The first thing that we had discussed was who or what influenced her to go racing. Like many drivers her father, Don, influenced her. But it wasn’t a direct impact right away.

When Heather was nine years old, one of her friends had gotten a go kart to play with in the yard.

“I had so much fun with that, that I had asked my dad for one,” Heather stated. That is when she was introduced to the concept of racing cars. “At that time I had no clue you could race a go kart. So instantly I picked that and we ended up getting a tiger sprint from Wade at Wild Thing Karts.”

The next thing that we had discussed was what she felt was the best part of racing besides for winning. Unlike many other drivers that I talked to that jumped to an answer, Heather couldn’t. She couldn’t name just one thing that she liked more. But the more she thought about it she was able to come up with answer.

“The feeling I get on the track is indescribable, in a good way of course… and also the friendships and the sense of 'racing family' that you get from being with the same people all season long.”

As we finished talking about, we started to talk about the drivers that she admired growing up. Those select few drivers were Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmy Johnson.

“When I started racing I was pretty much in love with Jeff Gordon, so my go kart number was 24.”

The next to last topic that we discussed was what her goals are in racing. And all she could say was that she wanted to get as far as she could. Another main point that she had shared was that she just wants to have fun on the track.

And after she mentioned that, I couldn’t help but think that Cindy Lauper really nailed it in the 80’s with her hit song 'Girls Just Wanna’ Have fun'. And I can relate because I have gotten to race my self, and it is extremely fun.

Lastly we had discussed was how she felt about being one of the few females out on the track. And if she felt any more or less pressure to do well against the boys. Heather wasted no time at responding to say she didn’t feel any pressure on that fact.

“I’ve never felt any different than any of the boys. Personally I believe that at the end of the day I’m a drover, doesn’t matter if I’m a boy or girl.”

I would like to thank Heather for taking the time to talk with me. She is a current college freshman, and it is hard to take time away from the tons of homework given to you on any given day. I would know because I’m only a year ahead of Heather. So I wish her luck with school and her racing career.