Snyder-Ellingson began racing a ‘ 69 Camaro SS when she was 18 years old and quickly fell in love with the hobby her father , Guy Snyder , was so fond of before he passed away in 2000 . “ I discovered that really [ the Camaro ] wasn ’ t that fast on the track ,” says Snyder-Ellingson . “ I thought it was time to look in Dad ’ s garage and see what car I could start racing that was a little faster .”

She jumped into her father ’ s ‘ 68 Charger , which the thrill-seeker raced at Carlsbad Raceway , and soon found herself licensing in NHRA Super Gas .

“ It was a good place to start to get used to the NHRA events and get a feel for it ,” explains Snyder-Ellingson . “ I had only raced my dad ’ s cars aside from my first car up until that point .”

Not long after , Snyder-Ellingson found herself building her own car – a ‘ 69 Dodge Dart . She began taking auto-mechanics , engine performance , and diagnostics classes in college , where she was one of the few women receiving a high grade .

“ That was a lot of fun ,” she says . “ It tied into things nicely because I learned a lot about under the hood and different parts of the car , then it carried over to drag racing and being out on the track .”

Snyder-Ellingson ’ s drive for performance continued to grow , and she began advancing through different classes in the NHRA . Now racing her dad ’ s newly painted blown ‘ 84 Camaro , she competed in Comp Eliminator and Super Gas . Snyder-Ellingson ’ s determination paid off when she won a Wally at a divisional race in Arizona .

“ That was a special memory for sure in racing with it being his car ,” Snyder-Ellingson says , referencing her dad . “ I have a picture of us both sitting in it at Pomona .”

After Snyder-Ellingson fulfilled her goal of winning a Wally , she told herself it was time to get a new car to compete in Top Sportsman after building her racing résumé to include Stock , Super Stock , Super Gas , and Super Comp .

“ That ’ s when I found the ‘ 70 ‘ Cuda that had a 709 engine that I still have ,” she says . “ That was one of my favorite cars , for sure . I mean , I love all of them . I feel like I have a relationship with all the cars I raced , but that was a beautiful car with a lot of muscle .”

Fast forward to current day , and now Snyder- Ellingson is behind the wheel of a beautifully hand-painted ‘ 69 Chevelle from Jerry Bickel Race Cars , powered by the engine from the Plymouth Barracuda . The car with the name “ Flying Dutchman

Racing ” inscribed on it is a dedication to Snyder-Ellingson ’ s father – a nickname he used while racing .

The connection of drag racing to In-N-Out Burger was established in 1960 when Snyder- Ellingson ’ s grandfather , Harry Snyder , purchased a 50-percent stake in Irwindale Raceway and started selling his famous hamburgers at the track ’ s concession stands .

“ I was born around it , so it was just always

something that was cool that my dad did , and I loved it ,” explains Snyder-Ellingson about drag racing . “ I loved going to watch and thought , ‘ Oh , one day I ’ ll do this .’ I remember when my dad died , his celebration of life was at the track , and that was kind of that moment where I was like , OK , I ’ m going to race .”

“ I was 17 [ at the time ], and I was 18 when I started [ racing ],” she continues . “ It was sad for me because it was something that [ my dad ] did .

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NHRA AND IN-N-OUT BURGER