SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/643686
the class, I was shocked," said Reid. "Winning was amazing! It was the first time a woman had won the championship in Class 1. It's by far one of my biggest accomplishments." While there are several women competing in SCORE, Reid has definitely broken some barriers with her championship win; proving she can overcome a multitude of obstacles that are put in her way. "In the beginning, it was hard because there were a lot of people that told me you can't do it - as a woman," said Reid. "That just made me want to race even more. For the longest time, people didn't even know I was a woman. When I raced in another series, it took people a long time to realize I was one until the helmet came off!" Being a woman in an overly male dominated sport wasn't the only thing that Reid had to overcome. Early on in her racing career, she was stricken with a disease from which doctors suggested she stop racing entirely. "We had just got the Class 1 car when I came down with Graves Disease. It's an autoimmune disease that also affected the muscle behind my eye, causing it to protrude," said Reid. "Doctors told me I shouldn't race, but I told them that I was going to do it anyway. I worked through that and it ended up being a good thing, as it gave me a few years to learn the car better. I had my surgeries which lead to my son Cody and I teaming up a couple of times to do the SCORE Baja 1000. That's when I fell in love with Mexico. It's so unpredictable and challenging." Her love for racing started in 2006, but as she explained it, the need to race was always there from her childhood. "I've always loved desert racing and have been around it forever," said Reid. "I grew up in Parker, Arizona, so it was just something I've always been around. My husband Kevin raced for a while, and then we had our son Cody. So we stopped to be parents and raise our child. As he grew, he also got into racing. By that time, Kevin had back injuries so I got in one of the race cars BY THE TIME SHELBY ENTERED INTO THE SCORE BAJA 1000, SHE HAD POSTED TWO DNF'S ONE FIRST PLACE AND ONE SECOND PLACE WIN DURING THE SEASON. AT THE END OF THE SEASON, SHELBY REID WON THE CLASS 1 SCORE POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR HER EFFORTS. 053 SCORE JOURNAL