If you don’t know Dystany Spurlock yet, you will.
On Saturday at Kansas Speedway, Spurlock became the first Black woman to compete in a national ARCA Menards Series event. Spurlock, 29,
“Dystany competing at this level is a direct reflection of preparation, opportunity, and an intentional support system,” said Chris Harris, co-owner of Foxxtecca. “She’s a monster, and she is showing that she belongs here, and more importantly, that others belong here.”
She spent years competing in motorcycle drag racing, a world with even fewer women at the front, before making the transition to stock cars. In that time she became the first woman to win the Real Street class in the XDA series and set a world record doing it. The NHRA followed, where last year she became just the second Black woman to compete in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category. A docuseries, Driven by Dystany: The Road to NASCAR, has been documenting the journey.
Her next ARCA start is May 8 at Watkins Glen International, a 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York, and a very different challenge from the oval she ran Saturday. She’s also scheduled to race at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in September and the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas in October, both with Arana Racing.
Black women have always belonged in rooms that have been slow to make space for them and motorsports is no different. So as always we’re rooting for everyone Black, and Spurlock is no different.
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