Top Alcohol Dragster driver Krista Baldwin was almost guaranteed to be a racer before she was even a twinkle in her parent ’ s eyes . Baldwin ’ s late father , Bobby Baldwin , was a Top Fuel driver for two decades starting in the late 1980s . Not only does she have nitro running through her veins because of her dad , her mother ’ s side has just as much history in the sport . Baldwin ’ s grandpa is none other than Chris “ The Greek ” Karamesines , the oldest active professional Top Fuel driver in the series at 84 years young ( or so they think ). “ I definitely have some deep roots in drag racing , but I love them ,” Baldwin said . “ My dad , Bobby Baldwin , was a Top Fuel racer and he grew up on the other side of the hill of the racetrack in Pomona and he grew up watching NHRA Top Fuel cars at every Winternationals and World Finals . He was a true racer and he did it because he loved the sport . He unfortunately passed away in 2001 from a brain aneurysm but we still honor him at both Pomona races with our ‘ Bobby Baldwin T-Shirt Day ’ on Fridays of the event .”
“ My grandpa was the first to 200 mph in 1960 in Alton , Illinois in his ‘ Chizler ’,” Baldwin said about Karamesines . “ He ’ s been around the sport of drag racing since it started , practically .”
Aside from the fact that she comes from drag racing legends , Baldwin has her own impressive racing resume all on her own .
“ The first racecar that I was licensed in was Rick MacDonald ’ s Nostalgia Eliminator 1 front engine dragster ,” she added . “ That FED had an index of 7.60 at 180 mph with an injected Ford motor . Nostalgia racing is where I got my start in my driving career and I ’ ll never forget it . Going to Famoso Raceway feels like I ’ m going back home to where it all began .”
Baldwin has come a long way since her Nostalgia Eliminator 1 front engine dragster days and can be seen racing her Top Alcohol Dragster across the country for tuner Anthony Dicero and Nitro University and also serving as Creative Director at McLeod Racing . At some events , Baldwin wears multiple hats as she juggles both jobs during one race weekend .
“ This year ’ s World Finals was probably my busiest weekend at a drag race ,” she laughed . “ Racing your own car with your own marketing and PR and then running over to the nitro pits to fulfill my duties to Paul [ Lee , Funny Car driver and McLeod Racing owner ] was a lot of fun and I ’ m surprised I made it as well as I did . In fact , I was double duty so much that one point in
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the weekend I was in the staging lanes with the A-Fuel dragster and I heard Paul ’ s car warming up so I ran over in my fire suit to take a picture of the crew and tweeted it then ran back to the lanes to get dressed and jump in the dragster . That weekend definitely showed me that time management is key in these situations . I had to accurately plan out my day so I had enough time to fulfill my duties on the car I was driving as well as fulfilling Paul ’ s PR and back-up girl duties . It ’ s awesome that Paul lets me chase my dream as he is chasing his .”
Speaking of fulfilling duties , Baldwin works full-time during the week at McLeod Racing and has quite the task load .
“ My title is Creative Director ,” she said . “ I am in charge of all of our advertisements , social media , press releases , sponsorships , trade shows , and media . Usually each day I create new ads for our publications for both online and print . I make sure that the social media is up to date as well as the website . Almost every day I write a piece about a new product that we are producing as our lines continue to grow each week with new applications for the drive train components . Also I handle Paul ’ s racing media and marketing . I
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schedule his interviews and his appearances at the racetracks with the help of my Kalitta Motorsports partners . I also help our office staff with standard orders and phone calls if we do get busy .”
The future is very bright for this young star in the NHRA and it only seems like the best is yet to come .
“ In five years , I hope I am more involved with the sport ,” she said . “ I love this sport and these are my people . I want to make sure that Paul has a solid Funny Car program and I hope that I am still driving the A-Fuel car . Maybe have a couple of hits of Top Fuel under my belt by then too .”
“ After witnessing the mass explosion of the inaugural 30 Under 30 , I am truly honored to be nominated by my fellow racers ,” she beamed . “ To be named amongst 30 of the best in the business is way awesome . Some of these people I look to for inspiration and I like to see the youth of the sport growing . This is probably one of the highlights of my year and I can ’ t wait to see what happens next .” – SADIE FLOYD DI
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PHOTOS : DRAG ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVES |