Meet Michelle Mankiewicz – Ms. April of 2014

 
Car Chix is proud to announce Michelle Mankiewicz as a featured member of Car Chix!  Does she look familiar?  That is because she not only was the 2011 Woman of Motorsports, she was one of the top 12 finalists in the 2012 and 2013 Women of Motorsports Contest!  Michelle Mankiewicz is also Ms. April in the 2014 Car Chix Calendar (orders yours by clicking here)!
Michelle Mankiewiczs is from Waukesha, Wisconsin.  When she is not teaching 6th grade, she is out racing her 2006 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 at her hometrack, Greatlakes Dragway in Union Grove Wisconsin.  Michelle is a very talented and accomplished racer, supported by Scorpion EXO.  She is a regular competitor in the 9.50 Index of the TwoWheelSpeed Series.  In 2013, Michelle Mankiewicz ranked #10 out of the 25 contenders in the Real Street Drags Bike Class.  She was also the only female to compete!
Michelle credits her father for turning her into a gearhead.  She states that he was the one to get her interested and hands on with cars.  However, she credits one of her friends for getting her hooked on riding!

“A friend who had been in the sport for over a decade and he got me into it.  After having had been a passenger for so long, I learned how to ride a bike one day, owned my first one less than a month later and was at the track making passes a few months after that,” Michelle stated,” The rest, as they say, is history!”
When we asked Michelle what she loved the most about drag racing and motorsports, she explained, “Dragracing is an imperfectable sport. There is always room for improvements, adjustments and changes both mechanically; with the bike and as a rider. There’s a thrill in finding the right balance in all of that, getting a good pass and building on subtle changes to do even better yet! Trips to the track that aren’t the best are always great days to learn from and build upon. My bike and myself are ever evolving and it keeps the sport new and exciting. Riding and racing are an escape and a release from everything else going on around me. When I put my helmet on and I head to the line, I hear and feel my heart beating hard and loud and as I stage, it’s as if there is not one other soul around and no other thought in my mind than the pass that I’m about to make. It’s an unbelievable rush!”
Well said Michelle!  Racing season is finally upon us up here in the North!  We wish Michelle Mankiewicz and her team the best for 2014!  We look forward to hearing their new progress as they take it to the track in the upcoming weeks.