Mockler Dreams Big

Friday, July 18, 2008

By: Matt "Night" Rider

Westfield native Stephanie Mockler (Pictured Left) has been racing since a young age.

"I started when I was 6 years old", recalls Mockler. "My Dad raced USAC (United State Auto Club) midgets so he had an interest in it. He offered me a chance to race at the age of five, and at first, I turned it down. I wanted to let my older sister Shannon, try it. Then I thought it looked fun so I started racing."

Since then, Mockler has not looked back. She started her racing career in quarter midgets, where she won three championships, racing in the Kokomo area.

"We have three quarter midget championships", Mockler said. "We also have two second-place finishes in a Ford Focus Championship and a Micro Championship."

Stephanie also races her #52 micro sprint, in the Non Wing and Open Classes at the Miami County Speedway, along with her #6 Clorox sponsored USAC National midget (Pictured Left) for Ford Racing.

On Friday, July 4th, Mockler won the Open Class feature at the Miami County Speedway. Stephanie was able to hold off a hard charging Tyler Stump, to pick up the Open Class victory.

"It's been a long time coming", Mockler said after the win.

She has many racing achievements to look back on in her racing career. In 2004, she was the youngest female driver to win a USAC feature race. Mockler also was the first female driver in USAC history to earn a podium sweep, when she won in 2005, at the Indianapolis Speedrome. She is the winningest female driver in USAC history and in 2005, Mockler (Pictured Bottom Left) finished second in the Midwest Ford Focus Midget Racing Series.

Her greatest racing memory came when she was racing her USAC midget at O'Reilly Raceway Park (Formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park).

"It was the night before the Indianapolis 500," Mockler recalls. "I came from 15th place to finish third at ORP. My teammate, Bobby Santos III won that night. It was a really cool night for the whole team."

Family is also a big thing for Mockler.

"My Dad and Grandpa both raced," she said. "Being around my family while I raced kept me out of trouble. It keeps you out of trouble on Saturday nights, and it's been a lot of fun for me."

Stephanie is currently in a driver development program, and she hopes to someday race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.