Alyssa Ridenour
reporter@greenepublishing.com
Taylor Hosford, 25, of Madison, has worked her way up in drag racing. She initially got into racing because her dad raced go carts and worked for NASCAR. In 2005, while in fifth grade, she got behind the wheel for the very first time and fell in love with the sport. She explains that the truck is the only thing she is currently racing, but she also races go carts and mini cup cars.
Hosford has a deep rooted passion for racing and expresses how grateful she is for her supportive family. She also understands that every female will not have such support and states, "Don't listen to everybody. Just put your everything into it and if it's your passion, you will make it. You don't have to beat everybody. You just have to beat the odds."
Hosford says it wasn't easy getting where she is today. She says, "It's hard to earn your respect," and goes on to explain that being a female in a typically male sport is difficult. She says the other racers will do anything to put you out of the race. They race dirty, pushing on her race car with theirs to try to knock her off the track. "You just have to give them a little push back and show them that you aren't going to be pushed around," she added.
Hosford talks about her very first real race back when she was 17 and says, "It was horrible. I crashed into the wall." However, despite her first race not going as planned, she never gave up. She worked harder to better herself and over the years, she kept climbing up to where she is today, usually finishing in the top three.
Racing is a massive investment for Hosford. She has to keep up with her vehicle and make the time to go to her races. She often has to travel quite far to get to the track. She takes about three days off work for every race she goes to: one day to travel to the track, one day to race and one day to travel back.
When asked about her opinion of former female NASCAR racer Danica Patrick, she states, "I'm not a fan. She paved the way for women but not by driving."
Hosford's next race will be in Kingsport, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 3.