Sportsman star Mia Tedesco has two chances at U.S. Nationals glory

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 30) -- Sportsman star Mia Tedesco is doing her best to contain her excitement for racing in the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals this weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

That's because the 22-year-old driver knows she has a shot at winning the prestigious race -- perhaps even two chances.

Tedesco has won twice with her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster and twice with her CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Super Gas Chevrolet Cavalier over the last couple of months, and she has entered both cars in Indianapolis.

"That's probably the coolest race to win," Tedesco said. "It's one of the biggest accomplishments you could have. Winning it is definitely something to think about, but I try not to think about it too much and get too psyched up about it. I just try to treat it like a normal race, do my best, and see how that goes."

Tedesco's success in 2016 is evident by her high ranking in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series points standings. She's sixth in the national Top Alcohol Dragster standings and leads the points in TAD in the North Central Region. Plus, she's first nationally and in Division 3 in Super Gas.

And now, she gets to race at the U.S. Nationals.

"I'm really excited to go there, especially after the year we've been having," Tedesco said. "It's been so successful so far. I was talking to my guys the other day about how good it's been.

"We've already had such a good year, and we have good momentum. I just had a semifinal in Bowling Green (Ky.), so we've been going rounds. My car has been good, and I've been driving pretty good. It feels good going into the biggest race of the year."

And while most drivers are satisfied with a chance to win in Indianapolis, Tedesco has two shots at a Wally.

"Two chances to win the U.S. Nationals," Tedesco said. "We'll see what we can do."

Mia Tedesco will race her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster and CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Super Gas Cavalier at this weekend's Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

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Sportsman star Mia Tedesco on a roll heading into Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 17) -- The summer months have been kind to emerging Sportsman superstar Mia Tedesco.

Dating back to early June, Tedesco has walked away with four victories, including a win at her most recent race in her Top Alcohol Dragster.

This weekend, Tedesco will look to keep her winning ways going when she races her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster and CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Super Comp Chevrolet Cavalier in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

"It's been a pretty amazing month, month and a half," Tedesco said. "Even going back to winning Super Gas at the Chicago divisional in June, from there on out it's been pretty incredible in both classes. Our confidence level is pretty high right now. Everything is working really well, and we're at a good point."

After that Division 3 Super Gas win, Tedesco followed with a Super Gas victory at the Chicago national event on July 10 and back-to-back Top Alcohol Dragster victories at National Trail Raceway on July 24 and at Gateway Motorsports Park on Aug. 6.

"Everything is working really well with pretty much every aspect of our race team," Tedesco said. "The Alcohol car is running well, and everyone is working together well. The Super Gas car has been doing awesome. This weekend, I am running my Cavalier in Super Comp, so that will be different and fun."

And though Tedesco carries a lot of confidence from her winning streak, she doesn't simply expect to show up and win.

"I feel like when you expect to win, you're almost guaranteed to lose," Tedesco said. "That's how it's been in my experience. I just try to throw it away and pretend it never happened. But it definitely helps with confidence."

This weekend's race is a national event, but the 22-year-old Tedesco has learned not to get too excited about performing in front of NHRA's pros.

"I try to treat every race exactly the same," Tedesco said. "That way, I can perform the same."

CARS Protection Plus racer Mia Tedesco enters this weekend's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., with four victories dating back to early June.

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Track-record run powers Mia Tedesco to Division 3 Top Alcohol Dragster win

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 7) -- Mia Tedesco had to wait a while before celebrating her NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series victory Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park.

That's because after earning the Wally for winning the Division 3 race in Top Alcohol Dragster with her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil car, Tedesco had to go jump in her Super Gas car.

Tedesco ended up falling in the semifinals with her CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Super Gas Chevrolet, but a win and a semifinal appearance is a stellar weekend.

"After I won in the dragster, I ran the fifth round in Super Gas and then lost in the sixth round," Tedesco said. "It's something that I'm actually a little used to now. The first time, it was really hard because you want to race, but you're jacked up. Now, I don't let myself accept that I've won and I don't celebrate or anything."

She tried to treat her Super Gas quarterfinal and semifinal races like any other round, not celebrating her TAD win until much later in the night -- or, rather, early the next morning.

"I celebrated at 2:30 a.m.," Tedesco said. "It was really late, and my original flight (home) was at 6:50 in the morning. It was a long day but well worth it, for sure. It was awesome."

Tedesco qualified No. 2 in TAD and beat Jared Dreher in the first round with a run of 5.438 seconds at 251.11 mph. In Round 2, the semifinals, Tedesco left first again (with a .056-second reaction time) and then made a run of 5.364 at 262.03 mph to beat Rachel Meyer's 5.761 at 254.90 mph.

In an all-female final, Tedesco beat Megan Meyer with a .034-second reaction time and a track-record pass of 5.230 seconds at 269.46 mph.

"The Alcohol car ran good," Tedesco said. "It ran good in the first qualifier, not so good in the second, and we pretty much got lucky in the first round, got lucky in the second round, and then the car ran good in the final.

"Then, I made it to three cars in Super Gas, so it was definitely a good weekend."

Tedesco ended up falling in the Super Gas semifinal despite a better reaction time (.010 to .017). Joe Fisher ran closer to the 9.90 index and ended beating Tedesco by about 18 inches (.006-second).

Still, Tedesco was then able to celebrate her Top Alcohol Dragster victory.

"Heck yeah, it was a good weekend," Tedesco said. "Definitely an ideal weekend."

Mia Tedesco drover her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster to victory at the Division 3 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Gateway Motorsports Park.

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Winning is on Mia Tedesco's mind for Division 3 race at Gateway

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 2) -- A superb 2016 season has NHRA Sportsman driver Mia Tedesco sitting in a lofty perch in two separate points standings, but heading into the NAPA All-American Hot Rod Showdown, a Division 3 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park, points aren't anywhere on the 22-year-old's mind.

"It's still early to even start worrying about that," Tedesco said. "We're not really focused on points, divisionally or nationally. We're just trying to go win races and go rounds and have some fun."

Tedesco is in second place in the North Central Region Top Alcohol Dragster standings as her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil car is one point out of the lead, and her CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Super Gas Chevrolet is second in the Division 3 standings.

Tedesco will race both cars at Gateway, and she is bringing plenty of momentum. She won in Super Gas at the NHRA national event in Chicago on July 10 and followed that up with a win in Top Alcohol Dragster two weeks later at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio.

Conditions should be steamy in the St. Louis area this weekend, but Tedesco and her family team are ready for it.

"It's probably going to be hot, and we're probably going to have a lot of night racing since it's only a Friday-Saturday race," Tedesco said. "I think it'll be good. The track should be fine. It was good last year. We won't worry too much about it."

Sportsman racing can sometimes continue well into the nighttime and even in the early morning, but Tedesco has raced enough to handle anything.

"We know we're probably going to be racing at night, which doesn't really bother me at all. I'm used to racing at night with bracket races. They tend to get done at night, sometimes as late as 5 in the morning, so we'll be ready for anything."

CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil driver Mia Tedesco will race in Top Alcohol Dragster and Super Gas at the NAPA All-American Hot Rod Showdown at Gateway Motorsports Park.

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