DALLAS — McKenna Haase has always blazed her own trail en route to becoming a professional sprint car racer. But after more than a decade of traversing a dirt-covered career path, the 28-year-old has decided to pave that path with asphalt. Haase is making a career change from 900-horsepower sprint cars to pavement-pounding late model stock cars.

It is a vastly different discipline in a vastly different environment, and Haase is going all in. Just as the allure of westward expansion in the 19th century was rooted in opportunity, ambition and reinvention, Haase is of the same mindset here in the 21st century. She isn’t going Late Model racing at her hometown track. Instead, the Iowa native is heading west to compete in the 602 Late Model division of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, California, with backing from Interstate Batteries. Her first race is this Saturday.

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“I got connected with Charlie Wilson, who is based out in California,” Haase said. “Charlie has a long and extensive background in asphalt racing. He’s got a reputation for having good equipment that’s fast, but also for being a really good person who is genuine, fair and ethical, and those are all values that matter to me. There’s mutual respect, and we just clicked.”

Wilson is a veteran crew chief who once turned wrenches for Harvick, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Steve Park, among others, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, before transitioning to Late Model team ownership where he focuses on driver development.

“Charlie’s the main reason to answer the ‘Why California?’ question,” Haase said. “Charlie was willing to work with me and help make this happen. I don’t have endless funding to go race. I need to maximize this opportunity. Charlie understands that.”

Racing is a relationship business, and just as Haase has developed a good rapport with her new car owner, Haase has fostered a strong partnership with Interstate Batteries. The leading replacement battery brand in the United States continues its support of Haase after signing on last year as a primary partner of her 410 winged sprint car.

“Having the support of Interstate Batteries has been incredible. I’m super thankful for their flexibility and their loyalty,” Haase said. “Last year wasn’t as successful of a season as we were all hoping for — just had a lot of unfortunate events that were outside of our control. But Interstate Batteries was really good at pivoting when needed and being supportive, and I’m very thankful for that. And now they’re on board with this stock car opportunity. It wouldn’t be possible without them.”

Haase endured two massive, highlight-reel accidents in 2024. The first was in May at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois, when Haase cartwheeled through Turns 3 and 4 of the 3/8-mile dirt oval. She emerged unscathed, but the same could not be said three months later when Haase endured an even heavier crash on the first lap of the first heat on Friday night of the Knoxville Nationals at famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. Haase flipped into the Turn 1 wall at the ultra-fast, half-mile dirt oval, spun high in the air and then landed hard on the clay surface.

“I had a collapsed lung and was pretty bruised up,” said Haase, recounting the accident that ended her season. “I had a decent amount of whiplash, too, lots of strains in my neck and back muscles. I didn’t have any kind of head injury, which I’m thankful for, because when I flipped into the wall, something metal went through the top of my carbon-fiber helmet. If I had been two inches taller, things would’ve been a lot worse. The lung injury was the main, lasting injury.

“It’s kind of wild because I hadn’t really crashed hard in a sprint car in, like, five seasons. So it’d been a long time since we’d tore up equipment, and it was really frustrating to have that happen twice in one year.

“After the Knoxville crash in August, I was laying in the hospital bed thinking ‘OK, we’ll be fine in a few weeks, and we’ll make it to Eldora.’ Apparently, my math was a little off because the doctor told me that I couldn’t even fly for six weeks, never mind race. But for some reason, I thought I could be back in a race car in four (weeks). I don’t know why I thought that, but it took me a minute to realize I wasn’t going to be racing any sprint cars for the rest of the season.”

As Haase recovered, she was also in the midst of wedding planning. She married NFL player Zavier Scott on March 17 in Indianapolis.

“We got engaged in July, and then a few weeks later, I went to Knoxville, and he went to training camp with the Indianapolis Colts,” Haase said. “Zavier was actually watching the race and saw my wreck as it happened. It was a hectic time, but thankfully, my parents were able to keep him up to date on my condition. He stayed at camp, and I stayed at my parents’ house in Des Moines to heal.

“I actually went wedding dress shopping in Des Moines while I was still healing. I probably wasn’t well enough to do that. I still wasn’t feeling very good. I remember the dresses were pretty painful to wear, and I couldn’t even turn my head left or right to look in the different mirrors, but it was still a really cool experience because I never thought I’d be married, anyway. And then to go from a hospital gown to a wedding gown, it just made me all the more grateful, knowing that you don’t take life for granted.

“Zavier went to the Minnesota Vikings after training camp with the Colts, which was nice because it’s closer to my family in Des Moines, and then we got married in March. It was an incredible wedding and a super cool experience. Like I said, it was never something I thought I’d do, and planning the wedding was more of a gift than an expectation, and it was pretty awesome.”

Throughout recovery and planning for her wedding, Haase continued to pursue racing.

“I’ve always wanted to race stock cars and, you know, I’m not getting any younger. I just wanted to give it a chance,” Haase said. “I’m not saying that I’m going to try and be a Cup driver, but I’ve always loved NASCAR. I want to be successful at it, and I’m coming at it from a humble approach. The door was open for this opportunity with Charlie Wilson and Interstate Batteries, so why not take it?”

Saturday’s race at Kern Raceway will be the first of six races for Haase in the No. 55 Interstate Batteries 602 Late Model for Charlie Wilson Motorsports.

“I expect it to be a challenge because it is so new,” Haase said. “I don’t 100 percent know what to expect, but being a race car driver, I still have high expectations. But to get to where I eventually want to be this year — winning — I’ve got to be consistent, keep things clean, and just get laps in, get experience.”

Tackling this new racing discipline is a full-circle moment for Haase.

“As silly as this might sound, this actually reminds me of my first season ever, when I started out in Outlaw carts when I was 13,” Haase said. “I can remember, even though it was an entry-level Outlaw cart, I was still taking a risk. It was a big deal for me at the time, and I had to overcome a lot of challenges just trying to figure things out. That’s kind of how I feel now, especially coming off a tough season in sprint cars. I’ve had to really refocus and tell myself, ‘OK, we can’t go back to last season, a lot of that was outside of your control, you’ve got to focus on the here and now.’

“In sprint car racing, there’s not a lot of track time. You show up, you get some hot laps, you qualify, you’re in a heat race, and then you run the race. I’ve had to learn as quickly as I can, and that’s just been the nature of my career.

“I know I’ll be up against drivers with a lot more laps, but it’s OK because I’m used to having to figure it out, so that’s what we’ll do.”