Sarah Burgess (racing driver)
Sarah Burgess (born October 4, 1980) is an Australian professional racing driver and crew chief. She has experience in multiple disciplines such as drifting, rallycross, short course off-road racing, and stock car racing. Racing career. Early career and drifting. Burgess' interest in motorsports stemmed from watching Formula One races with her English-born father. She and husband Adam ran an automotive and machining business and fielded drag racing cars in Australia before moving to the United States in 2008; her interest in the auto industry started eight years prior when she visited the country for  business and attended the NHRA Winternationals. The Burgess family started BMI Racing to manufacture parts for clients in addition to competing in drifting. In 2011, Burgess ran two rounds of the Xtreme Drift Circuit in BMI's Mazda RX-8. After Mazda discontinued the car, the team purchased a Ford Mustang in an auction for the 2012 season. By that year, Burgess was the only female driver competing nationally in drifting. Off-road racing. In 2014, Burgess entered Global Rallycross in a Chevrolet Sonic for BMI. Royal Purple followed her to rallycross after previously sponsoring her drifting team, while she had  factory support from Chevrolet but continued to run BMI as a privateeer. The team elected to skip the season opener in Barbados to continue developing the car and scheduled Burgess' debut for X Games Austin. However, a mechanical problem in testing forced her to abandon the attempt. Had the start happened, Burgess would have been the second female driver in GRC history after Emma Gilmour, who debuted earlier that year. She tried again at Daytona International Speedway, where she formed Chevrolet's first multi-car effort alongside Pat Moro, but did not run any of the weekend's races following  qualifying. Dissatisfied with disciplines that she felt were not enticing enough for fans, she moved to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series in 2015. She initially planned to race in the Pro 4 class before settling on Pro Lite as it allowed her to "get in the truck at a reasonable expense and just learn the processes and understand the way things are done." In an October interview with LOORRS, she explained there was little overlap in driving styles between drifting and short course off-road, with "the only relation" being in "initial entry (into a turn). It does n't carry over into anything else, so (it's been a matter of) learning how a track changes every lap and how different setups on a truck can change it and, of course, making sure the truck just stays running to start with." Burgess ran seven races in her first season. Burgess acquired sponsorship from Axalta ahead of the 2019 season. ARCA Menards Series West. Burgess was scheduled to make her ARCA Menards Series West debut in 2022 in the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Irwindale Speedway, running for Tim Spurgeon's Spurgeon Motorsports. She qualified 15th of 16 cars ; however, just prior to the green flag, Burgess withdrew from the event and is officially classified as a "Did Not Start" (DNS). Personal life. During her youth, Burgess played sports like BMX racing, kayaking, and speed skating on both ice and inline. In ice speed skating, she represented Australia three times in the World Junior Speed Skating Championships. She met her husband Adam, who ran a bread delivery company in Brisbane, at a business banquet in 1999. Outside of driving, she has worked for SEMA in the marketing department. Her daughter Bridget drives in the ARCA Menards Series West for  BMI Racing.