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Legend-ary racing career in the making

By Ari Selvey 6 min read

NEW ULM -- On September 12, 6-year-old New Ulmite Legend Future Pennant overcame a last-place start to place second during a race at Stockholm Karting Center in Cokato.

The high finish is no surprise for Legend Pennant, who despite often racing against competitors several years older than himself, finds himself among the leaders in most races he competes in, notching multiple races in Quarter Midgets Oval Racing over the past year and a half. Legend Pennant's second-place finish in Cokato came in his first year of Road Course Karting as he navigated the .650-mile, 14-turn course. Despite being just 6 years old, Legend Pennant has been putting the pedal to the metal for as long as he could steer a vehicle.

Michael Pennant, Legend's father, said he noticed Legend's interest in racing from a very young age.

"We don't really have a whole lot of racing background, but I've been a fan of racing my whole life," Michael Pennant said. "That being said, I have certain simulators for driving at our house. When he was 1, 1 1/2 years old, he would try to stand in my chair and try to steer and try to shift gears. It was funny to see at first."

Legend continued to show interest in driving as he got older, and Michael Pennant bought him his first vehicle at 3 years old.

"We bought him a Mario Kart to ride on," Michael Pennant said. "It goes up to 10 miles an hour and its for 5- to 8-year olds or something like that. He was 3, and there's three different speeds, so we thought, 'Why don't we give him it, he likes driving so much.' We had a long driveway -- we lived in LA at the time -- so we thought 'Let's let him have it.' He started at the slowest speeds, and then he moved up to the fastest speeds, which were meant for 8-year-olds."

Legend showed even at 3 years old to have uncanny control over his kart for his age, and despite some initial trepidation at his speed, Michael Pennant soon realized that Legend was more than capable of racing around at the maximum speeds for his vehicle.

"He showed us quickly he had control over his car more-so that you'd expect a 3-year-old to have," Michael Pennant said. "He would just lock in and start driving -- he started drifting in it at 3 1/3 years old."

The Pennants moved to New Ulm when Legend was still 3, and the young driver continued his racing journey.

"One day he was driving his Mario Kart, and he stopped and he took a sigh, and he said, 'Daddy, this is too slow,'" Michael Pennant said. "So for an early Christmas present, I got him a Coleman Go-Kart from Runnings. It goes 13, 14, 15 miles per hour, and he started driving it a lot."

Legend could be seen driving round the New Ulm Civic Center Parking lot, testing his speeds and skill. Eventually, the Pennants decided to let him try racing against some real competition.

"We would ask him, 'What would you like to do when you grow up?' And he always said, 'Car racing,'" Michael Pennant said. "Mind you, the only racing he's seen is me on a game, he doesn't watch real racing at all. It's hard to belive that's what you actually want to do if that's all you see.

"But we went to Little Elko [Speedway in Elko New Market] and we tried out some karts when he just turned 5 with the Quarter Midgets, and he liked the idea of racing, so we rented one of those karts for the last quarter of the season when he was 5, and he won his first race."

From that point on, Legend continued to participate -- and win -- kart races.

"We were like, 'Wait a minute, this is the first race you've ever done, and you won,'" Michael Pennant said. "That was crazy to see … He had one two total races at the end of that season, and the only kids that were giving him competition were 9-year-olds and 8-year-olds when he was 5. We looked at that and thought that was very interesting."

This year, the now 6-year-old Legend has branched out from circle track racing to track courses such as the one at the Stockholm Kartin Center in Cokato. Along the way, Legend has gained support from the community, including a sponsor in B&B Painting to help with the costs of racing.

"Instantly, he was faster than everybody his age." Michael Pennant said. "There was nobody as fast on the track. Everybody got better and better throughout the season, but his only competition again were the 8-year-olds at the top of the league. They're moving up next year, and he was keeping up with them."

Once the 8-year-olds moved up a league halfway through the season, Legend was on his own at the front of races. Legend has participated in 20-odd races in the past year and a half, and he continues to grow as he gets more an more experience.

"It's very awesome to see as a parent," Michael Pennant said. "This is my first and only child at the moment, and as a parent, you're learning every day. You're watching your child grow as a person. It's his mindset and ability to process things and make the decisions he makes that stands out to me.

"The way we are as a family, we don't take any half steps. Whatever we do, we try our best. That's our motto in the household."

Both Legend and Michael have taken that approach to Legend's racing career, with Michael Pennant learning how to coach and maintain a go kart as Legend grows as a racer.

"It's awesome to see how he's processed this whole scenario," Michael Pennant said. "It's amazing where his mindset is … I didn't really notice how far we've come and how amazing he's become from the outside until people start talking to you about it."

Michael Pennant said he started being asked about Legend after the 8-year-olds left and Legend really stood out from the rest of his age group.

"You hear other people talking about it, and that's when I realized, 'Yo! You're doing something a lot of people have never seen before. I don't think you're supposed to be driving like this at 6 years old.' It's crazy to watch."

For the past two years, Michael Pennant has taken Legend to watch live races at Road America in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Legend has taken some interest to it, but he still he still loves being behind the wheel far more than being in the stands.

"He doesn't want to watch this, he wants to do this," Michael Pennant said.

As for Legend, he keeps it short when asked why he likes racing.

"It's fun," Legend said.

And his plans for the future remain the same as it did three years ago when he got his first kart.

"[I want to keep racing] for my whole life," Legend said.

Starting at /week.