|
Drives a Chevrolet
Camaro in the American BF Goodrich Trans Am Series.
Marybeth Harrison is one of only a few race car
drivers to make it to the ranks of professional
road racing when, in 2000, she raced a partial
season for Glacier Bear Racing in the Trans-Am
series. Since that time, she has managed the
ProFormance Racing School located in Vancouver
Canada and when time (and money!) permits, she
races one of ProFormance's 355 hp NASCAR-style race
cars. Next race July 9-10 at Race City Motorsport
Park, Calgary AB.
MaryBeth Harrison - The Canadian drives a
Chevrolet Camaro in the American BF Goodrich Trans
Am Series.
How I got started in racing ...
When I was about 8 years old, my mom, dad,
younger brother & I went to visit some friend's
of my parents. My dad's friend had a Corvette and
he let my dad take it for a drive with me in the
passenger seat. I was so enthralled with the
experience of being in this hot car that I said to
myself "when I grow up I'm going to buy a
Corvette!" True to my 8-year-old-word, after I
graduated from university and had traveled for two
years (one year in Australia/New Zealand and then
one year in Japan), I worked, saved my money and
was finally able to buy a 1970 'big block'
Corvette.
Needless to say, I was pretty happy about
getting my dream car so joined a local Corvette
club so I could show it off ;-) I soon found out
that the club held weekend slalom racing events and
one weekend, I got talked into going. I entered
into the women's event and came away with the first
trophy I'd ever won in my life! After the women's
event, I ran against the guys but found out that it
wasn't as easy as just putting pedal to metal.
After knocking down a gazillion cones and finishing
way down the list, I decided to go to a racing
school to learn how to be faster so I could
W-I-N.
In the Fall of 1993, I attended my first school
(at ProFormance Racing) and totally fell in love
with racing. I came home after the 2-day program
and told my boyfriend that I was going to become a
race car driver! He was very supportive and agreed
to go solo on our business consulting company while
I pursued sponsorship & racing on a full time
basis.
I bought a kart in 1994, started racing and
volunteering at ProFormance Racing. Two years later
I was a full fledged instructor at ProFormance and
had graduated from karts to ProFormance's racing
series which used a fleet of equally-prepared
Toyotas Corollas. I was Rookie of the Year in 1996;
broke the track record and had it not been for a
technicality, would have won (and should have won!)
the championship in 1997. In 1998 I was fortunate
to team up with Gary Josefczyk from a local
Domino's Pizza restaurant who helped me fund a
Formula 1600 car. We won the Canadian Formula
Drivers Association Championship in the west that
year and then the following year I went east and
ran in the Bridgestone Racing School's Formula 2000
series. I didn't do all that great in the series
itself - I think I finished 6th in the series - but
I did end up running within, I think it was one
tenth of the track record in a one-on-one coaching
session we ran the last day I was there. Should
have done that at the beginning!
In the meantime, I had also been hired by PPG to
be part of their Pace Car Program. For two years, I
attended CART races at numerous North American
tracks (and even Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!) giving
VIP rides in the PPG pace cars as well as pacing
CART and support races.
In 2000 I hooked up with Glacier Bear Racing, a
new Trans-Am team out of North Carolina. I became
their driver that year on a limited schedule
competing at tracks like Laguna Seca and Road
America against drivers like Brian Simo, Boris Said
& Paul Gentilozzi. Unfortunately, we weren't
able to find the sponsorship funds we needed to
continue racing and eventually had to sell our
beautiful Pratt & Miller Camero :-(. However,
that hasn't stopped myself and Ed Moskel (Glacier
Bear's Marketing Manager) from continuing to try to
find those elusive sponsorship dollars.
In the meantime, I was offered a full time job
at ProFormance Racing and since my racing options
for 2001 were limited, I took the job. I was able
to race once that year at Las Vegas Motorspeedway;
in 2002 at Race City Motorsport Park in Calgary
(fastest race lap in a ProFormance car); and in
2003 also at Race City at the GT Canadian
Championships where I took first place in GT1
class.
At the present time, I continue to race one of
ProFormance's 355 hp ASA-type Monte Carlos &
Grand Prixs. Glacier Bear Racing continues to look
for sponsorship funds.
As for the boyfriend, he is long gone and I am
now madly in love with (and engaged to) my partner
at ProFormance Racing, Norm Olynuk. We have alot of
fun together and spend time dreaming of the day I
can go racing again! :-)
Source: E-Mail
or www.marybeth-harrison.com
Related Issue:
Women
Racers
Directory,
Women
in Racing,
Women
Racers,
More
Women in
Racing,
Race
Schedules,
Notable
Women
* * *
WomenInRacing.org
©1996-2023 by of Gordon Clay
|
