moyer putting pennsylvania on the map

pure determinatiOn

Moyer putting Pennsylvania on the map

storY: GENE OSTROWSKI, FOR INSIDE MOTORSPORTS

the small PennsYlvania town of shePPton (PoPulation: ABOuT 200) mAYNOT

BE RECOGNIZABLE BEYOND SCHUYLKILL

COUNTY. THEREFORE, PEOPLE MIGHTBE

BAFFLEDTO LEARNTHATAN UPCOMING

NASCAR SHORTTRACK SENSATIONWAS BORN AND RAISEDTHERE.

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.

One win came along the way and Moyer became the second female in her division and the second in her household to win an Evergreen championship.

Moyer offered a position at a race shop intern in North Carolina and she made the move south last November. The move came in a timely manner, as she was also working on a project that would allow her to take the next step in her racing career.

She teamed up with team owner Hillenberg in the ARCA Menards Series and her crew varies with interns of the UNOH Race Club. In midJanuary they packed up and headed to Daytona International Raceway for testing and Moyer got plenty of seat time, plus the official approval to compete on superspeedways.

Moyer commented on her move from the third mile track at Evergreen to the 2.5-mile superspeedway at Daytona.

“My experience at Daytona was surreal,” she said.

“The front stretch and back stretch were like driving down a freeway, but you don’t even pay attention to how fast you are going. The turns have so much G-force and it feels like the walls are closing in on you and as soon as you exit the turn, and then the walls open back up.”

She continued, “You know the saying ‘You have to remember to breathe?’ and it is a fact. The first time that you get out there, you are so focused on driving and you honestly forget to breathe for a minute. I experienced what it was like to bottom out in the middle of turns three and four and it feels like something is punching the center bottom of the car.”

Moyer adapted quickly to the big track, but it didn’t come without a little intimidation.

“Coming out of turn two is a buttpuckering moment because the only thing that you see is that wall and the way the track flattens out. It makes you think that you are heading straight for it, but you just have to let the car do its thing and you’ll come to realize that it is supposed to be that way.” Her first official start of the series took place Feb. 27 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., and she drove her No. 12 Toyota Camry to an impressive eighth-place finish.

If she can continue to maintain her current sponsors and collect additional supporters, she plans to be in competition at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Tennessee on Saturday, May 8.

Other tracks on her schedule are Elko Speedway in Minnesota, Iowa Speedway, Winchester Speedway in

Andy Hillenberg

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REFRESH. REFUEL. REFILL.

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“As for being a woman, this is a man’s sport. For me being able to make my way up the ranks and grab those past championships, it builds character.”

StephanIe Moyer

Indiana, Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee and Salem Speedway in Indiana.

Devoted to working and learning at the shop, Moyer rarely gets out for other activities. But, when she does, it’s focused around snowboarding, gaming, cooking and sightseeing. However, she already has her season’s goals in place and can’t wait to execute them. “My 2021 goals aren’t simple and with the right help, they’re achievable”, noted Moyer. “I’d just like to get a full season of seat time, meet new people, gain a full-time sponsorship ride, and earn good finishes and learn new ways of racing.”

Sponsorship is always difficult to obtain, especially for someone new to the series. Moyer is happy to have several folks behind her for different racing events and she’s always willing to discuss future sponsorship endeavors with any interested parties.

Those who support her now are Council Cup Campground, Donadi Grafix, American Legion Post 473 Freeland, Act Towing, Kelchner Motors, Highland Social Club, Bev and Charlie O’Donnell, Tammy and Mike Puvak, Paul Kuczynski, and her grandfather. Along with her entire family, Moyer gives thanks to those who have supported her thus far in the sport, including Joe Polny and her fiancé, T.J. Peters. Although it’s not uncommon for women racers to be competing in motorsports, it is fairly common for them to be judged by others for being females in the sport, even before those people saw them compete. “As for being a woman, this is a man’s sport. For me being able to make my way up the ranks and grab those past championships, it builds character,” she said.

“I feel that there will be more women in this sport and dominating. A lot of teams out there are looking to have more of us women in those cars. You have eyes on you all the time and it is something to get used to. I’ve learned to take no nonsense from the men out there that wreck us out. Female or male is not a question on the racetrack and to me, we are racers and that is it.”

Nonetheless, Moyer is pursuing her dreams.

“To me personally, this is my dream. From watching my dad and brother race to being a three-time champion is always going to be my greatest accomplishment. Those were my roots and my beginning for my racing career. It opened my eyes to work on myself,” she said.

“With being in this sport, it takes dedication, the ability to adapt, time, patience, understanding and the willingness to learn. It is hard work, but hard work always pays off in some way or another. I have never been so focused on anything in my life until I strapped myself in a seat.”