It's hard to believe Sprint Car Girls is a year old! I cannot even begin to thank everyone who has supported our amazing group and made it what it is today!
When I began to visualize the concept, the original intention was for it to feature a few of the girls who were connected to a certain manufacturer. I pitched the idea to those girls and then presented it to the company. After consideration, the company decided to decline, which was totally understandable. In their defense, who honestly would think it'd work?
I try not to give up too easily, so after being told no, I tossed the idea around for a few days and decided to give it a try anyway. So, I approached the girls and told them we could try it and see what happened. It might work, there's a good chance it won't, so without much of an expectation, we began an amazing journey.
Sprint Car Girls officially became an entity on May 20th, starting out with it's original members of April Wilson, Sarena Paul, Ashley Cappetta, Tiffany Wyzard, Ashley Lewellen, Miranda Throckmorton, Jordan Weaver and Brittany Tresch. Soon after the launch, we received a message from a mini sprint driver with an amazing story and in a unanimous decision, Lexi Adgate was added to the team. Alysha Ruggles also expressed interest in joining so we welcomed her aboard and we set sight on making the page a reality.
Soon after, I felt the page needed something to help legitimize the group, so I approached Maria Melillo of FK Rod Ends hoping to be allowed to merely use the brand name to give the group credibility. However, Maria not only welcomed the idea with open arms, but also became the biggest supporter of the group, assisting in numerous ways! We don't truly give her and the group at FK the thanks and appreciation they deserve. Their support has been mind blowing!
Within the first week, the group surpassed my expectations and 500 likes. Then it soared past 750, 1000 and the number kept growing by leaps and bounds.
It didn't take long for the group to find success on track either. Within the first month, both Brittany and Jordan scored feature wins for the group. We also got to experience some exciting off-track news, as Sarena got engaged in front of a massive crowd while racing as an undercard for the 360 Knoxville Nationals! We also had a cool moment along the way, when Miranda and Tiffany signed in to compete together with the MOWA series in Central Illinois in early July.
However, the road hasn't always been so smooth, as our bond was tested when Alysha had her frightening mid-summer incident at her home track in Canandaigua. Thankfully, she rebounded fast, recovered fully, and has already picked up a feature win so far in 2014.
With our page continuing to grow, I felt we needed some extra help to keep things running smoothly so I approached close personal friend Heather Crowcroft to bring a different viewpoint into the equation. Heather was majoring in mass communications for college and jumped at the chance to join in. She readily admitted she was not knowledgeable in racing, but she has been a blessing, coming up with many of the ideas you see in action today. She quietly works behind the scenes, without any recognition for the amazing job she does for the group, but I am taking this time to personally thank her for everything! Heather, you rock!
Soon thereafter, our American season began to draw to a close, and I realized it would be a long, boring off-season for our followers. In order to keep things interesting, I brought forth the idea of adding some Australians to our family.
In November, we officially launched our global campaign, adding our first 4 nonwing members. We welcomed Lucy Evans, Mikaela Blyton, Stacey Galliford and Bianca Reeves to the group. We also wanted to recognize the tremendous winged talent down under and added Kristy Ellis, Hayley Sayers, Rhiannon Burleigh and Nicole Hill as our winged warriors and the page ultimately began to take shape as what it is today.
As with all things, change is inevitable. Miranda decided to leave the group in mid- January as her tremendous work and college schedule took precedence over the group, which was completely understandable, but left a void in our family.
After much deliberation, we decided to fill said void, while opening things up to add an American nonwing driver. After receiving applications, we decide to add two and welcomed Kaitie O'Neal and Katrina Sautbine to the group. With these additions, we filled all of our intended spots, plus one!
As things have fallen into place, I continue to be truly amazed every day by this incredible team. Our group grew from a bunch of racers scattered around the world, many of which didn't know one another, into a close-knit family. All of our members interact daily amongst themselves in a special, secret administration page we have and there's times when I just sit back and watch, amazed. We have all grown to truly be the best of friends. There are times I wish everyone could see some of our discussions and badgering and bickering because it's better than any comedy club around!
Like all dysfunctional families, we have our issues, but at the end of the day, we are just that-a family. Everyone is quick to be a cheerleader and reach out to a fellow member who needs encouragement or support when they have a bad night or a personal issue. Sometimes I joke to people that I feel like a coach, a psychiatrist, a cheerleader and a referee all at the same time, but I truly wouldn't trade any of it for all the money in the world!
Everyone thinks of Sprint Car Girls as my thing, but it literally would not be possible without a tremendous group of girls. Everything you see on a daily basis is because of them. They take time out of their lives and schedules daily to do their own posts and interact with the fans. They bust their butts to produce the best possible product for our fans and it overwhelms me to think of the dedication they put in to Sprint Car Girls. I always say I didn't do this for me, I did it for them and my reward is seeing them grow as their fan base and public relations skills grow. These girls truly mean the world to me and it's very gratifying to see them flourish.
I cannot begin to thank the girls and their families enough for allowing all of this to happen and most of all, our great fans! We wouldn't have a page without our thousands of fans around the world! We do this for you guys and we appreciate everyone sticking with us and supporting us!
We have had some great people step up and help this group be what it is. Ashley Cappetta not only races as a member, she has also contributed tremendously with her business, Up To Speed Graphics. Between Ashley and myself, all of the graphically enhanced content you see has been done 100% within the group. Wendell Dickerman with The Engine Heater took a strong interest in the group and graciously donated one of their systems to be given to a lucky member, which the fans voted on. It was a big item to simply be given to the group and I cannot thank him enough for his extreme kindness. I also must thank Catherine Hogue, who not only took enough interest in our group to write a news article about Sprint Car Girls, but also had that article published in the Gettysburg, PA newspaper, bringing even more credibility and attention to our group. We also have to thank the countless photographers who allowed us to use their photos to help showcase the girls and their racing!
Seems like a lot for just the first year doesn't it? Yeah I'm pretty blown away myself! I cannot begin to express my appreciation and gratitude to each and every person who made my dream become a reality! If someone would've told me when we started this deal it would have over 4,200 likes and members in 8 states and 3 countries, I would have told you were crazy! But it's all too real and from myself and all of the girls within the group, we thank you!
We hope you'll continue to enjoy Sprint Car Girls! It's been an amazing ride and we have no intentions of letting it stop anytime soon!
-Justin
