SCORE Journal

SCORE-Journal-MAY-2024

SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1520945

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 45 of 90

ALL IN THE FAMILY The Myers Sisters Share The Drive To Win By Mike Vieira Britney and Tamara Myers are continuing the multigenerational SCORE racing efforts of their family this season.  The Myers family has been racing off-road since the late 1970s and has owned Toyota of Escondido since 1978, The girl’s grandfather, father, and uncles were racing before the two of them were born, but they carry on the family tradition. Of the two, Britney has been at the forefront of the Toyota of Escondido Class 10 buggy team. While they’ve consistently finished in the top ten of their class since 2021, Britney and Tamara continue to showcase their determination and improve their skills in one of the most competitive classes in SCORE.  While we wanted to speak to both of the Meyer girls about their accomplishments, as of this writing, Britney is temporarily sidelined as she prepares to give birth. For the 2024 season, Tamara has been busy driving in each race with the girl’s father, Steve who is sharing some of the driving duties with Tamara. Tamara also was busy helping her sister and ready to become an aunt, but had a few moments to talk to us about their experiences racing. Attending races since they were toddlers, the sisters got their first taste of in-car competition when riding along in their dad’s pre-runner. At that time, Tamara was six, and Britney was only five, but the two young girls were bitten by the racing bug.  They learned enough navigation skills for each to begin co-driving for their dad at ages ten and eleven.   A few years later, at ages fifteen and sixteen, (Tamara is the oldest), the girls started driving in races in a single-seat Class 1600 car, which they drove for several years with successful results in a number of races.  Throughout that time, Tamara and Britney were also learning the technical side of things in preparing and tearing down race cars with their dad and uncles, Dan and Andrew, making them very well-versed in all aspects of competing in off-road racing. Despite their family background and their all-around knowledge of the sport, the sisters still had to overcome the skepticism of some other competitors.  Tamara says, “A lot of the guys looked at us, and thought these teenage girls are racing in an adult male-dominated sport.  They’re not going to go anywhere.  It was very hard, because Britney and I had a lot of people doubt our abilities in driving, but we’ve gained their respect.  We weren’t going to let this passion that we grew up with be taken away by people making us feel like we can’t do it.  I’m so happy that there are more females that race now, too.  It’s been a process, but now having more females in the sport is showing that we are capable of doing the same thing that men can do, and we have gained a lot of respect.”  Tamara also credits Bekki Freeman, and her own racing success, as being supportive and encouraging to them to meet the challenges being thrown at them in competing in what was, at the time, almost exclusively a male sport. Tamara drove the SCORE San Felipe 250 solo this year and plans to share driving with her dad in the SCORE Baja 500. By then, Britney should be back to split the driving with her in the SCORE Baja 400 and Baja 1000, later in the year. The sisters are hoping to notch some Class 10 wins and compete for the points championship in the near future. The goal is for each to have their own Class 10 car so they compete against each other, rather than share the driving in one car.  They also hope to someday continue passing the family racing legacy on to the next generation.  SJ

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of SCORE Journal - SCORE-Journal-MAY-2024