Women in Racing News - Horsepower & Heels

News about female racers, women in the pits and other news stories from the motorsports and automotive world.

Megan Meyer wins 2019 Top Alcohol Dragster Championship

October 14, 2019 // by Horsepower & Heels

This season proved to be a historic one for NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series TAD driver Megan Meyer. Not only did she carry home the win for the rain-delayed NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals in the quickest side-by-side pass on record in TAD, but she also secured the 2019 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Championship – becoming the first female in history to win a TAD Championship.

https://www.facebook.com/NHRA/videos/2959620090732650/

via NHRA Facebook

In the final round, Meyer took on former teammate and points rival Troy Coughlin Jr. With the pressure on, Meyer drove to a 5.149, 281.48, her best run of the weekend, to squeak by Coughlin’s competitive 5.169, 280.80 mph run. The pair marked the quickest side-by-side TAD runs in history, and Megan’s win light gave her not only the win for the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals event, but also gave her the points needed to make the title official.

Megan Meyer officially clinched the 2019 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Dragster national championship.

Last season, Meyer finished the 2018 championship season as NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster’s third-place finisher. This season, she was gunning for the championship out of the gate, appearing in 12 finals this season and scoring seven victories in her injected nitro dragster. She is aided and tuned by her father, Randy Meyer. Megan’s victories this season include four national event titles – with marquee wins at the prestigious 50th annual Amalie Gatornationals and the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

Meyer is the fourth woman to win an NHRA Lucas Oil Series sportsman championship, joining class champions Amy Faulk (Super Stock, 1979), Jackie Alley (Super Stock 2011), and Mia Tedesco (Super Gas, 2016).

A big congrats to the new champ from all of us at Horsepower & Heels!

Brittany Force is ready for the 2019 Four-Wide Nationals

April 25, 2019 // by Horsepower & Heels

Brittany Force is ready for the 2019 Four-Wide Nationals this weekend at ZMax Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Advance Auto Parts Top Fuel dragster team is hoping to carry the momentum from their recent victory at the Houston race for the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, the sixth event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Season schedule.

Image Credit: Gary Nastase, Auto Imagery

Beginning the season with a new crew and a new car to sort out, Force and her Advance Auto Parts team have been hard at work finding their rhythm. Two first round exits marked the beginning of their season, but Force and the Advance team secured their first No. 1 qualifier during the 50th Anniversary Gatornationals and went on to qualify third and finish as runner-up at the Las Vegas Four-Wide event.

After a stellar weekend at the recent Spring Nationals in Houston ended in the winner’s circle, the Advance Auto Parts team have definitely found their pace. Force, the 2017 Top Fuel world champion, set both ends of the track record with a 3.661-second pass at 332.18 mph for the No. 1 qualifying position. Force and her father, John Force, made history as the first parent-child duo to qualify No. 1 at the same NHRA national event. Brittany would go onto win the race for the second consecutive year and double-up with teammate Robert Hight.

“Coming off a Las Vegas runner-up and a Houston win, I’m eager to get to a little four-wide action in Charlotte. This Advance Auto Parts team has worked incredibly hard this season with so many challenges thrown our way and the hard work is starting to pay off,” said Force. “In Houston David Grubnic took some risks and pushed our car to steal another No. 1 qualifier putting a 3.66 on the board. That run at 332 mph gave us a confidence boost and we pulled off another incredibly quick run at 3.67, took on some heavy hitters and fought our way to the winner’s circle. Pulling off a win this soon in the season with a new team has me so pumped going into the Charlotte Four-Wide and the rest of the season.”

History is on her side, as Brittany is the only woman to score a four-wide event win in the nitro categories in 2016. Force has always performed well at zMAX Dragway, qualifying No. 1 at the 2018 spring event with sister Courtney Force. She earned another No. 1 qualifying spot during the fall 2018 event and raced her way to a runner-up finish.

“My new crew chiefs and my entire new crew took on the Vegas Four-Wide a few weeks back where we were runner-up, so we got in our practice there and are hoping to do the same this time but come out with a win,” said Force. “I’ve won the Charlotte Four-Wide before and it would be great to do it again with my Advance team. We’re confident and ready to get after it on race day.”

Event Coverage

Qualifying for the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals begins on Friday with qualifying sessions at 4:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., and Saturday at 2:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations start at 12 noon on Sunday. Tickets are available from Charlotte Motor Speedway, and children 13 and under get in free. Television coverage can be viewed on FS1 Friday from 8 to 9 p.m. ET, Saturday from 10 to 11 p.m. ET and Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m. ET.

Follow updates on social media: #4WideNats

Courtney Force focused for Mile High

July 20, 2018 // by Horsepower & Heels

An already dominating Funny Car season has Advanced Auto Parts driver Courtney Force focused for Mile High action this weekend at the 39th Annual Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals. Force and her Advance Auto Parts team have scored eight semifinal finishes in the first thirteen races of the season, with a career best four wins and eight No. 1 qualifiers. The current NHRA Mello Yello points leader for the last seven races has only qualified outside of the top four one time in 2018.

“I am excited to head back to Denver to kick off the Western Swing. We were No. 1 qualifier the last two years at Bandimere Speedway,” said Force. “This Advance Auto Parts team had an early exit last season but we have also raced to the finals in Denver. That is the kind of success we are looking for with this team. We want to extend our points lead and start the Western Swing on the right foot. We are really excited to be on the West Coast and looking forward to a great weekend.”

Force has two runner-up finishes in her career at Bandimere Speedway, including a side-by-side race in 2016 against her father John Force who took his win in a photo finish victory. Her rookie season landed her in the final, but funny car veteran, Jack Beckman denied her first career victory. Force would pick up that win a few weeks later in Seattle.

“It is always fun to race at Denver. This track is tricky with the altitude. It creates a challenge for all the teams and it makes it exciting for the fans. It really does challenge everyone on the team to be at their best. I think this will be a great weekend for our Advance Auto Parts team,” said Force.

Courtney’s father, John Force, is the only funny car driver to ever sweep all three races on the famed and often grueling Western Swing of the tour. Denver’s Mile-High event marks stop one of the Western swing. Courtney Force focused for Mile High competition is one of the favorites to join her father as a driver capable of winning three races in a row. With previous win experience in the Sonoma and Seattle venues to her credit, a strong showing this weekend could continue to add her name to the record books.

“We are just going to take each one of these races one at a time,” said Force. “You can’t sweep the Western Swing if you don’t win in Denver this year. We have an amazing crew led by Dan Hood and Brian Corradi. I know they will give me a great race car. We stumbled a little in Epping but that is behind us and now we are focused on running like we did last season on the Mountain.”

Last year, Force left Denver with the track elapsed time and speed records for Bandimere Speedway with a blistering 3.889 second, 328.30 mph run. That kind of performance at mile-high, horsepower robbing altitude was something no one thought feasible just a few short years ago. But Courtney Force has made a career out of exceeding expectations, and this season she is focused on adding a National Funny Car championship to her list of accomplishments.

The 39th annual Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals begin with qualifying on Friday and Saturday with sessions at 6 and 8 p.m. on both days. Eliminations are set to take place Sunday at 11 a.m.

Top 10 debut for Harli White

July 20, 2018 // by Horsepower & Heels

Adding a few new venues to her resume resulted in a Top 10 debut for Harli White, an ASCS National Sprint Car driver.

“It helps a lot going to new tracks,” she said. “You have to adapt really quick and figure out the setup, gearing and things like that. As a driver you have to figure out what way the track likes to be raced. That is one thing I’ve learned is to adapt quicker than I used to. It also helps being in different parts of the country with the different conditions and altitudes.”

White first visited Gillette Thunder Speedway in Gillette, Wyo., a week ago Wednesday for a Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event. Her first visit to the facility, Harli was able to advance from sixth to fifth place in a heat race, lining her up in the 14th position for the main event. Rain would delay the race, but after racing resumed, White maneuvered to an 11th-place finish on the heavy track, just missing a top ten debut.

“It was the luck of the draw in the heat race and it didn’t go in our favor,” she said. “I didn’t get a good start in the A Main. It singled out and then I got lapped so that didn’t help at all. When you’re down a lap you don’t want to get in the way of the leaders battling for a win so you race a little different.”

A weekend off after her Gillette debut to rest, and White packed up and entered Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, South Dakota Monday for the ASCS National Tour.

“It was really cool,” she said. “It was a unique little bullring. It was cool to go up there and I enjoyed adding another new track to my list.”

White finished her heat race where she began – in the fourth position – before ending the evening with a 10th-place finish in the A Main event. That finish marked another Top 10 debut for Harli White, and her seventh top 10 during ASCS National Tour competition this season.

Harli will resume competition this Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where she will race the next couple of weekends in preparation for the 360 Knoxville Nationals Aug. 2-4.

“I’m going to focus on time trials since we don’t do that often,” she said. “That’s a key thing at Knoxville. After that we’ll focus on getting through the heat and racing cars. The air is a big deal. We don’t get to see that very often so it has a big effect on how your car handles at Knoxville. These next couple of weeks will be important to give us momentum going into the 360 Knoxville Nationals.”

White returns to Grays Harbor Raceway

June 27, 2018 // by Horsepower & Heels

Sprint car racer Harli White returns to Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington this weekend looking for redemption for the Fred Brownfield Classic.

White captured her first career Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour heat race win and started fifth during her most recent appearance at the 3/8-mile oval a year ago, but a collision by another driver created a brake problem after hitting her that resulted in a DNF – Did Not Finish performance.

“I really like that track and it races well,” Harli White said. “We’re excited to go back there and hopefully we will get back on track with top-10 finishes.”

White returns to Grays Harbor Raceway after a challenging last weekend in Washington during the 47th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway, where she was able to avoid most of the mayhem of the day.

“The way the format was it was very, very tough,” she said. “You wanted to start in the front of your heat or a qualifier. The whole object of the weekend was to be in the qualifier both nights to have a shot on Saturday. We didn’t have a good night the first night and weren’t able to make the qualifier so we were in trouble.”

Harli White placed fifth in both a heat race and a B Main during the opening leg of the tripleheader last Thursday. She gained two positions in both a heat race – fifth – and the qualifier – seventh – on Friday, but that still relegated her to a B Main. White held the final transfer position until a late-race caution allowed a fellow competitor to get around her on the top of the track. She just missed a spot in the A Main feature by one position after finishing third.

The event concluded on Saturday with White rallying from an early incident to place seventh in a B Main.

“Going into the first corner everybody decided to park it,” she said. “I got over the tail tank of the car in front of me. It bent the right front torsion bar. That hurt us because we fell to the back. I think track position hurt us all weekend. However, we came out in one piece and didn’t tear up much so that’s a positive.”

Leah Pritchett exits Sonoma in round two

July 31, 2017 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Top Fuel top qualifier Leah Pritchett exits Sonoma in round two this weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. The Papa John’s Pizza Top Fuel team started the weekend off strong with a track record performing qualifying effort, but those results didn’t translate into Sunday win lights during eliminations.

In the opening round of eliminations, the top qualifier took on Terry Haddock, taking the win with a 3.749 second, 326.95 mph performance against Haddock’s 3.910 at 303.91mph. But her luck would not hold out, as Leah Pritchett exits Sonoma in round two when a mechanical issue slowed her to a 3.897-second run at 214.09 mph in an upset by Terry McMillen. A clutch lever malfunction on her Pap John’s dragster led to her engine losing a cylinder.

“Terry McMillen beat us to the finish line. Broken parts can break hearts but it can’t break our spirit when we go to Seattle,” Pritchett said of next weekend’s finale to the three-week Western Swing. “You go into every race day with a good, confident feeling. I feel like this Sunday we had the most confidence because everything was jelling. The people, everyone’s so on top of their game, the track record, low three out of four qualifiers.”

Pritchett and the Powered by Pennzoil team were quickest in the first three qualifying sessions of the weekend, landing the No. 1 qualifying pole. Her 3.669 second performance at 304.80 mph reset the track elapsed time record, a feat they have now accomplished five times. They also scored the top qualifying honors at the previous event in Denver, scoring a runner-up finish for the event, and were confident entering eliminations.

“I have said this morning if someone asked, ‘what’s it going to take to win this race?’ I would have answered ‘no mistakes.’ We were proven wrong. We didn’t make any mistakes and still lost.”

Leah Prichett and the Papa John’s Dragster now sit No. 3 in NHRA championship points entering the final race of the 3-event Western Swing.

Semifinal finish for Brittany Force in Sonoma

July 31, 2017 // by Horsepower & Heels

Another semifinal finish for NHRA Top Fuel racer Brittany Force in Sonoma. The Monster Energy sponsored racer scored her fifth semifinal in the last seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races, moving her inside the top five of the Top Fuel points standings following Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Brittany Force began the event with No. 2 qualifying attempt on Friday, followed by a tough qualifying effort Saturday, in which she failed to make a full pass. The second of three Western Swing events, Sonoma is one of Force’s favorite tracks.

During Sunday’s eliminations, Force outran No. 15 qualified Steven Chrisman in the opening round, charging down the track at a session-best 3.705 seconds, and posting a track record 331.61 mph speed to set up a quarterfinals matchup against No. 7 Shawn Langdon.

In round two, both Force and Langdon ran into trouble, but Brittany Force was able to salvage the run, and pedal the car across the finish line in 4.071 seconds at 264.75 mph with Langdon trailing close behind.

That put her up against No. 6, the current NHRA Top Fuel points leader, Steve Torrence. Torrence and crew had a stellar and consistent race day performance, running 3.753 seconds at 329.02 mph in the semifinal to defeat Brittany Force’s 3.882 seconds at 315.27 mph run. Force had fuel spilling out the left side of her car during the pass. Torrence advanced and scored the event win for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

The semifinal finish for Brittany Force in Sonoma allowed her Monster Energy team to jump ahead of Doug Kalitta in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings, moving to the No. 5 position. She also claimed the track speed record during her first round pass, a record held previously by Kalitta.

“To have a day like that and then have low ET of the session … I thought we were going to carry it all through the day,” Force said. “But we made a semifinal appearance, which is what we did last weekend too. So that’s pretty good, but the plan for next week in Seattle is to take it off the trailer and end up in the winner’s circle.”

Brittany and the Monster Energy team will head to the third stop on the Western Swing, the NHRA Northwest Nationals on August 4-6 at Pacific Raceway outside Seattle, WA. The event is the 16th of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Melling Performance joins Erica Enders

July 7, 2017 // by Horsepower & Heels

Melling Performance, a longtime associate sponsor of Elite Motorsports and two-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders, signed on to become title sponsor of the 22-time national event winner for five national events, beginning with the 20th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago and continuing through the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indy.

Everyone at Melling Performance is excited about our association with Erica and Elite Motorsports,” Melling Performance CEO Mark Melling said. “After being at the races, I thought it would be great to see the Melling Performance Decal on the doors of Erica’s RED #9 racecar. It reminds me of the Bill Elliott days in NASCAR. Melling has been launching a ton of new performance engine parts, and we are pumped to see our logo on the side of her RED Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro!”

The Melling Performance brand and logo will adorn the doors of Erica Enders’ racecar at the upcoming NHRA national events in Chicago, Denver, Sonoma, Seattle and Indianapolis.

“Looking over the landscape of Pro Stock, it’s really quite an accomplishment to bring a company the size and caliber of Melling into a title sponsorship role,” team owner Richard Freeman said. “It reflects well on the entire class, the NHRA and our friends at FOX as well. Exposure for our sport and more importantly our sponsors is growing and that’s important to the long-term economic vitality of our race team.”

Enders has established herself as one of the top female racers in history. Only Erica Enders, Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey have won world championships in any of the top forms of motorsports and her two championships, 22 national event wins, 18 No. 1 qualifiers and admirable 242-161 race day record mark her career in elite company.

I’m so excited to have Melling Performance step up like this,” Enders said. “We recently toured their facility and I was completely blown away. They aren’t state-of-the-art, they are way beyond that. It is like something out of the future. I was so impressed with everything they showed us. We’ve become friends with everyone at Melling and they have definitely become part of the Elite family over the past few years. I can’t wait to drive this Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro into the winner’s circle this weekend.”

Melling Performance is a leading manufacturer of oil pumps and other power train components. Serving the global automotive original equipment and aftermarket industries, Melling is noted for its strong engineering, product development and distribution capabilities. Melling Performance operates 10 facilities in North America.

Harli White at the Fred Brownfield Classic

July 7, 2017 // by Horsepower & Heels

Lots of ups and downs for Harli White at the Fred Brownfield Classic last weekend. The race last weekend marked her inaugural trip to Washington’s Grays Harbor Raceway for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour doubleheader.

Action began on Friday for Harli White, when she finished right where she started – fifth – in the opening heat race. That performance relegated her to a B Main, in which she maneuvered from fourth to second place to earn a transfer into the back of the main event.

On Friday night we didn’t have a good starting position in the heat race and that put us behind,” she said. “We had to run a B Main and we transferred out of that. The way the track was in the feature there wasn’t a whole lot of passing. The track rubbered up so it wasn’t real racy. It was out of our control.”

The track took rubber early after White gained a trio of positions to finish 16th.

On Saturday, Harli ended up with a much better pill draw, lining her up on the inside of the second row for the heat race.

I was able to pick up my first Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour heat race win,” she said. “We really needed that. To be locked into the show out of the heat race was a big thing. We got a good starting position starting fifth and we had a good car all night long.”

White earned the most overall heat race points to lock into the feature redraw. She pulled the No. 5 position to start the main event on the inside of the third row.

I got a good start in turns one and two and pulled up next to Aaron (Reutzel) down the backstretch,” she said. “Then I got ran over in turns three and four by another driver. It broke the left rear brake line. I restarted and thought I could pump up the brakes to get them to work, but I had to pull off because I had no brakes.”

Despite the issues, White was credited with a 22nd-place finish.

For the season, Harli White has competed in 33 races, but has yet to win an event thus far. She has earned four top five finishes, seven top 10 performances, and has finished in the top 15 fifteen times. Today she moves on to her next event, where she will make her debut at Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., for the Grizzly Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. White will have her t-shirt trailer with all apparel near the main grandstands both nights for fans who would like to purchase and support Harli White.

Terry Chandler leaves legacy of love

July 5, 2017 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Drag Racing mourns the loss of one of the most kindhearted and generous supporters in the sport. Don Schumacher Racing sponsor and supporter, Terry Chandler leaves a legacy of love in her wake that has touched the lives of many people in the sport and in the community. Her generosity and charitable efforts behind the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero Foundation NHRA Funny Car programs will continue to live on in the hearts of thousands.

Sadly, Terry Chandler lost her valiant fight with brain cancer on Tuesday, July 4th. She was 65 years-old when she died in Florida with family and loved ones at her side.

Terry is a great human being who devoted the past few years to helping the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero foundations with her love and kindness by funding two of our Funny Car teams,” said Don Schumacher, DSR owner and close friend. “Terry is such a beautiful person. She was so much more than a friend and partner. She is family. We will always see that wonderful smile of hers at the starting line.”

The native of New Mexico missed the NHRA Mello Yello Series event at Las Vegas in early April and a few days later underwent major surgery to partially remove one of three tumors in the front lobe of her brain. An MRI determined that she was suffering from Glioblastoma cancer. She was immersed in the fight of her life and battled valiantly to the end.

Terry Chandler was presented with the NHRA Blaine Johnson Award in 2015 for her dedication to helping others.

I love to race,” she told Autoweek magazine in a 2015 article. “And bless my heart, I love to win. These gol-darned cars, I just love ’em.”

Earlier that year, she was described as being “the most influential woman in drag racing” by the Inland Valley (Calif.) Newspapers.

I never dreamed that I would be blessed in a way that would allow me to help others,” she told the Southern California newspaper. “Helping people is one of the most important things in the world to me – my daddy, John R. Gray, was an extremely giving man, and I learned from him how important it was to bless the lives of others. That is why this means so much to me. I feel very fortunate to be in this position.”

Terry Chandler became a fixture at NHRA national events when her brother, Johnny Gray, drove a Funny Car for DSR. In 2013, Terry and Johnny decided to fund the car he drove as a tribute to their late father John R. Gray, a self-made man who rose to legendary status in the New Mexico and north Texas oil industry.

Upon Johnny’s retirement from driving at the end of that season, Terry began funding the team and added driver Tommy Johnson Jr. Terry and her husband, Doug, own and operate Chandler Aviation at the Cavern City Air Terminal in Carlsbad, N.M. Instead of flying the colors of Chandler Aviation on Johnson’s Dodge Charger, she chose to use the racecar as a platform to promote awareness for a great cause. The car was painted and the transporters were wrapped with a striking Make-A-Wish design. She wanted her racecar to be a “giving car.”

Chandler and DSR host “Wish Kids” and their families to the VIP hospitality pavilion next to the race team’s pit area on Saturdays at each of the 24 Mello Yello events held in 21 markets across the country. The Make-A-Wish crew has the opportunity to engage with the children, giving them a tour of the pit area and racecar.

After a few months of committing to fund the Make-A-Wish team, another DSR team appeared close to dissolving when Terry Chandler, the woman with the infectious smile, stepped in to fund Jack Beckman’s team and donated its branding to the Infinite Hero Foundation, a non-profit organization that combats the most difficult front line issues by providing grants to help the physical and psychological challenges faced by returning military veterans.

More than $300,000 has been raised by the sale of “challenge coins” Jack Beckman carries on each run for a $100 donation to Infinite Hero and nearly $500,000 has been raised for the organization through Terry’s efforts.

For the past two years, she funded the Riley Kids Funny Car to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana during the prestigious U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis. She contributed additionally during DSR’s annual Open House that weekend that also raised funds for Riley Kids, often bidding on items she would donate back to the effort.

She funded countless Make-A-Wish dreams to provide monumental memories. She always made it clear to the “Wish Kids” that the racecar was their car. She would proclaim, “This is YOUR racecar.”

And it will continue to be this weekend when her Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero teams race for her during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals near Chicago.

Terry is just an incredible lady, and we’ll never know how many lives she impacted,” Don added. “We’ll miss her every day, but we’ll never forget her smile and he big heart.”

A private funeral service will be held with a public memorial tentatively set for over Labor Day Weekend near Indianapolis during the NHRA U.S. Nationals.