Pure determination Moyer putting Pennsylvania on the map story: GENE OSTROWSKI, FOR INSIDE MOTORSPORTS
The small Pennsylvania town of Shepp-
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Inside Motorsports | April 2021
ton (population: about 200) may not be recognizable beyond Schuylkill County. Therefore, people might be baffled to learn that an upcoming NASCAR short track sensation was born and raised there.
Driving for veteran racer Andy Hillenberg in the ARCA Menards East Series, 23-year-old Stephanie Moyer worked hard, aligned herself with the right people and has officially begun the start of what she hopes is a fulltime career. Moyer cut her teeth on local Pennsylvania short tracks, including the dirt at Greenwood Valley Action Track, where she earned her first karting title at age 12. She dedicated that championship season to her brother and past Evergreen Raceway Factory Stock driver, Mike, Jr., who passed away earlier that year. Just when her family was prepared
to step back from racing and planned to sell her brother’s car, Moyer begged her mother, Sonya and father, Mike, Sr. to let her move on to asphalt racing. She wanted to use her brother’s car and compete on the third-mile oval at Evergreen Raceway (formerly Mountain Speedway) in St. Johns, Pa. Neither of her parents wanted to say “yes”, but when preseason practice rolled around, Moyer was turning laps on the track. The whole experience was a huge learning curve for the young driver as her lap times increased with her confidence and sheer racing ability. She rounded out the season by taking ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors and placing sixth in points. After finishing as the runner-up for the championship in 2013, Moyer was awarded as the ‘Most Improved Driver’
in her division. Fast forward to 2017: Moyer was older, even more experienced and preparing to start college at the University of Northwestern Ohio. With the future on her mind, she tied for the Evergreen Factory Stock championship, yet feared that she wouldn’t be able to race the following seasons because of the long commute home on the weekends. Yet, determined to be on track, she made it happen. Moyer closed out the 2018 and 2019 seasons with runner up finishes in the standings and took the checkers to become the second female ever in her division to win the season-ending “King of the Green” in 2019. She returned to the track as a college graduate in 2020 and didn’t waste any time vying for the championship. continued on page 16
