2016 – Page 6 of 16 – Horsepower & Heels

Alexis DeJoria accepts Sustainable Food Changemaker Award

May 11, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Funny Car Drag Racer, Alexis DeJoria accepted the Sustainable Food Center’s prestigious Sustainable Food Changemaker Award today during the 9^th annual Farm-to-Plate fundraiser at Barr Mansion in Austin, Texas.

2016 Sustainable Food Changemaker Award

The 2016 Sustainable Food Changemaker Award is being presented to the Austin-based Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation, established by Alexis DeJoria’s father and fellow Austin resident, John Paul DeJoria.

Alexis DeJoria, a recent Peace, Love & Happiness board inductee, proudly accepted the award on behalf of her father and his renowned organization. Since its establishment in 2011, the organization has committed to developing a sustainable planet through protecting animals and conserving the environment. Projects range from Grow Appalachia, the largest gardening project of its kind in the U.S., to Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a community village for people struggling with homelessness in Austin.

According to Ronda Rutledge, Director at the Austin based Sustainable Food Center, the award signifies and honors the DeJoria family’s commitment to sustainable agriculture and food production and security.

We chose JP’s Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation because of John Paul’s commitment to sustainable agriculture, understanding the huge role that food production has in environmental stewardship,” said Rutledge.

The Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation has partnered with the Sustainable Food Center since 2012, sponsoring their teaching garden as part of their capital campaign. In the garden, school children join with the community to learn sustainable agriculture practices and gardening tips.

Alexis recently joined our board, and she has already been very involved in our projects — from volunteering on the ground level to conceptualizing new directions for investment,” said Constance Dykhuizen, Director of Peace, Love & Happiness. Dykhuizen added, “Her heart for protection of the environment fits in very well with John Paul’s long-standing commitment to sustainable food.”

DeJoria, a professional race car driver competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, has adopted her father’s philanthropic credo of ‘giving back whenever possible.’ From her efforts with Sallie Latimer’s water tower restoration fundraiser to her Free Mammograms for the Fans program, DeJoria considers it an honor to be able to accept the Sustainable Food Changemaker Award on behalf of her family’s foundation.

“Our family has been involved with many charities over the years, and I’m very fortunate to sit on the Board of Directors of the Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation. We donate our time, as well as financially, to various charities all over the world. I’m honored to be able to accept this award on behalf of my father, right here in our hometown,” said the Dripping Springs resident.

Kayli Barker to Lucas Oil Modifieds

May 11, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Las Vegas NASCAR^® Whelen All-American Series Champion, Kayli Barker is set to run in the Lucas Oil Modifeds Military and Veterans Appreciation Night on May 21, 2016 at the Las Vegas Bullring thanks to a recently announced sponsorship by Las Vegas Car and Truck.

Las Vegas Car & Truck stepped up to support Kayli Barker’s career and continued success in April, and have committed to backing her run in the Lucas Oil Modified Annual Military and Veterans Appreciation Night.

Barker made her debut run in the Modified category in November of 2015 at the Las Vegas Bullring and has won nearly 50 main events and a Super Stock Championship on the track. In addition to running the Modified race, she will be pulling double-duty, also running in the Super Late Model main on the same evening. She currently is the lone female driver on the roster for the Modifieds in the 75 lap main event on May 21, 2016.

I’m looking forward to the challenge of running the two very different cars that night,” says Kayli. “The modified is about 350 pounds lighter than “Monster” my Super Late Model and also has a smaller harder tire which limits the amount of usable horsepower. The real challenge is good car control and tire management on my part, but I am confident and eager to get back in the Modified.”

With her aspirations set on racing in the NASCAR^® Truck Series, the eighteen year-old driver has already celebrated many milestones in her career, including being the 1st female driver to win three track championships in Las Vegas history and being the youngest female driver to win a NASCAR^® Whelen All-American series race. In addition to her accomplishments on the track, Barker has been awarded the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Leadership Award and NASCAR^® UNOH Youth Achievement Award.

Kayli’s championship performance and proven success as a Late Model Series Driver has shown that she is ready to step up to the Modifieds and we’re pleased to be able to provide that opportunity for her,” said Dan Walker, Principal Owner of Las Vegas Car & Truck. “Her aspirations include joining the ranks of NASCAR^®’s Truck Series and moving Kayli Barker to Lucas Oil Modifieds is a vertical step in helping her achieve that goal. Kayli is a positive role model for young racers alike and is an inspiration for all young adults who desire to win and conquer in life. One of our company’s core values is supporting our local Las Vegas community and people like Kayli that make a positive impression on our valley’s youth. As a Christian faith based business we’re proud to support that Kayli’s Christian faith is a strong moral compass throughout her life.”

Currently a freshman at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Kayli Barker made her NASCAR^® Whelen Series debut in 2012 and brings a strong resume to the 2016 season. Barker will be racing her Dana Stahl, 2014 Chevy SS NASCAR^® Super Late Model for the 2016 season and is hopeful for a continued slot on the Lucas Oil Modified H-Town Racing Roster for the remainder of the 2016 Lucas Oil Modified season.

Houston Semi Final for Megan Meyer

May 9, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

A three-race final round streak ended in a Houston semi final for Megan Meyer, the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Rookie sensation out of Kansas. Meyer and her Randy Meyer Racing team battled the soggy, hot and humid conditions at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, taking the Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel Dragster to a semi final finish before bowing out to event champion Lee Callaway.

Fresh off her first win at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, Meyer, prodigy daughter of NHRA TAD champion, Randy Meyer, qualified No. 3 in the rain-shortened qualifying program, with a detuned first round effort of 5.35 seconds at 268 mph. Her Randy Meyer Racing team hopped it up for round two, and posted an impressive .907 second 60′ charge out of the gate, but it would prove a little more than the track could hold, and resulted in tire shake and a quick pedal job for a 5.40 at 274 mph effort. Round three would be forfeited, and the Top Alcohol Dragster class would charge into the opening round of eliminations on Saturday at the 29th Annual NHRA Spring Nationals in the Houston-suburb of Baytown, TX.

Houston was another first for me, my dad has competed at this race many times but I have never visited or raced at Royal Purple Raceway before. I did have a lot of pressure on my shoulders to repeat not only my success after winning Charlotte, but to also claim a 4-peat win for the Randy Meyer Racing Team. Despite the pressure I was very confident in my team and we had great results on track. With only two qualifying sessions we claimed third and had some tough weather conditions – a lot different than any we’ve had so far this year. Along with a brand new motor in the car, we slowed the tune up way down for the first qualifying pass to make sure it goes from A to B without smoking the tires or shaking. After having a fair pass we hopped it up quite a bit to try to claim that number 1 position, and had an amazing 60-foot time of .907, my second best of the year, but with too much power it shook the tires and I had to pedal it to slow it down some, but still ran fast mph on the top end.”

In Saturday afternoon’s opening round of eliminations, Megan Meyer would face No. 14 qualifier, Rob McKinley. At the tree, it was McKinley would would leave first, with a 0.020 reaction to Meyer’s 0.059 second R.T. But McKinley would quickly run into trouble, smoking the tires and fishtailing sideways as he aborts the run. Meanwhile, Megan improves on her qualifying efforts, running a 5.323 second, 271.35 mph pass for the round win.

On Sunday, eliminations for the Top Alcohol Dragster class would continue, with Megan carrying lane choice against No. 6 qualified David Brounkowski. The second round match up would be the first between the two racers, and Megan would quickly take the lead at the tree with a consistent 0.021 second R.T. en route to her event-best run of 5.280 seconds at 272.94 mph – just shy of the No. 1 qualified time slip. Brounkowski would also post his event-best E.T., but it would not be enough to upset the hot rookie in her quest.

Next up was the Houston Semi Final for Megan Meyer. She would face No. 2 qualified Lee Callaway for the first time in her young TAD career. Both were gunning for a trip to the finals: Megan for her third straight final appearance in her three starts this season, and Callaway for his first in 42 event starts. With looming chances of rain and a swing in weather conditions, Megan would take lane choice and the starting line advantage over Callaway, but his hard charge at the start made up for the slight advantage. Meyer’s Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel Dragster started reeling him back in, but just ran out of real estate at the stripe. Calloway’s 5.288 at 272.23 mph would take the win over Meyer’s losing 5.337 at 272.95 mph. The difference at the finish line was just 0.0397 seconds (approximately 16 feet). Callaway went on to score his first-ever event win in the Houston Top Alcohol Dragster final.

We took our data from qualifying to turn on the win lights in first and second round, but had some complications when it came to the semi-finals. With light sprinkles coming, we had to sit in the staging lanes for about 20 minutes – which probably cost us the run since our fuel got warm from the humidity. This, combined with a cooler track, made us slow down in third round just enough to let Lee get past me and get the round win.”

Meyer leaves the event holding the No. 2 position in NHRA Lucas Oil National Series Championship points. She next will take the home track advantage at Heartland Park Topeka’s 28th Annual NHRA Kansas Nationals event on May 20-22nd.

I’m very happy for Lee and the Callaway Collision Team for winning their first National event! It’s an amazing feeling and I’m very fortunate to be one of the few beginners to already have a National event win on my racing resume. We are pleased with our outcome at Houston, and we are very excited for our next outing at our home track of Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, KS for the Summer Nationals! I will be doing a couple displays and interviews around our community to help bring awareness of the reopening of the track, and to help NHRA have another sold-out crowd!”

2nd Round Eliminations – Megan Meyer

New 200 MPH Club Members

April 29, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Kerry Alter Land Speed Racing teammates, Lisa Taylor and Loretta Flores, became the most recent members of three different 200 MPH Clubs at the Mojave Magnum speed event April 8-10 in Mojave, California. The event has separate speed clubs based on distance raced. The Mojave Mile is for 1-mile runs and the Mojave Magnum is for 1.5-mile runs.

Retired Scottsdale motorcycle officer and event rookie, Lisa Taylor, earned membership in the Mojave Mile 200 MPH Club with stout run of 215.7 mph on her Kerry Alter prepared Suzuki Hayabusa. To top her new personal best one-mile speed, Taylor raced the same Hayabusa on the 1.5-mile course to a blistering new personal best 1.5-mile speed of 226 mph, earning her membership in the Mojave Magnum 225 MPH Club.

Loretta Flores, a 24-year old motorcycle technician from Tempe, set a new personal best top speed of 204.2 mph on Alter’s 2015 Ducati 1299 Panigale, earning her membership into the Mojave Mile 200 MPH Club. Flores top speed at last year’s event as a rookie was 195.6 mph.

Kerry Alter Land Speed Racing was formed in 2008 by Phoenix-resident and 17-time land speed record holder, Kerry Alter. The team races three different bikes tuned by Alter, including a Suzuki Hayabusa, Ducatti 1299 Panigale and a BMW S 1000 RR.

“I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of both Lisa and Loretta for their outstanding performances at one of the fastest race courses on the West Coast. Both worked hard and smart to meet their objectives,” said Kerry Alter, team owner and driver. “We set a lot of goals for this event and achieved all of a them. The bikes responded well to my tune-ups for both courses and we lucked out with the weather,” added Alter, who did not race due to recovery from injuries from a non-racing accident.

The next Mojave Magnum event will be held October 8-9, 2016 at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.

Semi final 4-Wide finish for Enders

April 25, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Erica Enders 4-wide — Photo: Geiger Media

The results may not be obvious, but Pro Stock driver Erica Enders and her Elite Motorsports/Mopar Dodge team continue to make progress in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. A semi final 4-Wide finish for Enders at the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes on Sunday moved her up the standings in championship points to the No. 7 position.

The two-time Pro Stock world champion switched manufacturers for 2016, and combined with some NHRA-mandated rules changes, the Elite team has been playing catch-up through five races. Enders keeps battling and her team keeps improving.

We learned a lot this weekend,” Enders said. “We completely used this race as a test session for us. I’m glad we were able to learn some stuff, and we certainly made a move in the right direction. The things we figured out this week we’ll apply to Houston. Our rigs were supposed to go directly to Houston, but they’re going to go back to the shop and we’re going to work on our race cars and try to do our best to win in our hometown next week.”

Enders has won the last two races at Royal Purple Raceway, site of the Pro Stock race next weekend. She heads there with some momentum. Enders finished second in her quad in the first round, making a pass of 6.630 seconds at 209.88 mph and trailing only teammate Drew Skillman.

First round was a much better run for us,” Enders said. “But by no means was it a great run. That was encouraging.”

Enders then drilled her three competitors on the Christmas Tree in the semifinals with a .024-second reaction time. Had she matched her first-round elapsed time, Enders would have made it to the final, but the Dodge Dart shook the tires and she had to lift.

With her first-round light of .027, Enders remains one of the top drivers in the class at the starting line.

To me, that part’s easy,” Enders said. “That’s my job, to be focused. I really pride myself on my driving techniques. I try to perform as perfectly as possible every time. There are a lot of extra distractions here at this event, and I feel like we’re the best in the world. We proved it two years in a row, and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

4-Wide Win for Brittany Force

April 25, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Top Fuel driver, Brittany Force, may have waited a few seasons to earn her first win in the class, but she didn’t waste any time getting a second victory under her belt. The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster team delivered consistently all day on Sunday, resulting in a 4-Wide Win for Brittany Force.

Over the course of three elimination rounds of Four-Wide racing, Force had the quickest Top Fuel dragster in all three quads she raced. When it mattered the most, Force was able to keep focused and used stellar reaction times to secure her second win in three races.

The format for the 7th Annual Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods confuses the most veteran of drivers. In the chaos, drivers crossing the finish line at nearly 320 mph don’t know whether to celebrate or suffer in defeat.

“I didn’t see (the win light) and didn’t even know we won until they pulled me in to where all the Fox Sports 1 cameras were. I asked them to make sure. I said, ‘Did we win?’ So I didn’t even know until I got out of the car and that was very exciting. No one could probably see, but we thrashed to get up here and I didn’t think we were going to make it up to the lanes in time to run here,” said Force. “Our belts got pulled back when they put the car back together and we had to unbolt the car and then re-buckle me in and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it. But we did and I guess it’s good because under pressure we all figured it out and got the car down the track.”

The Monster Energy team is hitting its stride to start the season thanks in part to the technical alliance with Torrence Racing and the oversight of Top Fuel tuner Alan Johnson and crew chief Brian Husen. Brittany has raced to three final rounds in the last four races.

“I just want to say thank you to Alan Johnson and Brian Husen and the entire team because I am just so proud of everyone,” added Force. “That is just incredible to know that Alan Johnson and Brian Husen can put a car together that is that consistent every single run and run like that. It’s insane and I am so proud to be teamed up with them. It really shows and it really builds my confidence up for the season. The season is still getting started but we are definitely off to a really good start.”

Force earned her first victory at the Gatornationals, and has won a total of twelve rounds of racing this season. In the previous two seasons, it took Force twelve races to capture twelve rounds wins and her career best final round total in one season is four. It took the Monster Energy team 75 races to get their first win but only two races to pick up win No. 2.

People say that the first win is the toughest and it was because it took me ’til my fourth season. My second one came easier but I wouldn’t say easiest because it is still tough. These guys on my team are the hardest workers that I have seen and they have dedicated everything into this car. Now I get to celebrate with them in the winner’s circle,” added Force.

The win was Force’s first at zMAX Dragway, and marked the first win by a female in the Four-Wide format. The only racetrack that features four lanes of action, Charlotte’s 4-Wide Nationals are tricky for even the most seasoned drivers. Many struggled with staging mishaps and were distracted by the chaos that ensues with 40,000 HP all taking the starting line at the same time.

“I am still just trying to get over that Four-Wide deal where I got so screwed up in qualifying and just not coming in with a clear head. I was just trying to find my focus and it’s tough and to be able to win four wide is amazing. To be the first female, that is pretty awesome.”

Force had to out run two-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown in every quad of eliminations to score the victory. In the first session, Force was the first to the finish line with an event-quickest elapsed time of 3.734 seconds. In the second quad, she was able to pick her lane again and had to face off with Brown, Richie Crampton and JR Todd. Again Force got to the finish line first with Brown on her heels.

In the final quad, Force had her best reaction time of the day, .042, to leave first on Doug Kalitta, Brown and Clay Millican. The winning elapsed time of 3.764 seconds at 319.98 mph was enough to edge out Brown’s runner-up time of 3.779 seconds.

But before that final run, Force’s team had to thrash in the staging lanes and the 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year was afraid they might not make the call.

You know, sometimes drivers just do better under pressure and I always wondered what type I was. It wasn’t just me, it was the entire team. I don’t know if everyone could see but I was coming up here there was a problem with the belts. But they unbolted the car and we got it figured out and we got the win,” explained Force in the pressroom.

While Force was focusing on beating some of the toughest competition in recent Top Fuel history the crew chiefs were battling twice as many lanes as normal and tricky track conditions. This resulted in several rounds of lane swap shuffling that often resulted in 4 cars being backed out and moved several times before the round would begin.

The thing is that it’s the most challenging about this place is that there are four lanes. And you have to have lane choice and there are four to pick from and this place is so challenging because there are four to pick from and the starting line is tough. Our goal of the day was maintaining lane choice every round and we did a good job of that,” said Alan Johnson outside the winner’s circle celebration.

Two Wallys in Charlotte for Megan Meyer

April 24, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Hot-streak NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster rookie, Megan Meyer, landed her third consecutive final round today at the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, NC. The Randy Meyer Racing team had the Racers Evolved A/Fuel dragster running strong all weekend, first picking up the win for Best Appearing Crew and then making it all the way to the finals again, resulting in two Wallys in Charlotte for Megan Meyer.

Meyer began the weekend from the No. 2 qualified position, running 5.252 second, 278.81 mph in the shortened qualifying program on Saturday. She proved to be the fastest car in qualifying – just missing the No. 1 position by the quickest car, Mia Tedesco. This is the second time this year that these two ladies have grabbed the top two qualifying spots – and the fifth time in the history of the class that two women held 1 & 2.

In Round 1 of eliminations, Megan Meyer would face Jake Allen for the first time in her career. The race was over from the start, as Allen would redlight and then go up in smoke, leaving Megan to a clean pass – a 5.308 second, 274.94 mph effort.

Round 2 would continue on Sunday, with Meyer having lane choice against Wayne Morris. Megan would take the starting line advantage and never look back, running a 5.281 second, 280.19 mph pass for the win and low E.T. of the round.

Like clockwork, Megan Meyer’s Racers Evolved A/Fuel Dragster would be first off the line in the Semi Finals, taking the win against Richard Bourke with another consistent 5.281 second, 279.56 mph run and placing Meyer in her third consecutive final this season.

The finals would pair Megan against Josh Hart, also gunning for his first Top Alcohol Dragster win. Meyer would have lane choice, and took the early advantage to reach the finish line first with a 5.325 at 278.46 mph for her first-ever Top Alcohol Dragster event victory.

We had a very quick and consistent car all weekend and we were able to take advantage of the good weather and track and use our data from the previous year’s to finely tune the car and make the necessary adjustments to get the round wins!”

Two Wallys in Charlotte

Having been awarded the title of Best Appearing Crew earlier that morning, this meant two Wallys in Charlotte for the emotional rookie, Megan Meyer.

WOW what an amazing day! This is such a dream come true I still can’t believe it!! I want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the fans and fellow racers from sportsman to top fuel who have told me congratulations today – you guys rock!!!! I’m still very emotional about this victory to be able to win this for my sponsors, my team, and my family.”

Her victory made her the 12th woman to win in the Top Alcohol Dragster ranks.

Megan has two national event finals under her belt this season – the first in Gainesville, where she debuted her new Racers Evolved Dragster and won Best Appearing car; and now her double win in Charlotte. She also made the final in Belle Rose, LA at the South Central regional event a few weeks ago.

Congrats to Megan on her first Top Alcohol Dragster victory!

Top qualified DeJoria exits early

April 24, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA’s Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car ended her consistent streak in the first round of the 7th Annual NHRA Four Wide Nationals event. Top qualified DeJoria exits early in the first round with a disappointing loss after the two best passes of her career the day before.

DeJoria, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ most recent Funny Car winner, claimed her first No. 1 qualifier of 2016 after driving her 10,000-horsepower Patrón Camry down the 1,000-foot stretch in 3.934-seconds in Q4, resetting the zMAX Dragway E.T. record.

The pole was DeJoria’s career fourth No. 1 qualifier, an achievement that although highly coveted, seems to result in the Patrón team falling victim to the dreaded ‘first round gremlins.’ And that’s just what happened. DeJoria was quick off of the line in E1; her 0.066-second reaction time gave her the starting line advantage over her three first round opponents- Tim Wilkerson, Robert Hight, and Jeff Diehl.

Unfortunately for Team Patrón, their Toyota Camry smoked the tires hard at about the 200-foot mark. DeJoria pedaled, in an attempt to recover, but Wilkerson and Diehl were already too far down track, setting off their win lights respectively and ending Team Patrón’s day.

The curse of the dreaded No. 1 qualifier,” joked DeJoria, a four-time Funny Car winner. “Honestly, the guys gave me a great car all weekend. It just wasn’t our day, unfortunately. We went out there and smoked the tires hard. I got it to recover a little bit but then I looked down-track and saw two cars already at the finish line so I let up. I could’ve done better in my pedal job, but there wasn’t much left to do. Wilkerson and Diehl had already taken the cake for that run. We’ll just come back out here next year and try and tackle this beast of a race.”

Until Sunday’s tire smoking opening round of eliminations, the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team had made 11 consecutive 4.0-second runs or better. Team Patrón heads straight to Baytown, Texas for the next stop on the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. There, they will look to build on the momentum they created when they took to the track at the last race in Las Vegas. Team Patrón leaves zMAX Dragway sitting in eighth with 277 points.

Megan Meyer 4-Wide Nationals

April 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

This weekend’s 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals event marks the third race of 2016 for NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster rookie Megan Meyer and so far, the second generation A/Fuel driver is off to an incredible start.

Megan debuted her new Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel Dragster at the beginning of the 2016 season to start her official rookie campaign. She opened the year with two runner-up finishes, first at the Gatornationals event in March, and then most recently at the LODRS South Central regional event in Belle Rose, LA.

This weekend marks her first racing experience at the unique Charlotte, NC zMax Dragway facility, which features 4 lanes of head-to-head competition. Her father, Randy Meyer, has competed at the facility previously in TAD, but has not yet landed a Meyer Racing victory at the track.

Megan Meyer 4-Wide National debut will begin with her in the No. 6 position in championship points, after a strong start at the National and Regional levels. But competition at the 4-Wide Nationals event will be tough, and over 20 entrants will battle for a qualifying spot in the field.

A lot of the front runners of TAD will be there this weekend, and I’m excited to be in the top 10 in points so far, so we are expecting it to be a tough weekend for all of us. The points that we gain early in the season can make or break us in the end, so we are going to give it our all to claim as many points as possible,” said Megan Meyer of her Charlotte debut.

The Horsepower & Heels ambassador is ready for the challenge – and her Meyer Racing team has prepared for a long, hard-fighting weekend in Charlotte.

There are over 20 cars entered for this race, and I’d say they are the best cars in our field, so we are going to have our best tune up and best parts this weekend to stay in the top half of the field and hopefully take our dragster to the finals again!”

Megan is gunning for her first Top Alcohol Dragster class victory. She has posted three final-round appearances so far, but has yet to earn her first win and is hoping the continuing momentum will land her in the winner’s circle on Sunday.

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying for the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Food will take place Friday at 3:45PM and 5:45PM EST. Final qualifying will run Saturday at 1:15PM, with first round of eliminations beginning at 3:15PM.

Rodalyn Knox – The Country Girl

April 21, 2016 // by Mackenzie LaRue

Over the last fifteen years truck and tractor pulling has experienced a dramatic increase in female drivers. It has gone from being a select few females, to several female drivers in each and every class. However one of those initial select few is Rodalyn Knox, one of the most inspirational drivers in truck and tractor pulling.

Rodalyn began her driving career in drag racing in 1968 piloting a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere. She would go to races with her husband, John, where he would compete in the men’s class. Rodalyn would often times compete in the “powder puff” class, which was designed for women. However her time tickets were always much faster than her husbands, so one day when returning from a pass, her husband John insisted she drive in the men’s class. This young 22 year-old was worried about getting into trouble, but competed anyways.

After the class was over all of the men in that class wrote a protest letter and gave it to the track manager, Jack Doyle. It stated that they didn’t think a woman should compete with the men. Jack looked at them and said, ‘Well I watched her drive in the woman’s class and now in the men’s class she went to the final. I didn’t see her do anything that would make me disqualify her so you guys will have to figure out how to compete with her in your class.’ If Jack had not made that decision we would not have been able to continue our racing career.”

Rodalyn went on to work her way up in drag racing into the alcohol funny car class where she raced in the New England Alcohol Funny car circuit. Rodalyn then moved up to the nitro funny car class which she competed in for two more years before they retired in drag racing. Her vehicle was called the “Country Girl”. For those who know Rodalyn they realize that this is a very fitting name that reflects her personality.

Rodalyn Knox goes Tractor Pulling

A number of years later Rodalyn’s son Brian became interested in the sport of truck and tractor pulling. It did not take long for him to realize that the perfect person to drive the tractors he was creating was his mother. In 1990, Rodalyn began driving Brian’s four and six engine unlimited modified tractors. She also drove a four engine and a five engine tractor when the class was lightened. When Rodalyn began pulling, she was one of three women that were competing at the time. She won 3 unlimited modified National Tractor Pullers Association Grand National titles and retired from driving in 1998 when her family began their engine business Sassy Racing Engines.

The tractor that Rodalyn drove had roughly 10,000 horsepower which could be incredibly intimidating to some. She enjoyed experiencing the different challenges that the tractor offered her and comparing the differences between her prior racing experience.

“I loved driving the high powered tractors. In drag racing the challenge was the speed. In pulling it was handling all that power and keeping the tractor straight. In drag racing, I had a hand break, a steering wheel and a “gas” pedal. In pulling, I had a hand throttle and I steered with my feet. So when I started driving the tractor I had to learn all over again how to use my hands and feet.”

This is a very unique experience as Rodalyn’s crew while pulling was her husband and son. Some would think this would be challenging, but Rodalyn enjoyed the time spent with her family doing something they all loved.

Having Brian and John as team members was the BEST! We understood each other very well and worked very well together. We were a great team. It was a very good time in my life.”

Rodalyn firmly believes that teamwork was the most important component of her success. Although she was the driver she believes that it was her team that helped her reach that success.

“Whenever I won it was for my team. I really didn’t think it was just mine. I guess being a woman was special but I never could have done it without my son and my husband.”

In her years of driving Rodalyn had many impressive accomplishments. She won the Grand American event at the New England Dragway in 1975 and she was also the first woman to win a class on the East Coast FC circuit in 1975 in New York. In tractor pulling, Rodalyn achieved the coveted Championship ring at the National Tractor Pulling Championship in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Rodalyn has one piece of advice for women looking to get into motorsports that focuses on perseverance and confidence. Two of the traits that she strongly possesses herself.

Don’t listen to the people who say you can’t do it. Believe in yourself and stay focused on your job. If you know you can do this just listen to your instincts. Believe in yourself.”

After retiring from racing, Rodalyn went on the search to find something exciting to do. She got a Border Collie and has focused on that ever since.

“Border Collies are not for everybody. They can be very challenging to train. I bought a farm and started training Border Collies. Over the years, I have had 7 dogs. I have sheep and goats and love working with these dogs. I also worked in Border Collie rescue and found homes for dogs that had been incorrectly placed in homes that couldn’t or didn’t have time to work with them.”

When racing, Rodalyn traveled all across North America, but now she finds herself sticking close to home.

When I was racing I traveled a lot to different events but now I love staying in NH and working at my farm. I guess I truly am a Country Girl.”

Thanks Rodalyn for sharing your stories and helping to encourage women in motorsports!

Archives for 2016

2016 Sustainable Food Changemaker Award

2nd Round Eliminations – Megan Meyer

Two Wallys in Charlotte

Congrats to Megan on her first Top Alcohol Dragster victory!

Rodalyn Knox goes Tractor Pulling