ON THE RADAR

home base on the East Coast to Anderson ’ s races in the Midwest . Once at the races , she ’ d handle right-side engine maintenance , changing the oil , cleaning , pulling spark plug wires and other tasks . She started the licensing process at the end of the year , but cool , rainy weather prevented the team from completing Kundratic ’ s licensing requirements .

“ Kelly has impressed me immensely throughout the year , especially due to her work ethic , her drive , her positive attitude and her willingness to learn ,” Anderson says . “ I know Kelly is a great role model for the next generation because in addition to all the good things above she ’ s just an extremely authentic and great person .”

After licensing next spring , Kundratic and Anderson plan to run around five races between national and regional events . Kundratic will also continue racing in Super Street .

– NATE VAN WAGNEN

MAKENNA BROWN ▼

■ There ’ s a certain level of expectations that come with racing under the Team JEGS umbrella . Makenna Brown , granddaughter of JEGS Automotive founder Jeg Coughlin Sr ., has lived up to those expectations since she started racing Jr . Dragsters at age 10 . She won her first race out and continued to succeed in the half-scale cars , winning track championships in 2011 and 2012 .

Brown , 21 , eventually moved up to one of the JEGS Super Comp dragsters , which she races in big-money bracket races and NHRA events . In just over a year , she ’ s racked up a number of late-round finishes , including a $ 5K win this year .

During the week , Brown works at JEGS in the order entry sales program and attends Rollins University , where she ’ s a senior studying business management . She hopes to move up to the marketing department at JEGS , while she also plans to continue racing and using her platform to inspire other young women in the sport .

– NATE VAN WAGNEN

AUTUMN SCHWALBE ▲

■ Some young racers are perfectly content treating drag racing as a hobby , whether it ’ s as a weekend warrior or a high-level touring driver . But Autumn Schwalbe decided early on she wanted to make drag racing her career , too .

Schwalbe went to school for a marketing degree in automotive aftermarket management . As a Ford Mustang racer since before she had her driver ’ s license , she landed a dream internship at Ford Performance in the motorsports space . That internship led to a full-time position at Ford Performance , where she serves as a global marketing specialist . That position includes traveling to events like NHRA national events , where she ’ s the marketing manager for Ford ’ s all-electric Cobra Jet Mustang .

“ I love to educate and speak with everyone at the track about how Ford is leading the electric performance area ,” says Schwalbe , 23 , who races her Coyote-swapped ’ 89 Mustang LX in NMRA Mod Muscle with support from brands like WELD Wheels and Whipple Superchargers .

– NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

30 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 172