Two
students share their love for the male-dominated world of automobile racing
An empty parking
lot, a dirt track, the smell of gasoline, and the sound of revving
engines. Junior Talia Mangiameli
settles into her go-kart and senior Leanna Steier prepares to step on the gas
of her 1984 Mazda Rx7. A rush of energy
goes through their fingertips as they prepare to race to the finish line. Their hearts are pounding, the light turns
green, and their off.
Mangiameli and
Steier both compete in the male dominated sport of go-kart and Sport Car Club
of America, or SCCA, racing. Steier is
the only women under of the 30 that competes in the SCCA. Both girls grew up attending various stock
car and SCCA, races with their fathers and each decided they wanted to try it
out.
Mangiameli “fell in
love with it [racing]” and now competes in go-kart races. For about three years, she has been
traveling back and forth from Waverly, Iowa, where most go-kart races are
held. When Mangiameli races, she
“forgets everything else. If you don’t,
you’ll mess up, and at the same time it’s relaxing.”
Steier and
Mangialmeli both agree that one of the best parts of racing is the speed. “My favorite part of racing is the
adrenaline rush,” said Steier.
Steier first raced
around the track about one and a half years ago. Her father used to race at Sunset Speedway, she got her start
from watching him.
Most of the SCCA
races Steier competes in are held in a large parking lot at the Mid America
Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Steier’s main goal is to beat both her father’s and older brother’s
times. She has come pretty close, but
still has little more time to shave off.
Before each
competition, Steier takes a walk around the track to make sure she knows where
all the turns are. Also, her Mazda RX7
must go through a series of safety checks.
If a driver isn’t racing then the driver must “work the track,” said
Steier, by replacing fallen cones.
Mangiameli has a
different routine. Her go-kart is not
checked until the end of the entire competion.
It is checked for safety and to make sure that no illegal devices were used
to help the driver win.
Each SCCA and
go-kart competition lasts about four to six hours and the winners are announced
at the end. To determine the winners,
the officials compare the best of the driver’s four times.
Mangiameli was
named Rookie of the year in 2000 and has continued to do well. During the next two years she received the
second highest amount of points in her division.
Steier has also won
a few awards. She received a second
place trophy in the women’s division in one of her SCCA competitions. She said, “ The glory of beating your
previous time is all that you need.”
The dirt has
cleared, the cones have been put away, and the last of the drivers are
leaving. Another day of racing is over
and another will soon start.