Land speed Queen

When you first meet Katie Young Cortez, the last thing that goes through your mind ? if it goes through it at all ? is that she is a person who participates in an ?extreme? sport like land speed racing. Maybe it?s just me, but when I think of land speed racers, I picture a grizzled, sun-beaten, white-haired speed-freak picking the sand from the salt flats out of his teeth and griping about velocity, drag coefficient and cross-course wind speeds, among other things.Young Cortez shatters that stereotype the same way she has powered her way to record runs in the world of land speed racing. From the outside one sees an attractive wife and mother who looks like any of the thousands of young moms in America. But underneath beats the heart of an adrenaline-craving competitor who will drop throttle and muscle an engine on wheels through the desert at mind-numbing speeds. Young Cortez currently holds a record at the El Mirage Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert for traveling 151.854 mph in the 1939 six-cylinder Chevy Coupe she races with her father, Auburn resident and long-time land speed racer Keith Young. She also competes in the Custom/Gas Modified Roadster class where she clocked in at over 220 mph, a few miles per hour short of the record of 226.547 that she hopes to make a run at soon.In land speed racing, or LSR as it is sometimes called, a racer races against the clock to get their vehicle to travel as fast as possible over a 3-mile or 5-mile course. Speeds are clocked at specific ¼-mile intervals along the course and racers usually have to make two runs to qualify for a record.Young Cortez, 34, graduated from Auburn?s Placer High School in 1987 and currently lives in Livermore, Calif., with her husband, Ron, and 1-year-old daughter Carmen. She teaches fourth and fifth grade at Almond Avenue Elementary in Livermore and is currently working to complete her master?s degree in children?s literature at California State University, Hayward.Her father, Keith, has always been into cars and Katie said that there were always cars around the house when she was growing up.?She was always doing anything she could with cars when she was a kid ? polishing, wrenching, anything since she was about five,? said Keith Young.?I think the first time I went to the salt (to watch LSR), I was about three, so I?ve always been around it,? she said. ?I?ve always showed an interest in it and as soon as I got my license, I was begging my dad to drive. I started racing at 16.?In 1986, about the time Young Cortez was getting into racing, the father and daughter team decided to turn their restored 1939 Chevy Coup into a land speed racer, which is still one of the two vehicles they race today.But much like an addicting drug, Young Cortez?s need for speed grew as her skill level increased.?Soon enough, 150 mph in the coupe just wasn?t cutting it,? said Young Cortez with a laugh. So, in Dec. 2001, they picked up a highly-modified 1927 Ford Roadster that would eventually propel her into the 200 mph club. ?The Roadster was built in 1969 by Jerry Kugel as a project car for Rod & Custom Magazine,? Young Cortez said. ?It has gotten at least three previous drivers into the 200 mph club and maybe a couple more.?Amazingly, Young Cortez said that cruising the Roadster at over 200 mph is easier that pulling 150 in the Coupe.?The Coupe is more of a wild ride, you really have to hold on to it. Because it is shaped like an airplane wing, it gets lift and moves around a lot,? she said. ?The Roadster has an open top which gives it a different feel. It doesn?t skate around as much and has a parachute to help stop it. I remember the first time I pulled the parachute, the feeling was incredible.?And even though it takes place at such high speeds, Young Cortez stresses that her sport is very safe.?It?s billed as the world?s safest racing,? she said. ?The Southern California Timing Association/Bonneville Nationals Inc. (the racing association that sanctions LSR) does everything to have stringent safety rules. If there is an accident, they investigate and will make rule changes overnight to stop injuries, if necessary.?But, she said, people do get hurt. Last year one driver even died, but she stresses that?s not a common occurrence. She does admit that she is more cautious since becomming a mother.?I think about it more, I guess, but it?s not something that I obsess over or it will affect performance,? Young Cortez said. ?I think that it?s a great sport and one that I would want my daughter to get into if she were interested.?Her husband, Ron, agrees.?If it were a different type of racing, I?d be more worried,? he said. ?With this type of racing ? against a clock and with only one car on the course ? it?s OK. Even though I know things could go wrong I?m not worried because she?s using a car she knows from a mechanic she knows (her dad).?Keith Young said that a lot of racers get nervous when getting ready to make a run, but that Katie has a real calm about her when he sets up for a race. ?Katie is a one-of-a-kind,? he said. ?People remark about how calm and collected she is. She has a remarkable ability to remember all the information that she needs to make a successful run. Racing has really kept us close. No matter how busy we are, when it?s time to race we get to spend a few days together. It also crosses age boundaries as we share a lot of the same friends.?Young Cortez estimates the number of women who participate in LSR is fewer than 20, and says she has felt no repercussions from breaking a record.?It?s a family-friendly environment where everyone supports everyone else,? yourng Cortez said. ?If you break someone?s record, they usually are the first person over to congratulate you. Most racers are males between the ages of 45-65. The women tend to be daughters and wives of racers.?Although Young Cortez?s husband Ron does not race and has no desire to, he appreciates the sport.?Land speed racing is something that people consider a way of life,? he said. ?I didn?t know anything about it until I met Katie. It consumes a lot of time and it?s really exciting for spectators to watch.? ?To see cars that will go over 400 mph is impressive ? even a 200-mph car is impressive,? he said. ?The racing association is well-organized and it?s a real family sport. My father-in-law has been doing it since 1963, and there are a lot of families like ours where the tradition has been passed from generation to generation.?Perhaps soon this torch will be passed from mother to daughter instead of the more traditional father to son handoff.Gold Country Motoring Editor Chris Somerville can be reached at chriss@goldcountrymedia.com.