Dystany Spurlock
"People with Goals succeed because they know where they're going." -Earl Nightingale
From the time we’re children, we begin to develop interests. Some of us develop multiple interests and, for the best of us, a few of these interests turn into passions. If you’ve got passion, you’ve got a compass that will usually lead you to what it is you should be doing in life. Luckily for Dystany Spurlock, she’s had a wide range of interests, each one, in some way, teaching her valuable lessons on her unique journey. All lessons are perspective, and from this history-making driver’s perspective, her lessons have ultimately taught her how to win.
If you ever make your way to Richmond, VA, Dystany’s hometown, you’ll find that the city is a big attraction for NASCAR fans. On the city’s East End you’ll find Richmond Raceway, a D-shaped race track that brings in thousands of fans whenever professional racing is in town.
“My grandparents lived a mile up the street from RIR (Richmond International Raceway) so when I was younger I’d always hear the cars outside,” she says. “My poppy (grandfather) was a big Dale Earnhardt fan, so we’d watch the races on TV but at the same time, I could hear the cars outside while I was watching. I just loved it. I’ve always known I wanted to do NASCAR, but it didn’t hit me until I got a little bit older.”
Nationally breaking records that defy gender norms while remaining completely feminine sounds like something that would be hard to do but for Dystany it’s as simple as waking up in the morning. At age fourteen she told her mother she wanted to model. And also at age fourteen, she joined her middle school football team. This wasn’t a recreational team, she played on the football team for an official Henrico County Public Middle School in her hometown of Richmond, VA. During her high school years, Dystany played corner and safety on her high school football team while maintaining an active modeling career at the age of sixteen. For the average person, hearing a pretty girl with eyeshadow tell you that she’s about to go to football practice and can be a bit surprising. But Dystany’s “take all” attitude had to come from somewhere, and the one person in her life who wasn’t surprised at her path was her mother.
“At age four my mother told me, ‘Don’t be that kid that sits in class saying ‘I wish I would’ve.’” Dystany will tell you. “And because of that conversation, I’ve always gone after what I wanted to do even if they said girls can’t or aren’t supposed to do those things.”
At age seventeen her life would be altered again when she attended a motor-drag race at Virginia Motorsports Park with her godfather. Something about the sound of the bikes speeding on the asphalt triggered her in a most positive way. She kept going back; a new interest had developed. Quickly taking note of her daughter’s activities, her mother purchased her a 2006 GSX-R750 motorbike, and three months later she broke the record on the Brocks BMW Performance bike by going a quarter-mile in 8.46 seconds at 163 mph. She is also the fastest woman on a BMW s1000rr in Curacao with the time of 8.57. With Dystany accomplishing many records on the BMW, in 2018 she was inducted into the Hopkins BMW Museum. In 2019, she made history by becoming the first African-American female to win a 4.60 at the South Georgia Motorsports Park.
But accomplishing much in the world of drag racing has only pointed the prodigal young speedster to her true passion, one that was rooted in her childhood. Just like her grandfather, Dystany loves NASCAR and she’s aiming to leave her mark in the sport. Why? Because she knows that she can. In her unique case, her love for going fast is more important than even she may know because everything she does creates permanent footprints in the history books of racing. This is a fact that Dystany is very aware of, but not a fact that she views as a burden. It’s already been proven time and time again that anything she sets her mind to, she won’t just do, but master.
She’s not going to stop anytime soon either, you know that right? Dystany has it set it in her mind that she’s going to excel at whatever it is that has her attention. No matter the odds, she plans to dominate her competition. The world deserves to see what true determination and persistence can equate to, and this young driver from Richmond, VA is a pure example of it. NASCAR may not be ready, Dystany Spurlock definitely is. And as you can see she is here to set bars, break records, and inspire women everywhere to not just compete, but to be the best that you can be!
