Female Race Car drivers Names
MADISON (WKOW) - She's hailed as NASCAR's newest leading lady, an Eagle River 19-year-old, ready to race past the rest.
"I've been racing since I was 9-years-old, " Natalie Decker said. Now, a decade later, the 19-year old is preparing for her next big competition in Madison. The country's youngest female driver knows in this profession, there are no pit-stops.
"You just have to gain respect and win, " Natalie explained. "That's what I've been doing, race clean and win, " she added.
Despite competing in a male-dominated profession, Natalie says her greatest challenge isn't the boys.
"To reach the pedals, that's the hardest part!" the 5'1, 100 pound teen said.
Natalie is pure-power packed in her N-29 Venturini Motorsports Toyota Camry race car.
"If you look at fighter pilots, and all those guys, even a lot of NASCAR drivers, they're all short and little, so I think it's a good thing to be short and little if you want to do something fast or with speed, " she explained.
Each race, however, that speed does something wild to Natalie's tiny frame.
"It's about five to 8 pounds that I lose of water weight, but every weekend that I'm racing, I try to hydrate a lot, I work our everyday for at least an hour, it's all about having the strength to wield the car, " she said.
Natalie spends most of her days at the track, putting in between ten to eighteen hours a day.
"It was very fast pace, I had to learn to grow up really fast, " Natalie explained about missing much of her high school experience to drive.
She knows there are no pit stops in the profession.
"My goal has always been to be at the top level in NASCAR, " Natalie said. But the Eagle River racer hopes for much more, one day owning her own Wisconsin team.
"Find drivers working hard like me, working hard like me and I'll be like, 'I got your back, I'll help you come up like I did, '" she said.
Watch Natalie race and meet her this weekend in Joe Shear Classic 200, Sunday at 2 p.m. at Madison International Motorspeedway.
