Gray Leadbetter (born 9 December 2004) ^[1] is a professional American race car driver from Morganton, North Carolina. Leadbetter has competed in a broad range of motorsports including Motocross, Karting, legends, Rallycross, Championship Off-Road short course, midgets, micro 600s, and sprint cars. She is the first in her family to drive a race car. ^{[2] [3]}

Early life and education

Leadbetter started playing around with motorized vehicles, first a little quad and then a PW50, at only four years old. ^[4] Her family was not then knowledgeable about racing but she was able to gain support from neighbors, and she started racing in some FMF Arenacross in North Carolina. ^[4]

In 2010, she was the champion in the 4–6-year-old 50cc class at Daniels Ridge MX, Taylorsville, NC. She finished 9th in the KTM Jr SX Challenge at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA in February 2013. ^[5] After breaking her shoulder at the age of 7 in a motocross spill, Leadbetter made the move into karts because it was considered safer than motocross. ^{[4] [6]}

At the age of 12, Leadbetter received personal training from Swedish rally champion Patrik Sandell at the DirtFish Rally School in Washington state and on a frozen lake in Sweden. ^[7] At 14, she was training with 2004 Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice on road courses and in rallycross. ^[8]

Leadbetter attended On Track School, an online program for young athletes, and received her high school diploma in June 2022. ^[9]

Career

Karting (2015–2019)

Leadbetter started racing karts in 2015 at the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, NC. In July 2016, she took her first national podium with a 2nd-place finish in the United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS) IAME Cadet Class. ^[10] She moved up to the IAME Junior Class in December 2016 and finished second in her first race. ^[11] Leadbetter's first national win came in September 2017 at the Chicagoland Super Grand Prix in the IAME Junior Division. She was the first female driver to win in the category and finished 4th place in the class championship the same year. ^[12]

In October 2017, Leadbetter posted her first World Karting Association victory at the GoPro Motorplex, her home track in Mooresville, NC.  She took 2nd place the following day. ^[13] Leadbetter has competed in USPKS, Super Karts USA (SKUSA), and World Karting Association.

Americas Rallycross (2019)

Leadbetter's first drive in a professional series came in 2019 at 14, when she signed with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing of IndyCar fame to run the Americas Rallycross Series. ^[14] Driving in the ARX2 Class, which included drivers with IndyCar experience, Leadbetter competed in all 9 events and finished 5th overall in the championship. Her best finish was 4th place, which she achieved twice. The series folded after the 2019 season, and with it the series records. The 2019 results are listed at 2019 Americas Rallycross Championship.

Championship Off-Road (2019–2022)

In 2022, Leadbetter was the first woman to win a Pro Class Championship in the Championship Off-Road closed-course series that runs in the upper Midwest. ^[15] Driving the Pro Spec Class Ryan Beat Motorsports No. 28 Bilstein Chevrolet Colorado, she won the season opener and three more races to take the crown. ^[16] Ledbetter started driving in the Championship Off-Road series in 2019 with the Greaves Motorsports team. In December 2020, she was the first woman and youngest competitor to win a Sportsman SXS race. ^[17]

Sprint car (2021–present)

Leadbetter moved into sprint cars in 2021 driving for Marc Dailey Racing. She started in the 450 hp 305 sprint car, but by the end of the year, she had moved up into the 900 hp 410 winged sprint car. She finished 5th in her first 410 race at Cherokee Speedway in S.C. ^[18] Leadbetter qualified to compete in the World of Outlaws Finals in Charlotte, N.C. in both 2021 and 2022. ^[19] In 2023, Leadbetter is driving a 410 sprint car with Marc Dailey Racing in the All Star Circuit of Champions. ^[20]

Ambassadorship

National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (2022–present)

In January 2022, Leadbetter became an ambassador for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. In addition to promoting the NPCF through her racing and public appearances at NPCF events, Leadbetter has committed to donating 10% of her sponsorship dollars to the group. ^{[21] [22]} The NPCF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding and developing novel research and clinical trials to find less toxic, more effective treatments for childhood cancer. ^[23]

References