After Stephanie Eggum was injured in a skydiving accident, she stopped jumping out of planes, but she kept parachuting.
The 23-year-old former hairdresser moved back into her parents’ home in West Dundee after getting a concussion while skydiving in 2001. With time on her hands, and an unfulfilled need for speed, she and her father, Jim Eggum, developed an interest in drag racing.
Eggum spent two years competing as an amateur in the NOPI Drag Racing Association’s all-women Chic Class. Her success led her to turn pro this year, as the only woman in NOPI’s Nitrous Express Pro 4 Cylinder Class. She races a decidedly non-standard 2000 Honda Civic, which she is able to boost to speeds in excess of 150 m.p.h. on a quarter-mile straightaway.
Eggum said other drivers have been very supportive of her and her crew chief, Dan Sugrue, despite their being “the ultimate rookies” at the sport.
She hopes to overcome persistent transmission problems to end the racing season successfully–and go on to many more.
“I’d love to continue to do this,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
For the NDRA event schedule, go to www.nopi.com.
