Julie McDermid in the #1m IMCA stock car

Jul 31, 2008

“Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of your race, Julie McDermid.”

Wait, did that announcer just say Julie? That couldn’t be. Julie is a girl’s name, and girls don’t drive racecars. Even if they did, they could never win.

Think again race fans.

Maybe the stereotype that racing is just for boys has been faded a bit by the emergence of Danika Patrick in the Indy Car series, but female drivers still are not all too common. That does not faze McDermid however. When asked if she feels any extra pressure being a female in a typically male dominated sport she simply answered, “No, not really.”

Considering the whole Danika era of racing has only been around for just a few years now, that is quite the confident statement. Then again, McDermid has the right to be very confident. After all, the woman has 10 feature wins thus far this season. On top of that, she also has nine top five finishes, and five more top 10’s.

That is saying quite a lot considering, not only is McDermid one of the few females that run her IMCA modified circuit, but also one of the youngest drivers overall. At the ripe bold age of 26, the Oconto Falls, WI resident has more victories than some seasoned veterans have accumulated over their whole career.

“I owe all my success to my dad,” said McDermid. “He got me started in racing. (Him) and Mike Wedelstadt. He’s helped and believed in me.”
 
At this stage, who wouldn’t believe in her? There doesn’t seem to be much the driver of the No. 1m car can’t accomplish.

If you would see all the work that goes into McDermid’s black, green and pink colored car, you would think that is a full-time job in itself. While that might be enough work to keep the average person busy, as shown by her record, McDermid is definitely not average. She also works for her father’s business. There she is a salesperson and also drives truck.

So wait, not only is this girl dominating a traditionally male sport, but in her spare time she also gets behind a wheel? One might think all that driving might get kind of boring.

“I love to travel,” said McDermid. “Right out of high school I drove truck so I enjoy driving.”

That’s bad news for anyone of her opponents on the track.