Melissa Surber
Surber was running on pure adrenaline.
“That was a close race and when we got to the
end the Safety Safari guys were giving me the
thumbs up and I thought, ‘No way, I didn’t just
beat him.’ I was speechless. I honestly didn’t know
whether to smile or cry. I’m not even sure what
I said to the TV crew.”
O
n the home front, Surber
isn’t much different than most
21-year-olds. She works a fulltime job in a restaurant at a golf
course and she’s got a boyfriend,
and while he’s not a racer, he supports her career choice. Most of the 3,500 or so
people she encounters daily in Rio Del, California,
probably have no idea that she regularly races at
about three-times the legal speed limit.
“I don’t even think that my non-racing friends
know exactly what I do,” she says. “They might not
completely understand it, but on race weekends
they get on Facebook and see how I’m doing and
and two-time Pro Stock
champ Erica Enders-Stevens, but she’s also eager
to make her own mark and
wants to be judged on her
own merits.
“I’ve been a fan of Erica’s since I was a little kid,”
Surber says. “I watched her
Right on Track [Disney
movie] over and over. She’s
been a great inspiration.
“I just want to do my
own thing,” she says. “My
main goal this year is to
finish in the top ten. We’ve
only been to three races
and so far, it’s been crazy.
I’ve qualified at all three
races and I’m hanging on
close to the tenth spot. I’m
lucky, between my dad and
Chip Ellis, I have two of
FAMILY AFFAIR
the best mentors you could
Whether she’s in the pits or on the
starting line, Melissa is sure to know
ask for. It’s very rewarding
her parents aren’t far behind, ready
to be able to say that I’m
to give the former Jr, Dragster driver
up there with the big dogs.
a push to the lanes or a hand with
It’s crazy and very cool at
between-round maintenance.
the same time.”
Based on her early results, no one would be shocked if Surber became
NHRA’s next first-time pro winner. She seems
to improve with each passing event and only a
bit of bad luck prevented her from reaching the
semifinals in Atlanta.
“It’s hard for me to believe I could win but it’s
definitely not out of the question,” says Surber.
“Just going to the second round was such a big
accomplishment. Before it happened, I didn’t
know how to feel about it or what it would be like.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to actually win a race.”
In addition to a top ten finish, Surber also realizes that she has a great chance to win the Auto
Club Road to the Future award that goes each
year to NHRA’s top professional rookie. Quite
frankly, there isn’t a lot of competition this year
outside of fellow bike racer Cory Reed, and a
handful of nitro racers who are racing partial
schedules.
Surber would obviously be thrilled to accept
the Auto Club’s $20,000 bonus check but there’s
a catch and once again, it involved the whole shyness thing. Should Surber win the Rookie of the
Year, she’ll have to put on a dress, walk on stage
at the NHRA Mello Yello banquet in Hollywood
and deliver a speech in front of 1,000 or so of the
sport’s biggest movers and shakers.
they encourage me. It’s great to have friends that
“I guess that would be a good problem to have,”
are really supportive.”
she says. “I don’t have to worry about that until
In this day and age, being a woman racer is
the end of the year so hopefully I won’t be shy
hardly unique, even in the Pro Stock Motorcy- then. Like I said, I’m a work in progress. It’s my
cle class. Angelle Sampey, Karen Stoffer, Peg- plan to make racing a career and in order to do
gy Llewellyn, Angie Smith and a host of others
that I need to attract some sort of sponsorship so I
paved that path long ago. Surber admits that she
know I need to be more outgoing. I’ve never found
looks up to the other female racers, particular- anything else that I’m good at and nothing I enjoy
ly Northern California neighbor Katie Sullivan
this much. I want to be out here for a while.”
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July 2016
DragIllustrated.com
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