Megan Moore, a freshman at Battle Ground High School, already has four years of driving experience with her success behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster car.
In 2022, Moore earned first place in the Junior Thunder class at the Woodburn Dragstrip. In 2023 she moved up to the Junior Lightning class and raced her way to third place in the points system at Woodburn Dragstrip in Oregon.
“I would love to go pro if I could,” Moore said of her aspirations in drag racing. “Not a lot of people get to do it, but if I got the chance, I would love to go race top field for somebody.”
Moore’s father, Duane Moore, has 30 years of drag racing under his belt but said he’s put racing on hold while his daughter takes the journey on the track.
“My aunt used to take me, and I don’t know, there’s something about it. It’s a visceral experience at the race track,” Duane Moore said of his experience. “It’s all of your senses combined, and there’s something about it. It’s a combination of things. It’s the competition. It’s kind of a brutal sport. There’s no second chances. It’s unlike any other motor sport in that you don’t get another lap. If you lose a pass then you’re done for the day.”
Megan Moore began playing softball like her older sisters, but she was quickly hooked with racing, her father said.
“She started playing softball, and she went to the racetrack with me one day and said, ‘I don’t know if I want to do softball anymore,’ ” Duane Moore said. “So, she’s been kind of hooked since she was the 2022 Woodburn Dragstrip Junior Thunder champion. She placed third her first year in lightning. … Lighting is the quickest class for Junior Dragsters.”
Duane Moore added that junior racing is an eighth of a mile compared to a quarter mile in the higher classes. Megan Moore races an eighth of a mile in about 7.9 seconds, with a top speed of 85 mph.
With four years of experience and safely managing a vehicle at high speeds, 14-year old Megan Moore believes she will be ready when she’s old enough for a driver’s license.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I think it’s going to help me progress in driving when I’m 16,” Megan Moore said. “I’m going to get a head start from everybody else, but I think it’s a good chance to get out there and have a chance to meet new people and have a chance to be in the sport.”
Duane Moore said the family is comfortable with Megan drag racing, especially with the amount of safety that goes into the Junior Dragster races.
“We want to teach our kids to do dangerous things safely,” he said.
Youth drivers have to complete a safety class before they can hit the track, and they wear fire suits and helmets, plus follow other safety measures.
Still Megan said she felt nervous at first.
“I was pretty scared to get in the car the first time, like, ‘I don’t know how to feel about this,’” Megan Moore said. “[My dad] said the first time I got in the car was, ‘You drive the car. The car doesn’t drive you.’ And I’ve stuck with that the whole time. When I’ve had younger kids come up to me that are starting [and say], ‘I feel scared to get in the car.’ I said that to them, you know, hundreds of times, and I think it’s such a good thing to say.”
She added that the saying is true. A driver can stop the car at any moment because one of the most important things to be aware of is what’s happening outside of the car.
Although the drag racing season takes place spring through summer, people can keep up with Megan Moore on Facebook and Instagram by searching Megan Moore Racing.
