Most of us have never experienced 0-60 mph in three seconds (you don’t get that even in a Ferrari 458), and certainly not most 13-year-olds. However, Paige Wheeler, who normally races at Santa Pod, is off to Bristol Tennessee to race in the NHRA Junior Drag Racing League where she is set to take on 800 of her American and Canadian counterparts in the Eastern Conference Finals.

She will be driving a custom-built racer built by Half Scale Dragsters Inc. The course is shortened to 220 yards from the normal 440 yards, but Paige will still finish the course doing 80 mph plus. “I’m excited about going, but not at all nervous,” Paige said ahead of departing for the US. “I did race at Bristol for the first time last year, and managed to win a few rounds, so I know what it will be like.”

Paige will be competing in three separate races over ten days at Bristol, culminating in the world’s largest Junior Dragster event. Although the UK season is good preparation for this trip, Paige only has a few events a year to hone her skills at home, whilst the US and Canadian dragsters compete almost every weekend. But Paige is not daunted: “I’ll let everyone else worry about that. I just want to get to Bristol and race.”

Go girl!