Terrie Tavis

I started my racing career at the age of 44, in 1999. Because I contracted Polio at the young age of thirteen months, I never had the opportunity to compete, physically. I married a wonderful guy, had four wonderful children, yet something seemed to be missing. I soon realized that the missing component in my life was the thrill of competition and the adrenaline rush associated with it, which I thought was taken from me at such an early age. It wasn’t until I saw my first off-road race that I realized that’s what I wanted to do, what I needed to do, to fill the void! We bought an older off-road racecar, brought it up to today’s safety standards, and three months later, I entered my first race. It was a short course race, on dirt, with the all the obstacles. I thought it was rather odd, that as I waited for the green flag to drop, I wasn’t the least bit nervous. It seemed so natural. The National Anthem was broadcast over the loud speaker, then “Gentlemen, start your engines”. The green flag was dropped. Immediately in front me, two cars hit each other, then flew into the air. I calmly went around them in a safe manor, and continued the race to finish the moto. Although my car DNFed on the second moto of the day, I walked away feeling so incredibly ‘alive’. All of my senses were on overdrive!

After several more short course races, I was finally ready for my first desert endurance race, which was 300 miles long. I entered the Novice Class, and ended up taking first place. It was during this race, I realized that my most fierce competitor was not another driver, but was the terrain itself. I endured seven hours of sheer concentration as I fought to conquer the deep silt, massive boulders, steep cliffs, and relentless navigating. At the end of the racing season, I knew I had found my niche. The physical pursuance, which had been lacking all my life, had now become a dominant force in my everyday life. If I wasn’t racing, I was conditioning myself in preparation for a race.

The following year, I acquired a much newer car, and ran in class 10, a professional class. I ended up taking the overall desert championship in a venue known as VORRA. The following year, I took second place for the season with an organization called Mojave Desert Racing, and a third at VORRA again (I raced two venues that year).

Women that race off-road are very rare. It takes an incredible amount of stamina, endurance, and tolerance to pain. It’s helpful to have some knowledge of auto mechanics, since breaking down in the middle of the desert without the convince of a pit crew, can leave one stranded for hours. Unfortunately, neither my navigator nor I are trained mechanics, but are learning to diagnose and make the necessary repairs to finish a race. We carry with us, most of the necessary tools, spare oil, spark plugs, spare mirrors, emergency food and water, space blanket, comprehensive first aid kit, shovel, and miles of duct tape and zip ties. Also included, is a heavy-duty tow strap for when we roll over.

This year, we are preparing for a 1000 mile race…the BEST IN THE DESERT “Nevada 1000”, in which I plan to drive the full race while Deanna, my navigator, navigates. We are very fortunate to have BFGoodrich on our team as a sponsor.