Hailey Hawes is X275 ’ s newest contender By Craig Cook

Hailey ’ s first real introduction came when her father , Michael , bought a 1989 Fox-body Mustang in 2019 . The car features a 648-cubic-inch bigblock motor with nitrous , but even that wasn ’ t enough to interest her originally .

“ I didn ’ t ever go to the track when he first got it ,” Hawes admits . “ Finally , I was like , ‘ OK , I ’ ll come out and watch you one time .’ After that , I was hooked . I said , ‘ I ’ m going to help you . I ’ m going to start working on the car and start learning .’”

And for the past three years , that ’ s exactly what she ’ s done , assisting at home or at the track , learning the ins and outs of how everything on the car operated while her father drove it . She was content in that role , but her dad had other plans .

“ I worked and worked and worked , and finally my dad was like , ‘ All right , you ’ ve put in the work . You ’ re going to start driving .’ I said , ‘ No , I don ’ t really want to drive . I like working on the car .’ And he was like , ‘ Nope , you ’ re getting in it .’ I eventually gave in and said , ‘ OK , cool .’”

Hawes made her driving debut last August , testing for the ultra-competitive X275 class . With radial veteran Kenny Hubbard tuning the car , Hawes learned to adapt quickly before jumping into the deep end this year at South Georgia Motorsports Park for Lights Out 15 .

“ It was very stressful and overwhelming , but once I got in the car …” Hawes trails off . “ Honestly , to tell you the truth , I had maybe three test sessions with just nitrous , and then a couple with

just motor . I only made , I want to say about 5-10 nitrous hits before I went down to Georgia and ran X275 .”

Roughly six months after her initial test passes , Hawes picked up her very first round win at Lights Out . She followed it up with a personal best elapsed time of 4.209 seconds at

171.31 MPH in the second round , making her the quickest woman in the history of X275 . In fact , she ’ s currently the only female competing in the class , a distinction she hopes to see change in the future .

“ It ’ s pretty cool being the lone female , but I definitely would like to see more females out there ,” says Hawes . “ I mean , it seems like a manly sport , but to me , it ’ s like anybody can do it . I would like to see other women out there with me .”

Hawes credits her parents as being the support system that fuels her love for drag racing , as well as longtime boyfriend , Ryan McCain – a renowned tuner in his own right – who lends his assistance whenever they need it .

“ Ryan is so freaking smart ,” Hawes says . “ I don ’ t ever want to overstep on Kenny ’ s toes , with him being our tuner , but Ryan is a huge help to my program . And our relationship with him is really like no other .”

Plans for the future are already in the developmental stages , as the family recently purchased a ‘ 69 Camaro that Hailey will drive at some point in the future , potentially in Pro 275 . But Hawes stresses that she ’ s not looking too far ahead .

“ We don ’ t know what combo we ’ re going to run with it just yet ,” says Hawes . “ ProCharger , nitrous , screw blower , we don ’ t know . Right now , I ’ m focusing on X275 . Looking into the future , I will definitely start going faster , whether it ’ s in a no-time car or Pro 275 . I want to work my way up . But I told my dad , first things first , before I ever move up or decide to do anything else , I want to win a race . I have to accomplish winning a race , and then I ’ ll be like , ‘ OK , now I can move up .’” DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS SEARS AND JIM DYAS

36 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 189