The Degnan racers (left to right) Scott Degnan, Drake Degnan and Macy Degnan pose for a photo on July 21, 2024 at Escanaba Speedway. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

ESCANABA — It only took one trip to races for the Degnan family to find their passion and love for the sport of racing. Scott Degnan went to the races to help with the wrecker service and the very next week Scott was behind the wheel of a race car.

“It all happened all at once,” Degnan said. “I went out to help with towing cars and the next week I was racing.”

Degnan began racing at Baylands Speedway, at that time the old half-mile track in Escanaba, in 1997. The track closed in 1998, but not before Scott raced street stocks and won the track championship in Baylands’ final season.

Degnan continued racing after Baylands closure. He raced late models on asphalt at Norway, Sands and Kinross Speedways, winning the track championship at Sands in 2001.

Scott Degnan and his wife Karen Degnan both raced sprints for the Gladstone Ice Racing Association. Scott Degnan won eight championships on the ice. Karen Degnan won one ice racing championship in 2013.

In 2010 Escanaba’s track reopened as the Upper Peninsula International Raceway. Scott Degnan drove in the 600cc sprint class from 2010-2013, winning two track championships. Karen Degnan ran in the sportsman sprint division from 2010-2013, winning a track championship in 2011. Karen also won the sportsman micro sprint feature at UPIR on its first night back.

Scott’s son Drake Degnan started racing in 2011 in the junior sprints class at UPIR and with the Great Lakes Ice Racing association. Drake Degnan moved into the sportsman sprint division in 2018 before moving into the super modified class in 2021.

“It has been fun racing and continuing to learn and improve,” Drake Degnan said. “I feel like I have learned a lot so far. It’s a huge learning curve jumping from the sprints to this class so I’m just taking it all in and working to improve every time out.”

In 2022 Macy Degnan began her racing career as she stepped into her brother’s old car and claimed her first career feature win this season.

“I tried jumping into a junior sprint on a couple of occasions,” Macy Degnan said. “It felt a little too claustrophobic for me at the time, but when Drake moved up I said I may as well throw my hat in the ring and see what I can do.”

Macy is also a member of the Escanaba Speedway’s board of directors and sees things from both points of view.

“We don’t just show up and race,” Macy Degnan said. “I do whatever I have to do to help, from picking rocks to running pumps. There is a lot that goes into doing this.”

Everyone in the family has feature wins. Scott Degnan owns 167 feature wins combined between all tracks he has raced. Karen Degnan has 10 wins, Drake Degnan has five feature wins and Macy has one.

“It’s pretty awesome to get to watch them compete every night,” Karen Degnan said. “It’s not just our family, it’s our extended racing family because everyone out here feels like family.”