A native of Whiteland, Indiana, it was inevitable that Shipp would catch the bug for racing.“ It was Bob Glidden’ s hometown, and all the local car guys run in the same pack,” explains Shipp of her country home.“ My father, Randy Shipp, saw the Jr. Dragsters when I was seven, so he got one and it sat until I was ready.”

Behind the wheel for her first race ever at the age of eight, Shipp’ s life changed forever.“ I loved the Jr. Dragsters. I was heavily involved, and it set me up for the life I was going to have,” she remembers. When Shipp turned 16, she was gifted a Super Comp dragster but had her heart set on NHRA Stock Eliminator.“ My dad was a muscle car guy, and so I was, too.”

Around 2006, when Shipp turned 18, she met fellow racer Bo Butner and the two have been together ever since. In her early 20s, Shipp and Butner built a’ 69 Camaro for her to run in NHRA Super Street, but the call of Stock Eliminator never waned.

Fortunately, the Universe was listening and presented the opportunity for Shipp to purchase a’ 67 Firebird from NHRA Super Stock racer Jimmy DeFrank around 2010. The car needed a few changes to get it in shape for Shipp’ s intended use, and the first thing she did was send it out for a frame-off restoration. It was then fitted with a 400 ci engine, TH200 metric automatic transmission, a set of Mickey Thompson tires, and Shipp was off and running.

Since 2010, Shipp has found success in NHRA Stock Eliminator with her Firebird.“ I’ ve had four national event wins and six final-round appearances. One divisional, two Sportsnationals, and 27 class wins,” she details of her strong résumé, although she’ s still working on getting her first championship title locked up.

Of all the wins, though, the most memorable for Shipp happened in Phoenix, Arizona, back in 2011.“ Bo is my arch nemesis in Stock racing – I can never beat him,” she says good-naturedly.

Butner was paired with Al Corda in the quarterfinals, and much to Shipp’ s surprise, Corda got the win.“ I won my round, too, and remember standing there thinking,‘ Gosh, I could really win this race now!’”

The next day, Shipp defeated Corda, enjoyed her bye run in the semifinals and wound up winning the event outright.“ They say there’ s nothing like your first … I had won a few divisionals, but this was my first national win, and it was just … wow!” Shipp recounts excitedly of the weekend where she also surpassed Butner.

On her birthday about five years ago, Butner proposed to Shipp and she said“ yes,” although they’ ve been too busy racing to nail down a wedding date and start the planning. The two have spent many years together, racing and romantically, and it’ s been a picture-perfect scenario for Shipp.

“ We’ re completely chaotic all the time with how much we have going on, but it works,” laughs Shipp, who enjoyed getting to race alongside her fiancée in 2017 when he clinched the NHRA Pro Stock world championship. Having him in Pro Stock and her in Stock Eliminator, though, can add up to a long, exhausting day at the track.“ To be honest, I miss Bo running Stock with me. I enjoy us talking about our dial-ins and watching

him alongside me, but he wanted to concentrate on Pro Stock and I’ m really glad it worked out. It’ s the best feeling in the world for us to both be racing on Sunday.”

Shipp is grateful for the support she receives from the team, as well as her sister, Kristi, who often comes along to the races to help. Racing with Butner, though, hasn’ t pushed Shipp into the shadows – instead, it’ s helped her find the spotlight.“ I never feel pressure from our guys, but I always want to do well. Racing with Bo has helped me to be a better and more consistent racer,” she notes. Additionally, Shipp has taken the reins on revamping Kenny Koretsky’ s Nitro Fish Racing line of apparel and hopes to bring more lifestyle-type designs and items into the product line.

Looking ahead, Shipp’ s big dreams include continuing to support Butner through his Pro Stock adventure, and winning more national events herself. As for whether she sees herself behind the wheel of a Pro Stock entry, Shipp simply isn’ t sure.“ If the chance happened, I would take it, but I’ m content in Stock and I feel like that class was made for me. I love that my’ 67 Firebird can race against an’ 05 Mustang. If, 20 years from now I’ m still running Stock, I’ ll be happy,” she affirms.- AINSLEY JACOBS DI

PHOTOS: NATE VAN WAGNEN. RICK BELDEN