Chasing my Dreams!

BABY STEPS TOWARDS A BIG DREAM!!

It was my being ‘born into motor racing’ (my family raced when I was growing up, in the minor leagues of the sport – track/circuit racing, rallying, motocross) – which sparked my passion for the sport, and which has led me to find a way to race ‘somehow’, with my disabilities…which led me to magically be in the position of co-piloting Steve Johnson in his Dick Johnson Racing #17 V8 Supercar, out on Queensland Raceway in August, 2011.  From that day, Chasing my Dreams was born….and as they say – ‘the rest is history’…

“Race Face”

Over the last 4 years, I have been a passenger out on the track a couple of times since…and while it is INSANELY amazing (to be in the passenger seat, having NO control of a car going at awesome speeds around a racetrack, putting all your faith and trust in the driver – all kinds of crazy awesome! haha) – I had always held onto wanting to find a way to be behind the wheel on the track myself, under my own power….instead of being driven/raced around a track.  To ‘race under my own power’ in my own way…

The day I found out about public ‘Track Days’, where you can get your own car out onto a racetrack (these are held under very strict controlled conditions), my mind became awake even further – this had my attention, for sure!  Fast forward to late 2014…and I was approached by a a friend in our local ‘car community’ – he offered to help me find that way, to get me out onto the racetrack, in my own car!…Wow!  Then came a few conversations back and forth between himself, and a man heavily involved in these public Track Days, and myself – and the next thing I know…when I have the funds for it (it’s not cheap – but it WILL be worth it!)…it is now all but locked in for me to get out onto that track….something I have wanted to do, practically my whole life since I was a little girl…a little girl with a ‘Dream to race’!

Since late last year, my car (which I affectionately call ‘Harley’), has had a fair amount of work done on her.  Ordinarily, it would just be par for the course of owning a car, having work done on it – but, as I often do when I am Chasing a Dream – I have put myself into a ‘racer mindset’…in my own way, I am visualising that all this work is all in preparation for my own ‘race’ out on that track when I get to experience it for the first time! This has put even more fun into the anticipation and leadup of getting out onto that track!

Getting Harley all prepped to hit Lakeside Raceway, Qld – with a ‘mock livery’ to add to the fun!

Thank you so much to:
*Denver and Steve from Nybro Holdings for all my awesome disability car modifications;
*Chris from North Coast Rehab who got the ball rolling in organising the modifications;
*Steed, my awesome, thorough mechanic (my ‘pit crew’ as they call it in the race game haha) from Pacific Motor Group on the Sunshine Coast who has done a lot of work on her, which has her running better than she ever did;
*Tony and the boys from Nambour Smash Repairs for repairing her left side from a recent hit by someone, when I wasn’t there…(grrrr!);
*My awesome witness who gave me vital information and support after the car was hit.
*Steve, who has opened this door of me getting my car out onto the track;

My ‘Harley’ beast has been through a LOT of work the last few months – she’s been pampered and looked after by all these guys – and she cannot WAIT to hit the track for some awesome fun and action in the near future…..and just quietly – NEITHER CAN I!!! haha…BRING IT ON!

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE…when you hold into a Childhood Dream, and believe that there WILL be a way of making it come true!