Libby Nielsen
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”
Hi, I’m Libby Nielsen. I am 14 years old and I'm in the 8th grade. I live in Minnesota. I’ve grown up around and have been driving off-road vehicles since I was two, so basically as long as I can remember. I started racing back in the fall of 2018 as a sub driver for a Short Course Kart. I raced with a kart under my name the entire 2019 season. I race the #42 Bikeman Performance short course kart in the Lucas Oil Midwest Racing Series. Since it was my very first season at a competitive level with no practice time or testing, I haven’t had any actual podiums. I feel like I’ve learned more than I ever imagined through wrecks and spin outs and that’s more of an accomplishment than any trophy.
The amount of feedback I’ve gotten from my team is extraordinary and I apply it to everything I do to make myself a better driver. I learn something new everyday. I’ve raced at every track the midwest series puts on. This includes races at ‘The Big House’ two times a year in Crandon, Wisconsin, Bark River International Speedway in Bark River, Michigan, and ERX Motor Park in Elk River, Minnesota. There was a race that was supposed to happen in Wheatland, Missouri which I’ve been to many times in the past but was canceled due to a weather incident.
For the upcoming 2020 season, I plan to race a Polaris UTV in the Sportsman Class of the Championship Off Road racing series. Eventually, I would love to move up to a Pro Class after a few more years of practice and getting used to this whole new breed of racing. My favorite quote is “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” because it reminds me that even if I have a natural drive, or natural talent, I can’t take advantage of that and only work until i don’t need to push myself. I’ve learned the hard way that you need to struggle to get to where you want to be. My main hobbies outside of racing include varsity high school gymnastics and varsity high school pole vault.
