Who Is Karsyn On Claim To Fame? The Contestant With Two Celebrity Relatives
Karsyn Elledge may have told her "Claim to Fame" castmates that she was related to a musician, but we've got it on good authority that just isn't so. So, who is she, really?
As "Claim to Fame" fans will know, the competition requires each contestant to hint at their famous relations by way of a good old game of two truths and a lie. At the time of writing, Elledge has told her castmates that her relative is an uncle, a hall of famer (though, as pointed out by TV Insider, she's never specified which hall of fame he's been inducted into), and a musician. However, her talent show presentation would suggest that if her uncle was, in fact, a musician, that might not necessarily run in the family. Granted, Popsugar has mused that her, ahem, interesting version of "Amazing Grace" may have been a ploy. Sure enough, though, Primetimer has pointed out that vocals aside, the song could also have been a hint at her relative being Jefferson Airplane alum and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Grace Slick — making her clue that the celebrity in question was her uncle the lie.
Compelling as that theory may be, the truth is Elledge isn't related to a musician. Far from it, she comes from a long line of NASCAR racing drivers.
She's related to Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Karsyn Elledge might not come from a musical family, but when it comes to her pedigree in the world of motorsports, she's pretty much akin to racing car royalty. Case in point: While the relative referred to on "Claim to Fame" is her uncle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., she's also the granddaughter of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. Fun fact: Both her uncle and grandfather are NASCAR Hall of Famers.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. aren't Elledge's only famous family members in the sport, either. The "Claim to Fame" contestant's great-grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, was also a NASCAR man — with 350 wins under his belt, at that. And, while not a NASCAR Hall of Famer, he has been inducted into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame.
It's worth noting that outside of "Claim to Fame," Elledge has never really hidden the fact that she comes from the racing family or that she grew up in the limelight, to some degree. In fact, the opposite is true. Back in 2013, a then pre-teen Elledge even spent a day as Fox Sports' NASCAR Race Hub reporter. Introduced as the daughter of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sister, she went on to speak with spectators to find out their favorite racer, cheering on those who picked her uncle. She also joked about being a nepo baby while interviewing Joey Logano. "We're twinzies," she quipped.
... and she's gone into racing, herself
It's a good thing Karsyn Elledge joined "Claim to Fame" when she did because, in a few years, she might not qualify for it at all. As she told racer Jamie McMurray in her NASCAR Race Hub special, "Someday, I'm going to be in your shoes. Can you interview me?"
She wasn't kidding, either. In a 2019 interview with NASCAR, she joked that going into the family business was her first choice, saying, "My Plan B, I have to have that figured out, and I have no clue." A few months later, she survived a terrifying car accident in a midget race that saw her vehicle flip several times. However, even that couldn't put an end to her drive (see what we did there?). In a 2022 interview with History Mystery Man, she shared that she intended to complete "the whole USAC season."
Let's get one thing straight, though: Elledge isn't racing because she feels obligated to — given the Earnhardt family's history with the sport. Nor does she feel particularly concerned about living up to anyone's expectations. As she told History Mystery Man, "I'm making my own name ... I'm Karsyn Elledge." This aspiring car racer may have a claim to fame through several relatives, but it's safe to say she's determined to cut her own path.