OLATHE, Kan. (Jan. 31, 2022) – Second-generation racer Julie Nataas will continue her pursuit of an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Dragster world championship with Randy Meyer Racing this season, the team announced today. It will be Nataas’ fourth full-time season in RMR’s Oslo Tapet & Gulvbelegg (OTG) A/Fuel dragster.
“I’m so glad I get to continue this journey with Randy Meyer Racing,” said Nataas, who finished fourth in national points. “I started racing in this class with Randy Meyer Racing. I have learned, failed and succeeded with this team so there’s no one else I’d rather win a TAD world championship with than Randy Meyer Racing`.”
In 2021, Randy Meyer Racing scored its third consecutive world championship when Rachel Meyer drove the NTK Sensors A/Fuel dragster to her first world championship. The team won the 2019 and 2020 titles with Rachel’s older sister, Megan, driving the NGK Spark Plugs dragster.
This season, Nataas is determined to help RMR win its fourth consecutive title. She will be RMR’s primary driver for the season, as Rachel is stepping aside to focus on her family’s bracket racing program. The team also plans to bring in a couple new drivers to license and run a race or two to help bring new blood into the sport, though the primary focus is chasing another championship.
“I don’t think I’m more or less motivated than last year, but last year I got really confident as a driver and that changed the game for me,” Nataas said. “Going in to 2022, there’s only one thing on my mind: ‘world champion.’ I have no doubt we can get it. We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing.”
Nataas kicked off her 2021 season with a win at the Gainesville regional race. She added regional wins at Norwalk, Indy, and Bowling Green before finishing the year with a runner-up finish at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona. The regional wins helped her secure her second NHRA North Central Region championship.
“We had a great 2021 season with a lot of regional event wins,” Nataas said. “The one I remember the most is probably when Randy had me and Rachel race at two different racetracks the same weekend and we both won. Randy was at the track in Kansas with Rachel and I was in Indy with Randy tuning over the phone.”
Nataas will race with continued support from Oslo Tapet & Gulvbelegg, a Norwegian manufacturer of floor coverings, carpet, linoleum and wallpaper. Lucas Oil and Right Trailers have stepped up as associate sponsors on the nitro-injected dragster, which will sport a new look this season.
“It means a lot that big companies like Right Trailers, Lucas Oil and OTG want to continue to chase this dream of mine with me,” Nataas added. “I’m nothing but proud to represent such great companies.”
Nataas and the OTG/Lucas Oil/Right Trailers team will kick off their 2022 season at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, Feb. 17-20 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif.