2018Team PelfreySTP
5
STP
2
ALA
ALA
IMSIMSINDYROAROAIOWTORTORMDOMDOGTWPORPOR8th42[9]
* Season still in progress

Notes and References

  1. http://shelbyblackstock.com/about About
  2. DiZinno, Tony. Andretti confirms first Indy Lights entry with Shelby Blackstock moving up, NBC Sports, December 2, 2014, retrieved 2014-12-19
  3. Web site: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Presented by Mazda – Final 2012 Points Standings. USF2000 Championship. January 13, 2024.
  4. Web site: Pro Mazda Championship - Season 2013: Results. Speedsport Magazine. January 13, 2024.
  5. Web site: Pro Mazda Championship - Season 2014: Results. Speedsport Magazine. January 13, 2024.
  6. Web site: Shelby Blackstock – 2015 Indy Lights Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 13, 2024.
  7. Web site: Shelby Blackstock – 2016 Indy Lights Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 13, 2024.
  8. Web site: Shelby Blackstock – 2017 Indy Lights Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 13, 2024.
  9. Web site: Shelby Blackstock – 2018 Indy Lights Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 13, 2024.