By James Chevrette
A father-daughter competition team from Lloydminster, Alberta, located sixteen hours northeast of Seattle, provides a glimpse at the next generation in car audio enthusiasts.
Twenty-two-year-old Keira Christensen and her dad Corey recently claimed their third World Record in dB Drag Racing. Their passion for car audio, passed from one generation to the next, demonstrates how the sport continues to bring families together.
Keira has been immersed in the world of car audio competition for most of her adult life, surrounded by the smell of fresh-cut MDF and Bondo dust. Her dad has been building SPL (Sound Pressure Level) vehicles since before she could walk. Keira has emerged as a seasoned competitor since her first competition at the age of seventeen.
What draws Keira to the competition scene?” She said, “I love music, and being able to [physically] feel the music and not hear anything else outside of it. It’s why I enjoy the audio aspect so much; how notes and frequencies can tighten your chest. I love the competitions because of the adrenaline and excitement of watching the score on the screen climb and always trying to beat your own personal best. But also, the people that have come into my life from being a part of that world.”
She earned two runner-up finishes at the World Finals in Spruce Grove, Alberta in 2023 and 2024. Despite encountering several system glitches along the way, Keira remains focused on the upcoming 2025 season.
The father and daughter duo is currently building a new vehicle called “The Farm Truck,” which features a sixth-order bandpass subwoofer enclosure. This unique enclosure design is uncommon in today’s competition scene. As Corey explains it, a bandpass subwoofer box works “like putting your thumb over a garden hose to create more pressure.”
Her current competition vehicle, “The Pontiac” – a well-worn 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix – may be retiring this year to make way for the new build. At a recent event in Kelowna, British Columbia, Keira’s Grand Prix earned the team’s first World Record of 2025 with a score of 206.2 in the Psychlone category. Keira broke her own record with a 208.8 score a few months later at The Tuner Bash season opener at the Rad Turque Raceway in Le Duc, AB.
The dB Drag format utilizes satellite locations around the world to make competition more accessible. For example, the satellite location in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada allows competitors to participate at the world level without traveling extreme distances. Multiple events are held simultaneously in countries across Europe as well, with United States locations to be determined for 2025. This allows head-to-head competitions in real time across the globe.
For the Kelowna event, Keira drove 22 hours round trip. By comparison, if a competitor in her region had to travel to Louisville, Kentucky – a former satellite event location – the journey would require 54 hours of straight driving. For many enthusiasts, such travel requirements create too significant a barrier to entry into car audio competitions.
The satellite system helps maintain the global nature of the sport while making it more accessible to competitors worldwide, ensuring that passionate teams like the Christensens can continue to compete and build their legacy in the dB Drag Racing community.
