BY TREVOR KEISER
Clarkston News Staff Writer
When most 9-year-old girls were playing with Barbie, or dreaming about being ballerinas and princesses when they grow older, Keera Allen was saying ‘I want to be a race car driver when I grow up.?
Allen’s interest in racing started while sitting on the sofa with her grandfather on a Sun. afternoon watching NASCAR.
‘I just had always watched NASCAR on TV and I told my dad I wanted to race, and I came home one day and I had a car,? said Allen, now 14 years old.
It was a ‘very used? Quarter Midget car (racers between ages 5 to16) for her 10th birthday. In her rookie season Allen won many races and set her first track record. She was also voted ‘Rookie of the year? by her peers. Half way through the season her dad realized Allen could out drive what her used car could do, so he bought her a new car and moved her out of the novice class into the ‘senior Honda.? Allen ended her 2003 season.
Over the next three years Allen got faster cars and earning herself two championships in the quarter midget and meeting her first ‘on track rivalry,? with a boy named Trevor Berry. Both Allen and Berry had a huge amount of respect for one another. In 2006 Allen was also voted ‘Female Driver of the Year? in two different point series.
Entering the 2007 season, Allen started with a feature win at Columbus Rumble Series in the heavy 160 quarter midget class. In spring moved from the quarter midgets into a full size mini-stock, a Ford Mustang. Allen said there is not much difference between the quarter midget cars and full size.
‘Once you race one thing, pretty much anything else is just the same,? she said. ‘Because going from a small car on a small track you feel like you’re going fast but when you go on a big track with a faster car you still feel like you’re going just as fast because of the size ratio.?
She raced all season at M40 Speedway in Jones, Mi. Allen ended the season in fourth place with points, which made her the highest finishing rookie in that class. In Aug. Allen once again got the chance to drive something new. She joined the ‘Short Track Truck Race,? in which she was driving an F-150. According to the rules 14-years-old is too young to be driving in the short track trucks; however, Allen received special approval from the series promoter to compete.
‘This is just a lot different because I am driving with a wide age range. I am driving with some 40 and 50-year-olds at least and when you race quarter midgets, I only raced with kids 9 to 16-years-old.?
If given a choice between racing the car or the truck, Allen said she would take the truck.
‘The truck is better because my car had a lot of mechanical problems and just could never do very good in it because we didn’t have a lot of money compared to a lot of the other mini stock drivers,? she said. ‘The trucks are pretty even, there is not much you can do to make them so much faster than the other ones. It drives a lot better and is a lot easier to drive too.?
Allen said she has gotten up to about 140 mph in the truck and even though she has been racing for quite awhile, she still gets nervous before each race.
‘When I race quarter midgets I have been doing that so long I pretty much don’t even think about racing anymore honestly like my mind just totally wonders when I race quarter midgets, but in the truck and the car I am mostly focused on the racing part.? she said.
Allen said she gets both positive and negative feedback for not only being a young racer, but being a girl as well.
‘A lot of the fans especially in quarter midgets at Lansing because they have a bar right there and you get out of your car and they are like ‘oh my god that was a girl.? And they don’t believe that a girl just won the race,? said Allen. ‘When I was driving the truck they were just amazed that I was only 14 and racing the truck.?
Allen said she feels being a girl does put her at a disadvantage sometimes because some people think that girls shouldn’t race. She also said she knows kids who got yelled at by their parents because they were beat by a girl or parents who won’t let their daughters race because they are girls.
‘Some people don’t like it that girls race,? she said. ‘A lot of people, especially in the higher classes like the truck they just look at me like another driver. They don’t look at me like I am 14 or that I am a girl. They just talk to me like I am another driver.?
Along with the sport of racing comes, not only adrenalin pumping fast speeds, but accidents as well. Allen said she flipped over a fence and had the whole side of her car ran over in the mini-stock.
‘The truck I haven’t wrecked yet thank God,? she said.
Allen said getting in an accident doesn’t scare her too much, as she recalled a weekend she had two cars she was racing in Fort Wayne and rolled both cars 4 times.
Allen’s biggest fan is her mom.
‘I am proud of her,? said Jacki Allen. ‘It takes a lot of dedication to do what she does and to overcome the odds that she has to overcome.?
Jacki said she doesn’t worry about her daughter too much because she knows that Keera has the best safety equipment.
‘She got hit hard twice in one spinout in her mini-stock this year,? said Jacki. ‘I mean it looked bad out there and she came in and the only thing that was wrong was she was mad, not sore, or bruised.?
Keera said she harder on herself than anyone.
‘Guys have the problem of they always want to go beat up the person. I always blame it on myself and want to beat up myself,? she said. ‘I’ve always noticed that too, girls are smarter in that way when I race. Guys are always like ‘I am going to go beat him up he wrecked me.??
Allen said a guy wanted to beat her up before.
‘He shoved me and his dad was fighting with my dad, its crazy,? she said.
Allen said she admires Danica Patrick and other female racers but overall she just enjoys racing its fun, keeps her busy, she makes a lot of new friends and not to mention there is a lot of ‘cute guys.?
Allen is currently sponsored by Mazza Auto Parts and signed a year contract with TNT Racing, who will help her get more sponsors. She was also voted ‘rookie of the year? in the mini-stock last weekend.
Allen plans to race the truck full time for her 2008 season. If you’re interested in seeing Keera race, check her out Sept. 29 at Dixie Motor speed way.