Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s niece hosting Nickelodeon NASCAR show

Karsyn Elledge, granddaughter of seven-time Sprint Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., has proven that she can handle a racing vehicle.

Now she’s trying out racing microphones.

Elledge, the 14-year-old daughter of Kelley Earnhardt Miller, co-owner of JR Motorsports, is the new host of NASCAR Hammer Down, a television series produced by NASCAR Productions and broadcast on Nickelodeon's Nicktoons. The show is scheduled to premier Sept. 30.

The second season of the show features Elledge, niece of Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., interviewing NASCAR drivers and hosting a variety of features.

Elledge, a 10th-grader, also races Mini Outlaw go-karts, and her driving has earned the praise of Earnhardt Jr., who is a guest on Hammer Down. Her go-kart has a paint scheme similar to the GM Goodwrench design raced by her grandfather.

“I was kind nervous about doing the show,” Elledge told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday. “But I felt comfortable in front of the camera. And I had a pretty good foundation for the show from taking acting and improvisational classes and being in student theater.

“But the drivers are famous, and I didn’t want to mess up and sound silly.”

Elledge interviewed Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Earnhardt Jr. about topics such as their favorite foods and colors.

“It was my first time interviewing Dale for anything,” she said. “It was new for both of us to talk in an interview, so the first couple of questions were kind of awkward. Plus, my uncle is kind of intimidating to me.”

Elledge said her racing has been limited this year. “I’ll always love racing,” she said. “Right now, I’m not really sure what I want to do. I’m only 14, so I don’t have everything figured out. But I want to do the TV stuff and race when I can.”

Earnhardt Miller, Karsyn’s mother, described the TV show as “the avenue I like for Karsyn. She was born to be some sort of star, whether it’s a racing star or something like this. She’s always wanted to be in the front of a camera. I like this for her, and it certainly doesn’t have the element of danger that motorsports brings with it, but I can live with that, too, because I’ve been involved with it all my life. But she’s a natural at this.”

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