NASCAR debutant Dystany Spurlock has explained how her drag racing background helped prepare her for Truck Series racing.
Spurlock will become the first Black woman to race in one of the three national NASCAR series when she starts the ECOSAVE 200 on Friday, after the former NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer swapped two wheels for four.
The 34-year-old explained that the high speeds of oval racing don't really faze her, as someone used to hitting 200mph on a drag strip, and pointed out that her reactions have been plenty honed by the straight-line racing.
Spurlock will pilot the No. 69 MBM Motorsports truck at Dover in Friday's race.
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Spurlock 'not affected' by high speeds
Speaking to NASCAR.com, she explained: “The speed plays a huge factor because it doesn’t affect me – like, it doesn’t scare me, or don’t really have to get used to it, per se, because drag racing, we can go up to 200 miles an hour.
“That was already there, so that was one less thing I had to overcome. And I would definitely say the reaction. Everything is a reaction. Everything is speed. You have to do everything as precise as possible on a drag strip when it comes to that.
"So coming over to racing in NASCAR, my reaction is there, so now it’s just about me having to learn the race craft of the sport here in NASCAR.”
Spurlock has entered for last week's race at Watkins Glen, but was one of two drivers cut after qualifying to get the field down to 36 trucks – despite not being one of the two slowest drivers in the session.
“I really feel that I would have had a better outcome if it wasn’t wet from the rain,” she admitted. “So I do feel like that was an issue for me because I wasn’t able to get up to speed as quickly as I wanted to. But again, it’s racing. Things like this happen. It just gave me drive to put in more work that I possibly can to get ready and prepared for this weekend.”
NASCAR Truck Series Dover entry list
Here is the full Truck Series entry list for Friday’s action at Dover.
| Entry | Car No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #1 | Brandon Jones (i) | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 2 | #2 | Luke Baldwin | Team Reaume | Ford |
| 3 | #5 | William Sawalich (i) | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 4 | #7 | Kyle Busch (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 5 | #9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | #10 | Corey LaJoie | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 7 | #11 | Kaden Honeycutt | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 8 | #12 | Brenden Queen | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 9 | #13 | Cole Butcher | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
| 10 | #14 | Mini Tyrrell | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 11 | #15 | Tanner Gray | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 12 | #16 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 13 | #17 | Giovanni Ruggiero | TRICON Garage | Toyota |
| 14 | #18 | Tyler Ankrum | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 15 | #19 | Daniel Hemric | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | #22 | Natalie Decker | Team Reaume | Ford |
| 17 | #25 | Clint Bowyer | Kaulig Racing | RAM |
| 18 | #26 | Dawson Sutton | Rackley W.A.R | Chevrolet |
| 19 | #27 | Toni Breidinger | Rackley W.A.R | Chevrolet |
| 20 | #33 | Frankie Muniz | Team Reaume | Ford |
| 21 | #34 | Layne Riggs | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 22 | #38 | Chandler Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 23 | #42 | Parker Eatmon | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 24 | #44 | Andres Perez De Lara | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 25 | #45 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 26 | #52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota |
| 27 | #62 | Christopher Bell (i) | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota |
| 28 | #69 | Dystany Spurlock | MBM | Ford |
| 29 | #76 | Spencer Boyd | Freedom Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 30 | #77 | Carson Hocevar (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | #81 | Kris Wright | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | #88 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
| 33 | #91 | Christian Eckes | McAnally Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | #93 | Caleb Costner | Costner Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 35 | #98 | Jake Garcia | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
| 36 | #99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford |
(i) denotes drivers ineligible for series points.
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