Crystal Lake teen holds her own in male-dominated sport

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL (CBS) – During this Women’s History Month, CBS 2 is highlighting women and girls who are breaking barriers.

While the motoring sport has traditionally been male-dominated, CBS 2’s Jackie Kostek found that there were more girls in the pipeline of talent. This includes a teenager from Crystal Lake who is quickly making a name for himself.

Kami York doesn’t necessarily see herself as a pioneer in racing.

“Not yet, I would say, but I want to be,” she said.

But wherever she goes, she goes at lightning speed.

“Something just clicks,” York said. “Where it’s like OK, it’s time to go.

“I will surely overtake you and I will overtake you. And I’m trying to get to you, and I’ll make it.”

At 18, the high school graduate hasn’t driven her Shelby Mustang GT500 for very long, but the drive has always been there. The family business are cars. Her passion is to race with them. Her father raced. Her brother races and two years ago it was Kami’s turn to get behind the wheel.

“I was like, ‘Dad, I want to race. I want to race,” said Kami. “‘Take me into something. I want to race.’ And then our customer said, ‘Let her get in my car. Let’s see if she likes it.'”

“Members were a little concerned about a 16-year-old, 100-pound girl driving an 800-horsepower car,” said David York, Kami’s father. “They all have half a million dollars worth of cars, $200,000 cars. So you were a bit concerned.”

With just two days of training in this stock car, Kami has given them a run for their money.

“I ended up running faster than him in his car,” she said. “He said, ‘Oh, OK.'”

Her father added: “She goes out and does her thing, made them all fans. You put her on the podium. She beat the majority of them that day and had her first podium in her first race.”

Kami competed in three races that season and two years later competes in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, part of the NASCAR ladder system. While the sport is still dominated by boys and men, Kami finds himself in a generation of girls following the tire tracks of women like Danica Patrick and Hailie Deegan.

“There were those few who said, ‘No way. You can’t drive this car. you will ruin us I don’t want to race her. She’s a girl’” Kami said. “I say, ‘Once you put on a helmet, everyone is a rider.’ You don’t know I’m a girl as soon as I put the helmet on. We all drive around in the same cars.”

For his part, Kami’s father is not at all concerned about his daughter’s ability to navigate on or off the track.

“She said things that make not only a father but our crew chief blush,” he said. “I’m not worried that one day she’ll take to the streets without me and hold people accountable.”

But he hopes that “one day” is still a long way off. After all, she inherited her passion from him.

“Getting your license, that’s if you lose somehow, you’re going to lose your teenager. They’re going to go out there and do their own thing,” David said. “Getting her into a race car was like a no-brainer because [I could say] now you need me a little more.”

Next up for Kami and the York family is a race on April 8th in Tuscon, Arizona.