Debra C. Mathias

It’s not very often that you hear somebody say, “racing saved my life”, but Debra Mathias feels like she can make that claim. Deb credits driving a racecar with saving her life, and her doctors say that is entirely possible. The use her upper body and the pressure of the shoulder belts during an October 2003 Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) club race caused her to feel the presence of a tumor at a very early stage. Deb was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2003. She underwent surgery, chemo and radiation therapy, completing her treatment in June 2004. Deb is a confirmed believer in breast self-examination, which combined with the stress of competition, allowed for the early detection of her disease.

Deb’s goal throughout her therapy was to race again. After a period of time to recover, Deb was ready to get back in her car. Although not at 100% of her ability, Deb competed in one National Auto Sports Association (NASA) race and four SCCA races in the latter part of the season. Her lap times were not as fast as her times the previous year. Deb lost a lot of her strength due to the chemotherapy, but she worked through the pain and got out on track. In her last race of the season Deb began to get back up to speed, and she ran enough events to again qualify for an SCCA national license in 2005. Because of Deb’s courage and determination, her peers awarded her with the 2004 Area 4 Spec Miata Sportsperson of the Year. A fellow competitor describes her as a “solid driver”.

Deb grew up near Raleigh, North Carolina, as Debra Cummings. She had two older brothers who both had a strong interest in automobiles, and she was exposed to motorsports at an early age. A lifelong NASCAR fan, Deb has driven the Richard Petty Driving Experience twice, once at Charlotte in 1996 and once at Las Vegas in 1999. That sparked a desire to compete. In 2001 Deb and her husband Dennis decided to race in SCCA Club Racing. During the winter of 2001-2002 they prepared a Mazda Miata that they share in the rapidly growing SCCA class of Spec Miata, a class for equally prepared Mazda Miatas. The class rewards driver ability above horsepower and large budgets and offers close, exciting wheel-to-wheel racing. Deb had no road racing experience but she passed both of her driver's schools at Nelson Ledges Raceway, near Warren, Ohio and earned her regional competition license in 2002, competing in 3 events.

In 2003 Deb competed in 7 events at Mid Ohio and Nelson Ledges. In each race Deb improved her lap times and finishing position over previous events. She raced in both SCCA and NASA events. She earned an SCCA national competition license for 2004.
Deb’s goals in 2005 are to get back up to speed and to race in many more events at tracks throughout the eastern United States. Debra and Dennis reside in Galena, Ohio, in the central Ohio area, and are members of the Ohio Valley Region of the SCCA and the Ohio/Indiana region of NASA. They have named their team D-Squared Racing.