Some girls like things pretty, some like it pink, others, simply like it fast; Kate Regganie, a Senior at JT West and a student in the Academy of STEM, is all these things and then some. Earlier this month, Regganie won the title of Champion in the National Modified Go-Kart Championship, in the women’s category. The race was held this past September in Lincoln, Nebraska. Regganie faced off against six other competitors, one of whom was a ten-time national champion. “I was definitely surprised to find out that I won,” Regganie explained.

Regganie has been racing for the past nine years, and her love for the sport proves to be strong. “If I found out, I could never race again, I would be devastated,” she explains, “but I would still go to the events. The people there are my family, I have almost eighteen years on the track. I can’t just stop because something keeps me from racing.” But it’s more than likely that it would even keep her still, for she also explained that there is a racer in the league who is in a wheelchair, an example she will no doubt follow.

It also seems that she isn’t alone when it comes to her love for the track, and it only appears that her love for racing is shared by blood, that being because she was born into a family of rubber-burning demons. Her father began racing and shared his passion with the people he cared for. He has been bringing her to the track ever since she was an infant. Her brother is a three-time national champion, and her mother has even been able to win a championship while being six months pregnant with Kate, “She kept racing until she couldn’t reach the steering wheel.” A rare thing to see, one whole family being brought together by a single passion.

Despite being a national champion, Kate admits that she is actually harboring some fear of being in a kart. As she knows there is always a chance of something going wrong at 140 mph, “I know it’s a risk to be in that kart, but it’s like everything we do is a risk. Whether you’re driving a car, or walking to school, it’s always a risk, you just have to accept.” She is a young girl who has dream, and that dream is to get as far as she can on the track, no matter what. At the moment, Kate is doing all she can to improve her skills behind the wheel and looking for her next challenge, “No matter where you look, there will always be a race, there are just everywhere.” And for those who plan in entering those races, watch out.