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Contact: www.gracehowell.com
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Bio
Aiken, SC
Grace Howell has been around racing and cars her
entire life. Growing up in a “racing
family” where both her mother and father
raced, Grace got the urge to race early on. She
began racing Junior Dragsters at the age of eight
and enjoyed much success. She was able to travel to
Puerto Rico and race three times and also had the
opportunity to race in Australia at the ANDRA
Junior Championship race, where she was crowned
champion in the 8.50 class. Also, she was able to
achieve the highest honor in Junior Drag Racing
when she won the NHRA National Championship in 1996
at Texas Motorplex.
In 2002, at the age of 16, Grace made the
change from Junior Dragster to an adult racecar,
racing within the NHRA Super Stock class. She
finished up 7th in the always tough division 2
ranks while also achieving a runner up finish at
her very first race.
2008 brought in Grace’s professional
driving debut, with her driving a General Motors
factory backed, front wheel drive Cobalt within
Nopi and Battle of the Imports Pro Stock Divisions.
She enjoyed back-to-back wins in June when she won
Pro Stock at the Rocky Mountain Raceway event in
Salt Lake City, Utah and then also winning Stock
eliminator at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
event in Hebron, Ohio the following weekend.
2010 brought even more changes as she
added a Ford Motor Company factory built Cobra Jet
stock eliminator car and also a Cavalier for the
Super Stock modified division. She had great
success winning the AA/SA class at the US Nationals
in Indianapolis, IN with the Cobra Jet. She now
continues to race the Cobra jet and Cavalier in the
two fastest classes in Stock and Super Stock making
her the quickest female in each!
News
Grace Howell announces
split from Cunningham Motorsports
For as long as I can remember it has been my dream
to race as a professional in the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series and I can’t thank Jim and
Gloria Cunningham enough for helping to make that
dream come true. Over the last 11 months, I have
had the opportunity to compete alongside some of
the sport’s best Pro Stock racers and I have
learned a lot. Although the time has come for me to
move on I wish for.
Howell, 26, joined Cunningham Motorsports in
August 2011, making her debut in the team’s
Pro Stock Ford Mustang at the Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals. In 15 races, she qualified for
Sunday’s final eliminations three times and
recorded a career best run of 6.558-seconds at
210.67-mph.
Howell plans to immediately begin working on the
next phase of her career, which she hopes will
include an opportunity return to the NHRA Full
Throttle Series on a full-time basis. While she
would prefer to continue racing in the highly
competitive Pro Stock class, she is also leaving
her options open.
“I’ve been racing since I got
my first Jr. Dragster at age 8, so no matter
what, I plan to continue racing. I love the Pro
Stock class, and I feel like I made a lot of
progress as a driver in the last year. Pro Stock
is where I want to be but at the same time, I
would certainly consider a switch to Top Fuel or
Funny Car if an opportunity became available.
The bottom line is that I want to continue
racing professionally and right now, my focus
will be on continuing to make that a
reality.”
In the short term, Grace Howell is likely to
return to the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
racing alongside her father, Bill. The Howell
family team owns several competitive entries in the
NHRA Super Stock and Stock classes including a Ford
Mustang Cobra Jet.
Source: article.wn.com/view/2012/07/10/Grace_Howell_announces_split_from_Cunningham_Motorsports/
Grace Howell | Race Car
Driver
She’s Got Wheels!
The need for speed runs in Grace’s family.
As a little girl, she cheered on her parents from
the sidelines, and at just eight, was behind the
wheel and competing in Jr. Dragster races of her
own. “Driving a stock car is a huge adrenaline
rush,” she says. The former NHRA Jr. Dragster
National Champ now races professionally for GM.
Driving at speeds of 140 mph, Grace is thankful
that she’s never wrecked. “Though I have
caught on fire,” she says. Last year, Grace
turned up the heat and won back-to-back hot rod
races, driving a Cobalt in Salt Lake City and a
Camaro in Columbus, Ohio. But around her hometown
of Aiken and to and from Pink, Grace’s trendy
clothing boutique, she drives like a little old
lady. “I guess that I get it out of my system
on the track,” she says.
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