Yes, I said drag racing; no, I’m not talking about street racing. In today's world, drag racing is not only growing bigger and bigger but also attracting more and more kinds of people. When I first started drag racing back in 2003, it was basically an all male sport. I was one of the very few females to be racing in the Jr. Dragster class. Fast forward to about 13 years later, the female population in the sport of drag racing has exploded. I can’t say that I “beat the boys” anymore, ‘cause chances are I probably had to beat a whole bunch of women as well. But, as I’ve gotten older and grown up alongside people from the age of 8 to 85, I’ve noticed that it really doesn’t matter what gender, or age, that you are… we all have one thing in common: we do dating totally differently.
If you ever find yourself interested in a drag racer, male or female, please be aware of the following:
1. He probably can’t go to that concert that starts at 7pm next Saturday night, and especially not if you just told him about it the week beforehand!
Unless it’s the winter (depending on where you live), our weekends are almost always occupied by racing. “Yes, honey, I do love you.,. But, there’s a 20k in Bristol this weekend!”
2. She is extremely competitive.
Wanna go ride go karts? Prepare for some pre-race smack talk. Wanna go for a run? Bet I’ll beat you to the stop sign! OH, you race too?! Pull up beside me first time run! Bet I’ll tree you!
3. He knows a lot of people!
This one is a major one! The Drag Racing community is huge! I have friends in just about every state from New York to Florida to California. You shouldn’t feel threatened by this, you should be happy! You just gained like a ton of new friends!
4. She probably knows more about cars than you do, but that doesn’t mean all she wants to talk is cars.
I can’t tell you how many first dates that I’ve been on where we sit and talk about nothing but cars… Newsflash, although it really may not seem like it sometimes, we do have a life outside of drag racing. Yes, I love my race car. And yes, I could talk for days about how much I love drag racing. But sometimes, especially after a long weekend at the track, a normal conversation is much appreciated!
5. If he tells you he didn’t answer because he was in the shop working, he probably didn’t answer because he was in the shop working!
Of course, there will be a few exceptions to this one; I can’t say that every drag racer is 100 percent honest 24/7. But for the vast majority, they’re probably telling the truth. We work our butts off to make sure that everything is running right.
6. It doesn’t matter how many times she tries to explain it to you, you’re probably just not going to get it.
It’s going to take some time… When she tells you she was .005 on the tree and took .009 for the W, don’t try to understand, just tells her she's a bada** and that you’re proud of her. (P.S. W means Win. L means Lose. Don’t worry, you’ll get it all eventually.)
7. He spends the majority of his money on new stuff for his car.
Car parts because something broke. Racepak because hello, racepak! Digital dial in board because we race in style. New motor because we’ve gotta go faster to qualify. Expensive cleaning stuff because we gotta keep our babies pretty! And that’s not even a fraction of it. It really does all add up. But, when you win that 10k at Carolina with all your pretty new possessions that you spent all that money on, it makes it totally worth it!
8. She really just wants you to be her #1 fan.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. We just want someone to stand on the starting line, cheer when we win, and look pretty in our winner circle pictures. It doesn’t matter what kind of day she is having on the track, believe in her, and motivate her. Be her #1 fan.
9. If he says something about his girl or his baby, he’s probably referring to his car.
Yes, you’re his girl too but…. his race car is like his child! We have to cherish her and remind her how much we love her! (the car, not you. lol)
10. She will love you more than anyone else ever could!
Drag racers are some of the most caring and compassionate people in the world. We will love you with every being that we have, and that will never change.
