By Scott Roblin

Teenage Fitzpatrick raking in podium finishes in new racing class

Jul 7, 2019 | 7:44 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – She may be preparing for her 15th birthday, but Emma Fitzpatrick’s love of cars rivals even the most die-hard of enthusiasts at the Medicine Hat Speedway.

It’s a passion she earned honestly, coming from a family of racers.

“Since I was a little girl I’ve always dreamed of being a race car driver,” said Fitzpatrick. “My grandad was a race car driver, my uncle is a race car driver, it runs in the family. My mom was changing tires when she was pregnant with me.”

Her ascent to being one of Medicine Hat’s top-ranked racers has been a fascinating one, especially due to the jump she’s taken over the past few months.

A staple in the mini-cup class over the last few years, the 14-year-old Fitzpatrick made the leap to racing full-sized motor vehicles in the newly established ‘rumblebees’ class.

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“It’s a lot more pedal work,” said Fitzpatrick. “You have to use the brake and the gas a lot more often than in the mini-cup that I was driving. I guess there’s a lot of timing involved with the pedals.”

Fitzpatrick didn’t seem to show any apprehension in her first race of the season, crossing the finish line in second place to earn 48 points.

Her game only grew from there though, as she earned second and third place finishes in June driving her new number 13 car and rocketed to the top of the rumblebees season leaderboard with 146 points.

Fitzpatrick took a bit of a hit on Saturday night at the Speedway though, picking up a fourth place finish to end her night just off the podium.

Something that’s she’s still getting used to.

“I do get a little bit cranky when I do get fourth because I’m not used to it,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’m so used to being way up at the top always, usually top three when I get into the main event.”

Fitzpatrick’s competition in the new V6 class has been stiff to say the least, featuring the likes of racing veterans such as Serge Perrault, Kevin Hieb, and Dean Wakshinsky who have decades of combined experience more than their teen counterpart.

However, Fitzpatrick said her experience getting to compete at the mini-cup level has been paying off in the early part of the 2019 racing season.

“Those people that are driving those cars haven’t had as much experience as I did,” she said. “They treat me just like any other race car driver, I put on that helmet and I drive like them or most of the time even better.”

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Saturday night also featured quite the dominating performances out of the Hieb family, earning two of the three official checkered flags up for grabs.

Alf Hieb was the top speedster in the elite street stock category, beating out Shawn Lowe and Mitch Stovka for the Saturday title.

It was a victorious evening for Alf’s son Kevin, who took home the rumblebees title over both Ben Boksteyn and Wakshinsky.

James Dumont had the top time in the final heat of the hobby stocks over a pair of Strattons, Trevor and Alysha to head home with the July 6 crown.

The Medicine Hat Speedway also held a 10-lap race for local media members, which was won by CHAT 94.5’s Jon Varus.

Scott Roblin from CHAT TV was the runner-up in the four car event, followed by Ryan McCracken from the Medicine Hat News and CHAT TV sports anchor Mitch Bach.

Racers return to the Speedway for ‘Fan Appreciation Day’ next Saturday, kicking off a two-day weekend of action for drivers and fans.