Courtesy of BleacherReport.com

Gritty.  Tough as nails.  Driven to succeed, no matter the pain in the game.

Those are some of the characteristics that describe 25-year-old Natalie Sather, an upcoming NASCAR racer who cut her teeth in some of the finest dirt tracks of the Midwest as well as asphalt short-oval arenas of the Southeast.

On the surface, she’s congenial, very apt to discuss racing as well as her family life that has inspired her through the years. 

Certainly, she values the support given to those around her, and it shows with her ambition to succeed in this competitive field of motorsports.

When it comes to her mindset just as the green flag’s about to unfurl, all that’s on her mind is how she’s going to make the most out of it. 

Ask for 100 percent, she’ll give you 110, making her way to the front with the precision and cunning of some of sport’s most clutch drivers like the Labonte brothers or Jeff Gordon, the latter who has inspired her in her career.

Stumbling upon her when reading about this year’s Drive for Diversity class, I took notice of her racing record, which at first seemed to be filled with glowing highlights and statistics that couldn’t be tangibly appreciated.

However, when I read how she’s triumphed in her dreams despite setbacks, it showed me the kind of hunger and willpower she has to make it in this sport.

While others out there are all talk and just appear at the track for television time, Sather embodies that old Wrangler jeans motto of being “one tough customer.” 

In a highly competitive game that involves high risk with one’s health and psyche, it seems as if nothing can derail the young gun from realizing her goal of becoming a full-time winner on the Sprint Cup circuit.

I interviewed Natalie Sather recently, getting her thoughts on her career, as well as her observations about her experiences in auto racing.  You’ll see what I mean by her giving 110 percent in all she does, trying hard but not too much in making the most of her opportunity. 

Without a doubt, she wants to make it badly in NASCAR, knowing she has to give it her all in a sport that requires sacrifices here and there to make it to the top.

Strap in, put on your driving gloves, and get ready for some short-track racing, when I put you in “The Driver’s Seat with Natalie Sather, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Racer!”

Rob Tiongson : Some people get a thrill out of their need for speed, be it in their street cars, video games, or taking up auto racing in some shape or form as a means of recreation.  What compelled you to embark on a career in motorsports, particularly with stock cars?

Natalie Sather : Growing up, my dad sponsored his best friend’s race car. 
No one in my family actually raced, so I didn’t necessarily grow up around it.  However, I loved going to watch (races) much more than anyone in my family.

After years of watching the local sprint cars at the dirt track, the friend my dad sponsored saw a flyer for a local go-kart race and told my parents they needed to take me and that they should get me a go-kart. 

After the race, we were all hooked, and so began my racing career starting in karts.

I grew up racing go-karts and eventually made the jump in to a sprint car on dirt. Growing up around the Mid-West, there are only dirt tracks in the area, so asphalt racing wasn’t an option.  So the asphalt dream seemed pretty far-fetched when I first started.

RT : Did you have any particular hero growing up in Fargo, N.D., at least, when it came to racing, or in particular, with your life?

NS : Growing up in Fargo, N.D., I looked up to a sprint car great named Donny Schatz.  I would go to the World of Outlaw races sporting his t-shirt and a homemade sign, saying “I’m going to race against him someday.”

Well, that day did eventually come, and more to follow (oh and P.S., I have beaten him), and I will never forget it.

Another racer that I looked up to was Jeff Gordon…so much that my whole room as a teen-age girl was Gordon, and I even did my senior English project on him.

He grew up racing go-karts, and then moved up to Sprints and pursued his dream and made the transition to asphalt and has proved many wrong.  His path is one I would like to follow myself. 

I say one day I will race against Jeff, as well.  One down (Donny Schatz), one to go (Jeff Gordon)!
  

RT : Now, like so many of NASCAR’s hottest stars in Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne, you cut your teeth in sprint cars on some of the finest dirt tracks in America.

How much of an asset is it for you to know that particular brand of vehicle, as well as go-kart cars, in terms of driving the heavier stock cars on various asphalt arenas?

NS : Competing around the country at countless dirt tracks has played a huge role in my asphalt career.  A great racer once told me dirt keeps you sharp, you have to be quick, always on your toes, and it’s 30 laps of wheel-to-wheel action.

I have been able to take a lot of what I have learned on the dirt and relate it to the asphalt. For example, when my car (late model) is loose, it is like driving on a dry slick dirt track, and it takes a lot of finesse.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been watching the NASCAR greats like Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Clint Bowyer, and see them get loose and they catch their car and the announcer will say, “Oh, look at that save, that’s their dirt background coming into play!”

So many of them go back and race on the dirt and I truly think that it helps with their asphalt driving.

RT : You’ve been a part of some excellent programs in racing, from the Skip Barber Racing School to your current team, Sellers Brothers Racing.

How much have those contingencies helped Natalie Sather, the racer and person? It’s had to help you get your name out there to places across the States that’s given you some great opportunities.

NS : Throughout the last few years, I have had some great opportunities to attend some amazing programs.  Finish Line Racing School in Florida is one that has played a huge role in my asphalt career. Mike and Krystal Loescher, who own, run, and operate the school, have an amazing program.

They have taught me so much about the asphalt side of racing. Mike, who I call “my driving coach,” is always there for me if I need any advice and has even come to a few races to help me along in my career.

Another great program that I have had the privilege of being a part of is the Lyn St. James, Women in Racing Program.  Through Lyn’s program, I had the opportunity to learn the “behind the scenes” aspect of racing. 

From Media Training, Money/Sponsor Management, Physical and Mental Training…and also attending Finish Line Racing School (through Lyn’s program for a second time), these programs have given me a great establishment into my asphalt career.

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