Words: Lara Wilde, Pictures: Jess Donoghoe, Sweet Spot Photography

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Since the mid-1980s, Willowbank Raceway, just half-an-hour west of Brisbane, has been hallowed ground for drag racers of all stripes and hosts a legion of events throughout the year in which high-powered monsters from a multitude of categories – from Pro Slammer to Funny Cars, from Pro Stock to Top Bikes – roar off down the quarter-mile strip.

This is a high-octane, full-throttle environment, and you might expect it to be high-testosterone too, but from trackside to the office, from pit lane to the commentary tower, from the media crew to the cockpit, women play a mighty role in being the driving force behind the facility and the sport itself. The automotive industry and the world of motorsport is often considered to be male dominated, but I can see the tide is changing.

At Willowbank Raceway 60 per cent of the staff and officials are women, 70 per cent of the volunteers at the track are women, 30 per cent of the pit crews are women and one of the board members is a woman. Every bracket of racing now has at least one female driver, while in the junior dragsters there are just as many girls driving as there are boys. Willowbank Raceway CEO Peter Beaumont enjoys working with women at the track and recently commented, “Drag Racing now has a very high number of women in influential positions of management. Our sport is benefiting through the input of women throughout the management and Racer base.”

I recently spent the weekend at Super Thunder, the 400 Thunder drag racing event at Willowbank and met a lot of very impressive women whose dedication ensures the sport of drag racing is the ear-splitting, bone-shaking, awe-inspiring sport that it is. Let me introduce you to the Women of Willowbank and the many roles they play to support the automotive industry and motorsport specifically.

Sally barely looks old enough to own a car and yet she is a driving force in the Willowbank raceway office keeping the staff organised, the spectators catered for and the competitors happy. Sally leads a team of up to 65 people, including 21 women on race day, ranging from administration to stewards to officials to fire and rescue.

Joining Sally in the office is Jacqui. Jacqui manages the finances of Willowbank making sure that everyone has paid their dues and has collected their winnings. When it comes to the numbers behind Willowbank, no one is more across those figures than Jacqui.

Selina is not a race car driver. She is not a promo girl. She is a mother of two junior drag racers focusing her time on making sure the two lads are on the start line ready to safely do battle behind the wheel. With an accounting background, Selina not only manages the race team finances but also uses her love of numbers to tune her husband Darren’s Pro Alcohol drag racing car. With Selina’s attention to detail, Darren produces winning results every meet.

Janey looks like she should be in a punk rock band, but she doesn’t sing when she picks up the mic on race day. Janey is one of three women who provide commentary for racing at Willowbank. Janey has a spot in the tower because she knows the sport inside and out and she has the skill required to entertain and educate the crowds of hardcore enthusiasts.

Rissa is a contract photographer for Drag Photos, attending every event at Willowbank. Rissa will spend all weekend in the sun, inhaling tyre smoke and fuel fumes to get the perfect shot on the start line. A front wheel lifting, a rear wheel wrinkling, the eyes through the helmet visor as the driver drills focus and determination through to the finish line. After a long day lugging a huge camera, Rissa is all giggles and smiles as she tells you, “I love drag racing, I have the best job in the world.”

Rissa is not the only female photographer at such events, of course. Jesse Donoghoe, who took the images you see on these pages, does plenty of work shooting at track events, as well as for a range of outlets publishing automotive feature stories.

For more than 50 years, Dale has volunteered her time to her passion for drag racing. Dale is an IHRA steward and before she trained to know the IHRA rule book, Dale was an ANDRA steward. From the early days at the Lowood track through to the premier venue now at Willowbank, Dale works tirelessly, involving her whole family at every meet. She rarely sees the cars she loves race as she spends all weekend in the scrutineering shed, triple checking every machine to make sure it is safe and ready for speed.

Kirsty lives in the deep end of the track. Her job is to be a human radar judging the speeds of cars as they head down the track to judge if they can safely turn or need to use the catch net. “There is a real sense of family at Willowbank and I love that I can help the show to go on,” she says.

Kirsty has been on the team for more than a decade and loves spending her weekends keeping drivers safe.

Chanel is just one of the boys on the fire truck, but she takes her role very seriously. While Chanel is quick to break into a smile and a joke with the lads, she knows the stakes and is all business at the top fuel race car safety briefing. If the speeding race car hits the kitty litter in the deep end, Chanel’s training can be all that stands between a driver having the ride of a lifetime or a ride in an ambulance.

Monique is just 22 but is already a well-known smiling face in the pits. Having grown up at a track, Monique loves all aspects of the sport and has fashioned her life to constantly be surrounded by fast cars. A sheet metal fabricator by trade, Monique spends her weekends working on the big cars to make sure their bottom end is performing at its best. Monique is learning the art of engine tuning and has unveiled her own race car at Melbourne Motorplex last month.

Michelle survived cancer and at the suggestion of her husband Gareth, took up winning races behind the wheel of a Pro Slammer Mustang as her recovery therapy. Fiona manages two small girls while also steering a Super Charged Outlaw to the finish line. Katie drags the whole family from Mackay as she races her Modified dragster along the East Coast of Australia. Tiana is 14 years old and a serious contender in the Junior Dragster competition.

Fiona spends her weekdays working in a bank but on the weekends, she is chasing new speeds.

“Growing up in the drag racing scene I knew early on I wanted enjoy it with my family,” she says. “I loved everything about the racing, from weekends in the shed to being at the racetrack. I love having the kids with me, and I’m lucky they love racing with me. A good luck kiss on the helmet from the girls before I get in the car makes my weekend.”

Lorelle, Ros, Georgie, and Debbie all spend their time being mother hen to their family of racers. From drivers to pit crews, from grandchildren to adopted orphans, from hugs and tut tuts on bruises and boo boos, to full gourmet catering spreads, these women cook and clean and take care of their racing family’s every need.

Georgie isn’t fond of the spotlight, but she runs a camp kitchen in the pits that would shame the defence force, feeding nearly 13 pit crew for the Mad Professor Pro Slammer race car 3 meals per day plus snacks over a race weekend. Georgie takes great pride in her delicious, wholesome meals and no matter who you are, when you enter the tent you are greeted by a smile from Georgie and “Are you hungry? Of course you are hungry. Let me get you something to eat.”

And then there is me. I am one of the slowest drivers you will ever meet but I spend my weekends at the track providing live coverage for Fox Sports and Kayo while noting the interesting stories for publications such as Motor Trader magazine.

The automotive industry and motorsport are not the man’s world they used to be. Women play a role in all aspects now and motorsport facilities such as Willowbank Raceway play a key role in making them feel welcome.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (May 2022) 

12 May 2022