Gracie Elizabeth Trotter (born August 27, 2001) is an American stock car racing driver. She last competed part-time in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...

, driving the Nos. 15 and 25

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

s for

Venturini Motorsports Venturini Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West. Founded in 1982 by Bill Venturini Sr., Venturini Motorsports is th ...

. Trotter also competes for Rev Racing in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series as part of NASCAR's

Drive for Diversity The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownersh ...

program. She is best known for becoming the first female driver to win an ARCA-sanctioned race, doing so in the

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

for

Bill McAnally Racing McAnally–Hilgemann Racing (MHR) is an American professional stock car racing team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is based in Roseville, California, and is owned by Bill McAnally (in Truck, is co-owned ...

in 2020.

Racing career

Early career

Trotter began racing go-karts at eight years old. Before racing stock cars, she competed in legends cars, becoming the first female driver to win in the Young Lions division at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

in 2017. Trotter also made her late model debut in 2017, driving for Bond Suss. She continued racing in the CARS Tour in 2018. In October 2018, Trotter was selected as one of twelve drivers invited to

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

combine. She was announced as a member of the program's 2019 class on December 6, earning her a late model contract with Rev Racing to compete in the

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...

. Trotter was selected to the program again in 2020.

2020–present: ARCA

On January 14, 2020, Trotter was announced as a driver for

(BMR) in the

, as well as for select

and ARCA Menards Series East races. Trotter finished 16th in her debut ARCA East race at

New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in ...

, while engine issues left her 22nd in her ARCA Menards Series debut at

Phoenix Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. ...

. In ARCA West, Trotter finished fourth in her debut race at the

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

(LVMS) Bullring, before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

put the season on hold. She returned from the hiatus with a pair of seventh-place finishes, followed by a career-best third at

Irwindale Speedway Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702, w ...

. At Douglas County Speedway, Trotter again earned a new career-best finish, placing second to race winner Blaine Perkins. In September, Trotter won a late model race at

Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars". The t ...

, becoming the fourth woman to do so. She then won her first ARCA West race on September 26 at the LVMS Bullring, making her the second female driver to win a West Series race and the first to win an event sanctioned by ARCA. Trotter passed Blaine Perkins and her BMR teammate Jesse Love by taking them three-wide on lap 54, going on to lead 95 of the race's 150 laps. Trotter's season ended with a ninth-place finish at Phoenix. She finished third in the final points standings and was the only West Series driver to finish in the top-ten in all eleven races throughout the season. Trotter was awarded the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award on December 3. On January 13, 2021,

announced that Trotter would compete part-time for the team in the

2021 ARCA Menards Series The 2021 ARCA Menards Series season was the 69th season of the ARCA Menards Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Lucas Oil 200 on February 13 a ...

, driving the team's No. 15 and No. 25 Toyotas in a total of ten races.

Motorsports career results

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series West

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trotter, Gracie Living people 2001 births People from Denver, North Carolina Racing drivers from North Carolina NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers American female racing drivers 21st-century American women