‘Cutest car out there’

When 16-year-old Korri Dawson got her driver’s license last month, she had only one deduction on her driving test. She took a corner a bit too fast.

The University High School sophomore never told the person testing her that she hits speeds up to 80 mph most weekends while racing a purple and hot pink 1985 Ford Mustang stock car.

“The cutest car out there,” said Korri, who gets help from her father, Rick Dawson. At 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, Korri competes against mostly men in their 30s and 40s.

“We had to move the seat forward and put some blocks on the gas pedal,” said Rick Dawson.

But Korri holds her own just fine. She recently won two races by taking leads that were earned, her dad said. The sport has brought father and daughter together as they do car maintenance and talk race strategy.

“The feeling you get when you race, you can’t describe it,” said Korri. “It’s the most exhilarating feeling, the rush you get. I live for it. I love it.”

On May 27 at Spokane Raceway Park, Korri won two of three races, the Trophy Dash and the Main Event. That weekend, she ran her personal best – 23:03 seconds around a half-mile track.

“The best part was beating out 45-year-old men,” added Korri, smiling widely. “It was the most intense feeling of my life.”

Her mom, Julie Dawson, was at first skeptical about her daughter’s hobby until she got assurances that Korri would wear top-rated safety gear. She now describes Korri’s racing as helping on many levels.

“She had struggled with grades and this has helped,” Julie Dawson said. “She needed some kind of activity to get interested in and it has helped in so many areas in her life and in her relationship with her dad.”

Rick, 52, used to race when he was in his 30s. He agreed that the relationship with his daughter has grown stronger through Korri’s racing.

“Before the car, we were kind of at wit’s end with each other. This kind of gave us a common ground. I coach for her during races and she does excellent. Every kid needs to have a niche and something to be proud of.”

Korri also does car maintenance alongside Rick. “That’s the deal,” Rick added. “When I have to work on the car, she has to be there. We load the trailer together. Sometimes, she’ll load up all the gear by herself.”

Just over a year ago, Korri decided to stop playing softball after 11 years. Until she discovered racing, school seemed difficult, she said.

“School was hard. I wasn’t into it. They told me I had to keep my grades up to race. Because racing is my passion, I do better in school.”

Last July, she started racing after a visit to the raceway as a spectator. She watched another young female racing.

“I said, ‘I want to do that.’ I finally bugged Dad enough.”

At age 15, she started taking practice laps on Friday nights.

“The only rules Mom made about racing were I had to have the safest fire suit, racing shoes, gloves, neck brace and helmet.”

“We made sure we got her a good, safe car,” Rick Dawson added. A five-piece harness keeps her strapped in. Her double-quilted fire suit cost about $300.

The extra safety proved wise. On her second time out, Korri hit the raceway’s wall head on. Her dad figures she was going about 50 or 60 mph, but Korri wasn’t injured. However, damage to the car required extra work from the family, Rick’s coworkers, and friends. It was ready in a week.

“I was back physically,” Korri said. “My confidence wasn’t.”

Added dad, “She had a lot of respect for the wall after that.”

She is usually the sole female driving in the hobby compact category at the raceway in Airway Heights, and currently, she’s the only high school-age competitor.

“I had to learn how to drive a stick shift. I’m still improving on that. You have to learn how to basically cut off people going 50 miles per hour without crashing into them.

“The other racers are good to me. They are clean racers. They all look out for me.”

The family expects that Korri’s sister, Brittany, a Washington State University student, will get a chance to drive the car this summer.

“This drives Mom crazy,” Korri added. “She can barely watch me race.”

Rick Dawson admitted some wracked nerves, but he has enjoyed watching Korri’s progress.

“The other drivers give her respect. When she won, I was so proud when she passed that guy. I had a friend there who races at Stateline and he said she drove well. The other guy didn’t move out of her way. She made a great pass.”

Rick said the cost adds up to about $1,500 to $2,000 a year – including special fuel – but he figures it parallels expenses in some elite youth sports. The family has found a couple of sponsors for the April through October race season.

Her grandparents also are great backers, Korri said, and her grandfather sometimes works on the car, too.

“We couldn’t do it without Grandma and Grandpa. They have been our supporters financially and emotionally.”

And their neighbor, Tony Levno, a retired mechanic, has pit crew status, Rick Dawson said. “Whenever he sees my garage light on, he comes over.”

Korri and Rick also enjoy the camaraderie among race car drivers.

“When she won, they all came down and shook her hand,” Rick said. “When she went into the wall, they showed her their paint stripes on the wall.”

Added Korri, “They said I’m finally a real racer.”