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LLEWELLYN HAS RACING IN THE HEART
Posted:
Sunday, February 14, 2010 12:00 am | Updated: 4:48 pm, Wed Apr 7, 2010.
By Joel Luna
Peggy Llewellyn’s drive for motorcycle racing is one that many should admire.
Born into a motorcycle family with her dad owning a motorcycle shop (Southeast
Cycles in San Antonio) and her older brother getting into the racing circuit,
the 37-year-old knew one day the sport would take hold of her — and it finally
did in 1996.
“That year, three women qualified for an NHRA event and Stephanie Reeves was the
first to receive that honor,” Llewellyn said from her hometown of San Antonio.
“I then realized that women were starting to make a profession out of it and
take it to another level.”
Since that time, Llewellyn has joined a slew of females into the sport of
racing.
As Danica Patrick makes her next move in her racing career by moving into
NASCAR, women have really shown how far they’ve come in a sport that was once
dominated by the male gender.
Llewellyn’s career didn’t exactly get off to a sterling start when she got going
in 2001. She participated in six events that year and then took some time off
until returning in 2007.
On Sept. 23, 2007, Llewellyn became the first black woman to win a professional
motorsports event when she dominated the NHRA Powerade Series O’Reilly Fall
Nationals in Dallas.
In that event, Llewellyn beat Andrew Hines in the finals by running an elapsed
time of 7.020 seconds at 190 mph. That win also catapulted her to an appearance
in the inaugural Countdown to 4 and Countdown to 1 where she knocked out Craig
Treble, the No. 4 seed at the time. She was the only female to make it to the
countdown and eventually wound up in fourth place for the year.
“Since 2001, I’ve been racing for a total of about five years,” Llewellyn said.
“When I was 7, my dad bought me my first motorcycle. It was a Dandy Pocket
Rocket and it came in a box. The top speed was 30 mph, but my dad, of course,
made it faster. Whereas most girls my age collected Barbie dolls, I collected
motorcycles.”
Llewellyn found herself at a crossroads again at the end of a successful 2007
when she was let go by her racing team.
The 2008 season was a short because she participated in only three NHRA events.
“I had a lot of fun getting back on the bike in 2008 because of what happened
after getting released,” Llewellyn said. “I went to a semifinals on my first
race that year and it just showed me a lot about my abilities in this
profession.”
In one of those three events had a career-best run at 193.24 mph.
“It is like everything stands still when you are going that fast,” Llewellyn
said. “What I try to do is pick a target in front of me and just focus on it
because when you are going that fast you cannot look to the sides.”
Llewellyn could not find any sponsorships for the 2009 campaign and held out for
another year. But she now is back and is making a full commitment to the
profession she once saw herself getting into at a young age.
“I had to stop leaving destiny in other people’s hands,” Llewellyn said. “Though
it hasn’t been formally announced, I am starting my own team. I was reluctant
because I didn’t know how to go talk to those big companies. It was me holding
me back because I didn’t have that confidence but once they saw what I have to
offer, things changed.
“I really didn’t think I got any sponsorships in 2009 because I was a female,
but more because of the economy and how it threw everyone for a loop,” she said.
“I know what my track performance is but I do a lot with the community by
lending my name to different associations — plus I work with the youth and the
women and I want these companies to see that.”
Llewellyn’s return to racing will be on the weekend of March 11-14 at the Gator
Nationals in Gainesville, Florida.
“This is like starting over again and I know I am going to have butterflies,”
Llewellyn said. “But after a couple of test passes, I will be all right. I’d
like to win a couple of championships and continue to build this team. Once I
retire, I’d like to bring up a pup, whether it is a woman or man. And I’d like
to start my own foundation.
“Racing is imbedded deep in my heart and I know I can do this.”
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