That's How They Roll

Rachel Westmoreland began racing at the Oklahoma Sports Park late last season and she blames good friend Kristi Byrd for it.

Byrd also races every Saturday night at the local dirt track, and she really didn’t have much of a choice. It was destined for her to be a part of the racing scene. You see, her dad, Richard Byrd, started racing in 1971. It’s in her blood.

“I’ve watched my dad race my whole life,” Kristi Byrd said.

Byrd is in her fourth season at the Oklahoma Sports Park, the quaint little dirt track located 10 miles east of Ada on SH 3W. She says she couldn’t wait to begin her own racing career.

“I finally got the opportunity to get my own car, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she said.

It’s fair to say that Westmoreland and Byrd, at least at first glance, look out of place walking up and down pit row at the OSP. That’s because they are definitely in the minority. There are only four active female racers at the local race track — the others are Gena Jones and Deanna Huff. So when Westmoreland and Byrd are walking down pit row side by side, they kinda stick out like sore thumbs.

“It’s always been identified as a man’s sport. From this level all the way to NASCAR, all you’ve seen is men,” Westmoreland explained.

So exactly why are gals like those two doing out there, driving left as fast as they can and trying to beat a bunch of men at a traditionally-guys-sport?

“I’ve always been competitive. It’s a competition thing for me ... to come out here and do something I’m not supposed to be doing,” Westmoreland said.

Added Byrd, “Once we’re in the car, we’re the same. That doesn’t really intimidate me.”

Both Byrd and Westmoreland were already used to competition. They each played basketball in high school — Byrd at Byng where she graduated in 1995 and Westmoreland (then Gustin, and folks still call her Gus to this day) at Vanoss where she was among the class of 2000.

So why don’t more women get involved in auto racing? Byrd has her own theory.

“Most women don’t like to work on cars and go fast. We work on our own cars. My dad helped me rebuild my motor during the off season, and I was right there in the middle of it.”

So far, the ladies are faring well in the men’s world of race car driving.

The more experienced Byrd has done pretty well. She has finished no worse than third in the overall points standings in each of the previous three seasons she’s competed and has notched on second-place effort. Byrd is currently second in the Sport Mods division with 529 points, just 21 behind leader Mark Mullins who leads the way with 550.

The other OSP girls are holding their own as well. Huff, after a second-place showing in this past weekend’s Pure Stock feature race, is third in the points (498) and is just a single point behind second-place Michael Vanschuyver II (499).

Jones, competing in the Street Stock class, is tied for sixth.

Then there’s Westmoreland, who admits if it weren’t for bad luck, she probably wouldn’t have much in her first full season among the Pure Stock crowd. She figures she’s already had seven to 10 DNFs (Did Not Finish) and added another to her list Saturday night when her orange 99 car decided to die several laps into the race and refused to start again. (It should be noted that both local girls use the number 99 on their cars. Westmoreland got it from Byrd, who got it from dad.)

“It was running pretty good too,” Westmoreland said. The culprit appeared to be a bad battery.

Still, even after the latest setback, she's still sixth in the point standings.

As all racers know — male or female — it takes a lot of time and money to keep a car ready to roll on Saturday night. Thank goodness for sponsors.

“We work at least four nights a week on these things. It’s a lot of work, especially for 20 minutes of fun” Westmoreland said.

Both have their ‘day jobs’. Westmoreland works for the Chickasaw Nation as a graphic artist and Byrd is a lab supervisor at TechniSand in Roff.

“This,” Westmoreland said. “Is kinda my down time.” If you can call speeding around the race track bumper-to-bumper with about 14 other cars “down time”.

Which brings me to the one aspect of the sport that doesn’t seem to be much fun, at least from the view in the cheap seats — the crashing. But ‘Gus’ and Byrd have no fear.

“I don’t even think about it. I’ve hit the wall three times, I’ve flipped my car, I’ve hit head-on. I’ve been in a few wrecks,” Byrd said.

“It doesn’t phase me,” Westmoreland added. “I think it’s kinda neat to be able to hit someone going 60 miles per hour and be able to hop out of the car. The first thing you’re worried about is your car. Is it OK, and how much work it will take to fix it?”

Unlike other sports, there really isn’t any way for amateurs like Byrd and Westmoreland to practice. They just learn on the fly and take something out of every race.

“The first time I ever raced a car was in a real race. I was out there with 15 other cars. There’s not any practice,” Westmoreland said. “It's an adrenaline rush. I can't describe it.”

One might guess that the girls likely idolize such popular NASCAR racers as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jimmie Johnson. Not so much. In fact, both admitted they don’t even keep up with the Sprint Cup standings and rarely even watch a professional race.

Surely these two local racing gals stay updated of the exploits of IndyCar darling Danica Patrick, the most famous female racer competing at the pro level

Again, they both shook their heads.

“I mean, if I see her on TV I’ll stop and watch. But I don’t really follow even her,” Byrd said. “If I’m not involvedin it, I don’t wanna watch it.”

That’s just how these two girls roll.

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