Kelly Francis has typically been the type to sit back and watch while other people have fun. But when her husband bought her a racecar, he made sure that she knew it was for her.
“I’m the type that‘s like, ‘No, no, you have fun, I‘ll sit back and take pictures or whatever,‘” Francis said. “He said ‘if I get you this car you can‘t pawn it off on me. This is going to be your deal.‘”
Francis has taken the chance to get in a racecar for the first time, and surprised even herself with the success she’s found on the track. Running a full season at Kingsport Speedway, she entered the weekend 10th in the track‘s Pure 4 division.
Until last year, Francis didn‘t even know how to get in and out of a racecar. In May 2019 she participated in a Ken Schrader Experience with Federated Auto Parts at Kingsport — a NASCAR-sanctioned .375-mile semi-banked concrete oval in Kingsport, Tennessee — which allowed her to get in a car and run a few laps at the track.
“It blew me away. It was a fantastic experience,” she said. “I didn‘t even know how to get into the car. I had all the guys help me out with that and everything.”
A friend of Francis‘s husband, Jason, was at the event watching and told Jason he was selling a Pure 4 car.
“So that was my birthday present last year,” she said.
Francis and her husband met in Florida, where Jason would street race. The two have always been into classic cars, and now run an auto repair shop that specializes in Hondas. Jason raced at Kingsport a few years ago.
Francis had some familiarity with cars and practiced a bit last year, but admitted she was not successful from the get-go.
“I did find out where the inside wall was and where the outside wall was,” she said with a laugh. “That was the extent of it.”
Racing is “just a whole different animal” from anything she‘s done before, she said. Francis grew up playing sports, mostly ice hockey. Even though there was a lot to learn in racing, she did say having an athletic background has helped.
“It all does in some sort of way tie in together,” she said. “When you‘re competitive in something I think a big aspect of that is playing through things, anticipating things happening, and just having a frame of mind that really can make or break you. Anticipating things, that‘s a big thing in racing.”
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The biggest learning curve, once she joked she learned how to get in and out of the car, was learning how to drive a stick-shift, something Francis never learned growing up.
Francis said she went into 2020 wondering if racing was something she was really cut out for, but after 11 races under her belt she now feels the season as been about as successful as she could have imagined.
“Starting out from basically nothing, a lot of these people have been racing for years, and this is my first time,” she said. “To see me moving up in the points and everything, it‘s very exciting and I‘m very hyped every week about it.”
Jason is Francis‘s biggest help with the car, and other friends will also help out with setups and body work. She‘s also received help, she said, from many of the other drivers in her class.
The Pure 4 class at Kingsport is the biggest at the track, with anywhere from 25 to 30 cars every week. And while the class has an array of experience levels with racing, Francis said they‘ve all been great about helping her learn the ropes when it comes to getting around the track.
“You‘ll hear women say, ‘I had to really prove myself,‘… but this has been probably the exact opposite of that,” she said. “I‘ve never had so much support from a group of people, group of guys, their wives and girlfriends too. It‘s been sort of a dream all the way around.
“There‘s just been so many people that have played a role in getting that car going and getting me going around the track consistently.”
Francis has received help from dozens of people at Kingsport, but her biggest fan is likely her 10-year-old son, Colin. Colin also began kart racing this year at Kingsports‘ Miniway, and has shown a love of the sport that Francis knows will be lifelong.
The two share a bond in their cars and their numbers.
“I chose my number last year, 18, which was my number in hockey,” Francis said. “When he got his kart and he knew he was going to race he said, ‘Mom, I‘m going to be 18, just like you.‘
“Honestly he is my absolute biggest fan. Anytime I get off the track it‘s really great. He‘s right here to give a high five in the windows. No matter what he says, ‘Mom, you just did so awesome.‘ It melts my heart… He‘s probably the most supportive person.”
Racing has been a family event with two Francis‘s driving this year, but a third could join the fray in 2021. While Francis said she‘s focused on making sure she makes every race this season as she vies for Kingsport‘s rookie of the year title, she‘s thinking about stepping back next year and splitting time in the car with her husband.
She‘s ready to share the fun with others again.
“I said, ‘You‘ve been working on it for me, next season I want to reward you if you want to go out there and have fun, take some races, and race for yourself,‘” she said. “We‘ll see how it works out.”
While Francis said there were a few speed bumps in her rookie season, she‘s made sure to heed the advice of a friend and just have fun with a sport she‘s newly fallen in love with.
She won‘t be on the sidelines too long though.
“I was like, ‘You know what, I really do love this. I would like to come back and keep doing this,‘” she said.
Racing will return to Kingsport will conclude with Championship Night on Friday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. with late models, sportsman, Pure 4, Mod 4, and Pure Street divisions.