WOMEN OF POWER • 2025

BY JESSICA HICKS SPEARS | PHOTOGRAPH BY MORGAN CARTER

POSITIONED AT the base of Pioneer Peak is a picturesque facility that is etched onto the bucket list of racers across the country, Alaska Raceway Park. It is a scenic destination that promises to showcase nature’ s quiet beauty alongside the thunderous thrill of motorsports, one that many only dream of experiencing once in their lifetime. However, for Michelle Lackey, this has become home.

Michelle’ s parents, Earl and Karen Lackey, relocated from Wisconsin to Alaska when she was only eight years old, originally as farmers. Although, as motorsports hobbyists, the Lackey family soon found themselves members of the

corporate group overseeing the facility before becoming sole operators of the only quarter-mile dragstrip in Alaska in 1998. In 2002, they purchased the acreage from the state and became owner-operators to ensure motorsports would continue to thrive for future generations.

Michelle shifted from being behind the wheel to behind the scenes when she was pregnant with her daughter, and she absorbed an abundance of information through working various jobs at the racetrack. Her first role was operating the timing system computer in the tower, which eventually evolved into managing the racetrack, marketing, handling the website and social media, as well as a variety of unglamorous jobs associated with operating the facility. In 2020, Michelle officially inherited the reins from her father full-time with an unmatched determination to continue her family’ s legacy and push the boundaries of Alaska Raceway Park to new heights. She now proudly wears the“ Lady Track Boss” moniker.

“ I feel like our track is very integral to motorsports in Alaska, so keeping it functioning, growing, and keeping motorsports alive is not just central to what we do, it’ s central to what happens across Alaska,” Lackey elaborates.“ It’ s a lot of responsibility, but I feel like we are doing a really good job of growing the sport. We’ ve got more people building more cars at both tracks [ dragway and oval ] every season.”

Lackey’ s infectious personality and overflowing enthusiasm seem like an easy explanation for the support her facility receives. Still, it would undermine the attention to detail and thoughtful consideration that goes into each decision she makes.

“ The people that I answer to are my racers, employees, fans, and sponsors,” she explains.“ When I’ m doing my to-do list or thinking about the impact of decisions I’ m making, those are the people that I have to think about. You’ re never going to please everybody, but you have to try to do your best to see what’ s going to be beneficial to all those groups. I try to be transparent about how the operations go so everyone understands how their role is very important to our motorsport ecosystem.”

Residing in the Last Frontier also instills a sense of exploration and innovation that is readily apparent when Lackey speaks about the future. She is fueled by passion, not only for her extended family of racers and motorsports as a whole, but also to become one percent better each day. In what is considered the offseason, Lackey continues working by attending conferences and trade shows to learn from other facility operators and industry leaders throughout the country.

As for offering her own words of advice, Lackey says,“ This can get tough sometimes, and you put your all into this, but you have to remember why you’ re doing it. Many track owners become burned out, complacent, or stop trying to innovate, but you have to keep your batteries recharged and put forth the effort to make it better.”

Shifting Alaska Raceway Park into a more self-sustaining and diverse facility is a long-term goal, and one where Lackey’ s creativity starts to peak. She envisions car condos and short-term rentals on site, where out-of-state visitors can enjoy a vacation overlooking the mountain and perhaps rent a race car for the weekend. The ability to produce residual income on a yearround basis would become a valuable asset to the facility that features a short on-track season from Mother’ s Day to Labor Day.

Forever a racer at heart, Lackey still has personal aspirations of becoming a member of the 200-mph club one day. In the meantime, she mentions enjoying orchestrating the circus and spending time with her parents, brother, and children at the racetrack that has meant so much to them.

“ One of my best experiences was being able to tell my dad that people were driving up from out of state for the first Alaska Speed Week dragand-drive event,” Lackey says.“ Being able to share these moments with my parents and have them enjoy it after all the work they have put into the track has been so rewarding for me.”

As for final words of encouragement, Lackey shares,“ I know I’ m far away from a lot of racetracks, but I would like to be a resource for others if they have any questions or ideas. No matter how much experience we have, there’ s always so much more we can learn. Maybe I can help another racetrack in some way, and in turn, they help someone else. If we can all help each other keep racing going and keep tracks alive, then we have all succeeded.” DI

104 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 195