Women of Speed | Sara Price

When it comes to Sara Price, where do you even start? We can talk about her time in motocross and X Games, competing in beauty pageants, racing stadium super trucks, creating her own apparel company, or racing in the first-ever electric off-road series: Extreme E. She’s a woman who is removing gender stereotypes and making history. It’s safe to say that when it comes to Sara Price, always expect the unexpected.

As a Woman of Speed, we sat down with Sara to discuss her latest accomplishments leading to racing in Extreme E and how she’s making space for women in the motorsports industry.

Sara has tried every type of racing possible:

“I actually started on horseback, and then I got my first dirt bike at the age of eight on Christmas morning. I went to the track with my brother, my parents didn't know what to do with my energy. They had me on the peewee track doing laps all day and I wouldn't get off that bike until I ran out of gas. So, I slowly started climbing the ranks. I did my first motocross race and won; from there, I was addicted. My whole dream was to be a part of Monster Energy Kawasaki and eventually I got to that. I went professional at 16, raced X Games and meddled, and became the most winningest amateur female motocross racer still to date. It’s been a crazy journey. Then, I switched hats and started racing four wheels. Then once again, I climbed the ranks through that, and now it's pretty crazy to be a Baja champion in the Trophy Track spec and also be racing for teams like Chip Ganassi Racing.”

Sara seems to dominate every sport she touches and never says no to an opportunity. When a friend called in a favor for her to be a stunt rider for a Superbowl commercial, she couldn’t say no. “I showed up not knowing at all about that industry. I was up all-night filming and riding a motorcycle. And that kind of took off. Word of mouth got around and I kept getting hired for jobs. Then, when I started racing cars, I started getting hired for car jobs. Now stunt is a large part of my life.”

Her latest adventure has been racing in the 2021 Extreme E series as Chip Ganassi Racing’s first female driver. The Extreme E series races in remote parts of the world to bring awareness to areas affected by climate change and promote environmental responsibility as well as introduce a revolutionary way of racing. “For the first time, we’re taking motorsports and using it to activate interest in impacted environments of the world and show what we can do to make the world better. We're racing electric SUV vehicles. I’m on the Hummer EV program with Chip Ganassi Racing and it's really taken off. I feel that this is the pinnacle for off-road motorsports right now.” The cutting-edge Odyssey 21 exterior is modified with each team. The Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing partnered with GMC Hummer to create the world’s first all-electric super truck. “If they can get the distance out of the batteries, I definitely think it's the future.”

Extreme E is not only making history because of its sustainable mission and electric cars but by innovating a team that requires both a female and male driver which expands the opportunity for women to be discovered in the racing community. “Right now, in our day of motorsports, I was usually one of the only females on the starting line or in my class or whatever the case was. Now, there are becoming more female racers. Extreme E is able to give females the same spot as their male drivers. It's pretty awesome to give women this opportunity to finally get a chance to shine.”

Being a female in motorsport’s world can be tough, women are almost always outnumbered. At the beginning of her career, Sara started as just “the girl” on the starting line. “Once I started putting my head down and working really hard and earning that respect as an actual racer, I was no longer ‘the girl’, it was ‘oh, Sara's here. We better bring our A-game.’ It was pretty cool to see that transition. Now I go places and people don't look at me like a girl, people look at me as Sarah and think: ‘we better be on top of it because she's going to be a threat.’ That’s pretty awesome to get the respect of the competitors in that way.”

Sara challenged herself to earn the respect she deserved and to be seen as a true competitor. Now that she has that and is racing in Extreme E, she’s ready to bring more women to a life-changing sport. “The moment when your helmet goes on, you're just a racer. It doesn't matter if you're a guy or girl. When it comes to car racing or anything in the driver's seat, there is absolutely no difference. And that's what's pretty awesome about it.”

Now that Extreme E is bringing attention to sustainable racing and gender-inclusive teams, we spoke to Sara about what the off-road world needs to expand and become a mainstream sport. “What I would really love is to be able to connect with the right people to bring more mainstream woman-focused companies into the sport. There are so many avenues to get attention that can make our sport better by utilizing the fact that we're badass girls. I think there's a bit of a disconnect in the off-road industry from the mainstream markets. If there’s a way to get their attention that can reach women all around the world like using Marie Claire magazine or Vogue, that could give girls hope all around the world.”

She’s currently focused on Extreme E, but Sara has big things brewing. After accomplishing every motorsport she’s set her mind to, what’s next for Sara Price? “I want to go to Dakar. I've been training a little bit in it and really putting my auras out there to try to make it happen. So that is one thing. It's a little harder for Americans to get over there to do it. So, it's a little bit of a battle to figure out how to, but that's the goal.”

When someone hears about Sara Price, you’ll probably hear “champion” or “first-ever” quite often. She’s a woman who is making history left and right, and there is no stopping her. Whether it’s electric or gas-fueled, Sara will continue to be a Woman of Speed in the motorsports industry. She’s unstoppable with no end in sight.

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