Dirt
Randi Lyn Shipp knows how to win on
and off the track By Kelly Wade
O
ne of the friendliest faces at
the dragstrip is also one of the fierc-
est competitors. Stock Eliminator
standout Randi Lyn Shipp has been
part of drag racing since she was a kid, watching
her dad, uncles and cousins all compete. Shipp
got her own start in a Jr. Dragster and partici-
pated in the youth series until she was old enough
to graduate to proper Sportsman competition,
where she made quite a name for herself – most
notably behind the wheel of her clean-as-a-whis-
tle ‘67 Pontiac Firebird.
Shipp has seven Stock Eliminator national
event trophies in 11 final rounds, with victories
earned in Phoenix (2011 and 2016), Norwalk
(2013), Brainerd (2015) and Epping (2018), as
well as Gainesville and Chicago (both in 2019).
She shies away from waving a “women who have
made history” flag, but Shipp happens to be the
one of the most winning female NHRA Sports-
man competitors of all time.
“I’ve never aspired to be the most winning fe-
male or anything like that – I just want to be good
and be taken seriously as a racer,” says Shipp. “I’ve
always just been one of the guys.”
It seems unfathomable that such success would
not have yet come with a world championship, but
the Floyds Knobs, Indiana, resident isn’t both-
ered. She happily extends her attention beyond
her own racing program and limits most of her
racing to national events.
“I would consider my biggest accomplishment
in drag racing helping Bo win his first Pro Stock
championship,” says Shipp. “Four of us had been
racing together for 11 years, through Comp and
Pro Stock, and I feel like we really won that as
a team. That win tops them all, even my own.”
Shipp is an integral part of fiancé Bo Butner’s
race team, which extends across multiple catego-
ries and has twice included world championship
titles (2006 Comp and 2017 Pro Stock).
“I would call myself the shenanigan handler,”
laughs Shipp, who enthusiastically accepts the
role of team manager. At the track, she plans and
prepares meals and attends to anything Butner
and the team need, right down to folding para-
chutes or filling out tech cards, between racing
her Stocker.
She’s also an idea machine, operating she and
Butner’s Nitro Fish merchandise trailer and work-
ing with top-notch artists to produce some of the
most unique apparel on the midway.
At the fall race in Las Vegas, her creativity gar-
ners national attention as the team debuts a special
theme, right down to a fully wrapped car and team
members in full character, for Halloween week-
end. Shipp has conceptualized and brought to life
extremely detailed salutes to Talladega Nights,
Smokey and the Bandit, and Dukes of Hazzard.
Away from the track, she handles all of the
paperwork, makes sure bills are paid, books travel
for everyone, and plans between-race outings that
contribute to a fun atmosphere for the group.
“I think my favorite part is taking care of every-
one,” she says. “We all have a role, and I appreciate
that I’m part of everything without getting in there
and tearing down an engine. As far as my own
goals, I really enjoy helping people. I would like to
do something someday that makes a difference – I
think that’s what we’re all here for.”
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I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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Issue 155
WADE
Magic Maker