HOW INTIMIDATING IS IT RUNNING BOWMAN GRAY?
Susan Harwell “Bowman Gray Stadium is referred to as the Madhouse for a reason. It is a quarter-mile flat track that is literally around a football field that has around 15,000 fans in the stands. There are 25 cars fighting for every position that can be gained, so yes, it can be a little intimidating.”
BEING A FEMALE RACER, DO THE GUYS TEND TO RACE YOU HARDER?
Susan Harwell “When I first started racing, a few of the racers did @race me harder. One of those drivers is my current car owner, Lee Jeffreys, which I recall him intentionally spinning me in practice not long after I started racing. Over time though, I feel I have gained respect from most of the other drivers. They know me and they know I don’t want any special treatment because I’m female. In the pits I’m treated just like one of the guys and on track I’m treated just like one of the guys…. and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
HOW COMPETITIVE IS BOWMAN GRAY?
Susan Harwell “It is extremely competitive. Most of the cars have the latest and greatest equipment money can buy. Most of the teams have years of experience between the driver and crew and they know the setups and what works to get around this track quickly. It’s not uncommon for the top qualifiers to be hundreths of a second off of each other. It is imperative to get a good qualifying run in and and get a good starting position because passing is so difficult. Many of the big races require a complete re-draw for position after qualifying, this makes for very interesting racing as the top runners could be starting in the back of the field.”
WHO IS SUSAN HARTWELL, THE PERSON?
Susan Harwell “I’m married and a mother of two boys, ages 12 and 14. I work in IT/Health Information Management at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist where I have 27 years of service.
Both of my boys race dirt bikes so when I’m not racing you can typically find me at a motorcycle race. They race on a national level so we do a lot of traveling. It is not uncommon to see me driving a dually pulling a toy hauler camper and crewing my boys racing. I started riding motorcycles myself when I was 5 years old and I have also raced them, but for now I just enjoy trailing riding. I try to ride my dirtbike every Saturday before going to race at BGS, I think it helps to get the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing. I also enjoy playing golf, fishing, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.”
WHO IS SUSAN HARWELL ,THE DRIVER?
Susan Harwell “I have been around racing my entire life. I have experience racing go-karts, motorcycles and modifieds. I am not cocky, but I am confident. Once I get into the racecar and strap in, I am in my comfort zone and any nervousness goes away. I race aaggressively but clean. I race because I have fun doing it. I enjoy not only the racing part of it, but love the time in the pits with friends. When I look back on my racing memories, my greatest memories will be time spent with others along the way.”
WHAT WOULD YOU WANT THE FANS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT THE FANS WOULDN’T KNOW?
Susan Harwell “I am a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in March of 2018, a month before the 2018 race season at BGS which is when I was to start driving for J&R Racing (Lee Jeffreys and Hilda Riffle). I was devastated, I was completely healthy and felt the best I’d felt in my life. I went for a routine mammogram and that is when my life changed. I was required to undergo chemotherapy, surgery and radiation along with Herceptin infusions for a year. Not only was I being faced with cancer, treatments, and losing my hair, I was sure my racing career would be over. How could I possibly undergo all of these treatments and still race or even go and spectate. I discussed racing with my doctors and there was no medical reason why I couldn’t race. I will never forget having a tearful conversation with Lee letting him know that the doctors said I could still race, I wasn’t sure he would still want me to drive, but thankfully he let me know real quick that it didn’t matter if I had hair or not and that he still wanted me to race his car.”
“The night before I was scheduled to have surgery to have a port placed in my chest for the chemo infusions, I went to the race shop and got in the car and put my belts on, Lee took a Sharpie and drew lines down my chest where the seat belts would be. This helped the surgeon determine the best placement for the port without interfering with my shoulder belts. I scheduled my treatments around racing, I received chemotherapy treatments on Fridays because it really didn’t start impacting how I felt until Sunday evening so I was good to go racing on Saturday night. When I look back at it all now, I really don’t know how I did it. I’m so thankful I had my family, friends and racing to help get me through it all.”
WHAT’S THE FEELING YOU GET AS A DRIVER SEEING ALL THE PEOPLE, WEEK IN WEEK OUT?
Susan Harwell “It’s an amazing feeling to line up on the front stretch and look up and see all the fans in the stands. I think to myself how lucky and blessed I am to be with this team and have this opportunity.”
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL LAP AT BOWMAN GRAY?
Susan Harwell “It’s simple, go fast without crashing or being crashed!”
APPLE OR ANDROID?
Susan Harwell “What’s an Android, lol?”
IF YOU CAN RACE AT ONE TRACK, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Susan Harwell “Wall Stadium for sure! My Daddy and I went to the Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium in 2021 and let me tell you that is a real race track, they do some hard racing just like at BGS. Some of the best modified drivers ever have raced at Wall”.
WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO THANK?
Susan Harwell “My daddy (Al Hill) for trusting me to drive his back-up modified during a Saturday morning practice and making a dream come true. I just wanted to drive one time, but I was hooked after that. He bought me a new set of Hoosiers that night and I out qualified several of the weekly regulars. That back-up car soon became mine to race weekly. Life happened and that car is long gone, but my Daddy still goes with me to BGS every Saturday night to support and mentor me. My daddy has always been involved with my racing and I’m so thankful for him”.
“I also want to thank my car owners and dear friends, Lee Jeffreys and Hilda Riffle, for this amazing opportunity to drive their car. I’m truly having the time of my life”.
SPONSORS FOR THE SEASON?
Phoenix Packaging
Warehousing
Walburg Grill
Carolina Drilling
Brad’s Golf Cars
Gordon’s Radiators
Dan’s Sandwich Shop
Security Partners & Life Safety Group
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