Siblings Matt Harris and Christine Harris-Samuel have been experiencing quite a season in the exceptionally competitive Competition Eliminator category. Matt just picked up his second division win this year at the final NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 event of the season, contested last weekend in Earlville, Iowa. The brother/sister duo each picked up wins earlier this season at the Divison 5 doubleheader at Bandimere Speedway in Denver over Father’s Day weekend, which is fitting because it’s their father who tunes their race cars, and it was their father who inspired them to get involved in drag racing in the first place.

“None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for our dad,” said Christine. “All three of my wins have been over Father’s Day weekend at Bandimere, and it’s been so special to get to give back to him for all he’s done for us.”

Because Comp Eliminator did not compete at the Denver national event this year, Matt and Christine likely have the two final Competition Eliminator Wallys from Bandimere Speedway, which was recently sold. 

Tuned and trained by their father, Bill Harris, Matt and Christine grew up watching him compete in Comp Eliminator. Since they got behind the wheels of their respective vehicles, the achievements have been many. Matt was named NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 champion in Comp Eliminator in 2019, the same year Bill was named the Division 5 Sportsman Tuner of the Year. Collectively, the family has 12 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Divisional Wallys.

As is true for many family teams, competing with multiple cars in the same category can get intense. Still, for the Harris family, the mutual appreciation they have for each other means that sibling support far outranks any sibling rivalries they may experience. However, when they line up against one another, team strategy tends to fly out the window as the need to win overtakes them. 

“I think we always have some of that sibling rivalry when we race each other,” said Christine, who drives an H-Altered Grand Am. “We both always want to win, and we end up racing each other a lot because that’s just the nature of the class when you’re competing at the same events. We always try to think strategically as a team about which car might be more competitive in future rounds. But even if you think about that, even if we’ve said that maybe it makes more sense for this one to go to Matt because he hasn’t taken as much index or something when we get to the starting line, my competitive nature takes over, and I just want to win.”

“In 2014, we started racing together at local bracket races,” said Matt, who got his drag racing license in 2004. “We were just making lap after lap because we bracket raced two or three times a month. It changed the way I was able to drive, and Christine, who was just getting started at the time, got to much more seat time than she ever would have if she’d just been racing in Comp a few times a year.”

That’s when the family crew began to solidify. Matt and Bill had both experienced successes independently, but when Christine began to race in Comp alongside her older brother, the team dynamic changed positively. Several mishaps made the siblings grow to appreciate and respect each other more. 

“I’ve been upside down a couple of times,” said Matt, who currently pilots an E-Altered Grand Am. “The second time, in 2014, we were testing some stuff in Kearney, Neb., and when I threw the parachutes at the finish line, a big gust of wind picked the back of the car up and turned me into the wall. Christine had made a pass before me, so she was already at the top end. She was the first one to the car. I’ll never forget seeing her run up there. That’s the moment when it changed from, ‘We’re both doing this,’ to ‘We’re doing this together.’”

In 2019, Christine experienced an on-track incident at a national event in Topeka wherein her car caught on fire past the finish line after careening into the wall. 

“I was sitting there in my car because I was supposed to run next,” recalls Matt. “The radios were working, but she wasn’t saying anything. We couldn’t see much from 1,500 feet away but we could see that the car was on fire and the flames were going through the roof. The first thing she did was hit the fire bottle, and she got the fire under control. Then she got out of the car, shut the power off, and got to the wall, all on her own. In a situation like that, with fire, you never know how you’re actually going to react until it happens to you. The way Christine handled it, she earned a lot of respect that day. And we both became more confident in her abilities. Now we know that she can handle anything the car throws at her.”

That’s a lesson that Bill tried to teach his children early on in their racing careers - that race cars can be unpredictable, so one must expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything. He emphasizes the importance of the mental strength to be competitive in drag racing. Matt and Christine share a mutual appreciation for their father’s tuning skills and his life advice.

“Dad loves to tune these cars, and he’s so good at it,” said Matt. “He makes the right decisions. Rarely do we make passes that don’t make it to the finish line. That’s all because of him and his understanding of these cars.”

“In college, I got three speeding tickets in a month,” recalls Christine. “My dad thought that maybe we should find a better outlet. My dad and my brother kind of showed me the ropes, and I started bracket racing before competing in Comp, just to kind of get an understanding of how this all works.”

Although the siblings are separated geographically - Christine lives outside of Denver, and Matt lives south of Omaha, Neb. - they say they are closer now than ever. 

“It’s become a different relationship,” said Matt. “I don’t want to say that we’re closer because you’re always close to your siblings, but it’s thicker. It’s more symbiotic knowing that we have all these shared experiences.”

“There’s a lot of good sibling banter rather than any true rivalry,” said Christine. “Neither of us is actually really upset if the other one wins. We’re typically harder on ourselves, thinking, ‘I screwed up,’ rather than being ticked off at our sibling for winning.

“Matt has always been my coach. So, even if I win, I think he’s still proud because he’s coached me on how I drive and do things behind the wheel. We like to tease each other, but in the end, we’re happy for each other and proud of each other. It’s the family dynamic that makes drag racing so great. All of these memories I have with my dad and brother, spending time together. We want to be sure that our dad is enjoying all of this and feels appreciated for all he puts into it. That’s huge for us.”

As the Harris siblings continue to rise in the Division 5 points standings, it’s clear that the unique chemistry that makes a crew successful is at work in their pits.