Nothing could stop Sarah Cornett-Ching when she decided to pursue a career on the speedway.
The 21-year-old ARCA OK Tire Sportsman rookie of the year in 2011 had no trouble gaining speed in the beginning but finding a way to stop in her standard car was a tad more difficult.
"I won my first race and I came around to get the checkered flag but I had to stop and I didn't know how to stop," laughed Cornett-Ching. "The guy couldn't get the flag in the window and I drove straight by, it was really funny. After that I had to figure it out."
Luckily she figured out the stopping mechanism before earning her first win on the ARCA circuit last year, which she called a "confidence booster."
Cornett-Ching was in Prince George competing on the PGARA Speedway course for the second time last Saturday, finishing fourth in a shortened race due to rainy conditions.
"I like to be able to compete at every track," said the Penticton native. "These tracks that I haven't been to a lot so there's less expectation here but I've got to compete and finishing in the top five is always a bonus."
In her first race at PGARA in 2011 Cornett-Ching was happy to finish a respectable eighth.
She was 12 when she entered her first race, but Cornett-Ching grew up around cars hanging out at dad Joe's body shop.
"My dad got me into racing," said Cornett-Ching. "He raced since I was born. So I naturally fell into it, always just going and helping him with his car."
For dad it was a natural progression as Cornett-Ching went from playing in the body shop to zooming around the oval in her own car.
"It happened so gradually," said Joe. "She was just like, 'I'll go to the shop with you dad.' When I asked the other kids it was always, 'No.'"
For Cornett-Ching's birthday on year, Joe said they rented a CASCAR junior car, similar to a go-cart, and took her to the speedway as a surprise.
"One thing lead to another after that and we bought her one race car and then another race car," he said.
Joe said he enjoys working on the cars with Cornett-Ching and having opportunities to bond with her during road trips. But when it comes to watching her race he said he's a typical protective dad.
"It's nerve-wracking," he said. "I'll be the only spotter telling her to slow down instead of speed up because it's too dangerous."
Father and daughter have only raced against each other once.
"She did beat me unfortunately, but my car wasn't working good," said Joe. "I spent too much time fixing her car and made it too fast."
After the first two ARCA races of 2012, Cornett-Ching was in 10th place with 106 points. In addition to the ARCA Series, she has also raced in the NASCAR Canada Canadian Tire Series on her home oval in Vernon.
Cornett-Ching said she would like to race Vernon and Saskatoon this year, depending if she can raise enough sponsorships.
Last year, Cornett-Ching learned about the business side of racing when she was one of three Canadians to earn a scholarship to Race 101, a North Carolina based race school that teaches driver about working with media including social media, public speaking and more about the cars and their setup.
"So you've got all the angles covered on how to make your way in racing," said Cornett-Ching, winner of the marketing excellence award at the end of the course.
