It feels like Dystany Spurlock has burst onto the NASCAR scene the past two months, but her motorsports journey began before she could walk.
"I wasn't even a year old yet, and I had a Barbie Corvette," Spurlock said. "So, me driving something, it started early."
It helps when several family members have an interest and passion for motorsports — both of her parents rode motorcycles; her grandfather grew up close enough to Richmond Raceway that they could hear the cars from the living room; her grandparents allowed her to run laps around their house with a go-kart (it was really just granddad, grandma wasn't too happy); and her godfather was a motorcycle racer.
The seeds for a motorsports career were sewn early; they were watered when Spurlock went to a drag strip at 12 years old and she told her mother, "I think I want to race." Now they've grown into a reality in which Spurlock is making history as the first Black woman driver to compete in NASCAR.
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Spurlock's first experience as a competitive driver came at 16, when she started racing a motorcycle she got for her birthday. But even as she worked her way up through the ranks of pro stock motorcycle racing, reaching the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national series, she knew she wanted to race in NASCAR. The supposedly quick ascension for the 34-year-old Foxxtecca racer was really an effort almost two decades in the making.
"I definitely don't feel like I just burst onto the scene. I really feel like that's something that everyone else thinks, because they don't know my full story," Spurlock said. "Thank God for Foxxtecca for being able to show a little bit of behind the scenes thus far, but that's 16-17 years, and then some, of hard work, dedication and never giving up."
While the determination to make it to NASCAR never wavered, the enthusiasm with which Spurlock pursued the goal was gone after her efforts in the early years.
NASCAR is one of the most insulated sports in the world — it is very hard to break into it without an opportunity arising. There were a couple instances Spurlock thought she had found her opportunity, but each time it fell through.
Then she crossed paths with Chris Harris, the co-founder of Foxxtecca and the founder of the African American Automotive Association, in an unlikely fashion.
"Chris messaged me on Instagram and he told me he had a podcast. He was looking for Black women in motorsports, and he asked me if I would be on it. I said sure," Spurlock said. "We were talking for over an hour, and he always spoke very highly of me. He even said, 'Hey, if there's any people that want to partner with Dystany that can invest in her to get to NASCAR, contact her.'"
What started as a simple podcast appearance turned out to be the opportunity Spurlock needed, and Chris, along with fellow Foxxtecca co-founder Kellie Crawford, brought Spurlock onto the team.
"I've always trusted Chris and Kellie with my whole heart. I know that they are very much people that when they say it, they mean it and they're gonna do it," Spurlock said.
Even with that trust, Spurlock was still hesitant her dream would come true because of the previous experiences that didn't materialize. So as she was working with Foxxtecca, she had to learn to be patient and trust that it's going to happen and that it's just going to take time.
It didn't really set in for Spurlock until she got the call saying they had to move to North Carolina, the hub for the sport and where a lot of teams and infrastructure are based, but at that point, she finally embraced it.
"When the yes actually came, I was elated, I was so ectastic," Spurlock said. "Through that time of Chris and Kellie telling for months that 'this is what we're gonna do,' I had to allow myself to trust the process and not go into it with a negative mindset.
"I never saw that five, six years down the road, that we would be here now, and Chris would be part of the journey. He didn't see it, I didn't see it. So, the fact that it played out in the way that it did, it was destined. I tell Chris and Kellie all the time, I wouldn't want to go through this journey with anyone else other than y'all two, because they really were the piece of the puzzle that truly fit for me."
Spurlock officially made her stock car racing debut on March 28, finishing seventh at the Cook Out 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway, becoming the first Black woman to compete in NASCAR's development series. She then made her debut as the first Black woman to compete in one of NASCAR's three national series, the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, at Dover on May 15.
Making this climb didn't come without another set of challenges for Spurlock, a Black woman in a predominantly white, male-dominated sport. But after being in the motorsports industry for so long, such interactions didn't come as a surprise.
"I knew it was gonna happen, but I never let affect me," Spurlock said. "Not ever just motorsports: I've always been in male-dominated spaces. So I'm always used to the negativity, whether it's because I'm small, I'm Black, or I'm in spaces that I 'shouldn't be in.'"
Not only has Spurlock succeeded despite those prejudices, she's done it while being unapologetically herself: a smart, authentic Black woman with style.
She races with a nose ring and when she couldn't race with a nose ring in NHRA due to the rules, she wore sparkly, temporary tattoos inspired by her favorite movie, "Avatar," the latter of which she's kept since making the transition to stock car racing.
"People talk so much about, 'Oh why do you have that nose ring?' and 'She would be OK if she didn't have the glitter,'" Spurlock said. "That's fine, you are entitled to your opinion. But guess what? I'm still gonna be me."
Moreover, Spurlock gets to enjoy this journey with another Black woman motorsports pioneer: Brehanna Daniels, the first Black woman to be a NASCAR tire changer.
When Daniels was determining her next pit opportunity, she found out that Spurlock was coming to ARCA and the rest is history. Since then, Daniels has been a pit crew member for all of Spurlock's races.
"It's been super amazing," Daniels said. "The fact that my driver is a Black woman, I still can't get over that. It's been awesome just seeing her adapt, taking everything in, getting used to everything. She's doing a really good job, and I'm just super glad to be one of her tire changers."
Obviously, the number of Black women involved in motorsports is very small, so not only is it an iconic dynamic that the two can work together, but off the track, there's a sense of camaraderie that only exists when there's someone else like you, from the same background, sharing the same interests and cultural perspective.
"Just know, when we're about to go there to race, that speaker is on," Spurlock said. "We're playing some Gunna or something else to get us hyped. We're dancing and stuff. So to be able to do things like that, it's beautiful."
It's also nice when someone can understand the battles fought off the track, like Daniels can. That's why Daniels added, "It means everything to have somebody you can relate to without having to really explain things. It's amazing to have another 'sista' by your side."
Spurlock's positive impact doesn't stop there. Through her journey, people of all ages have embraced Spurlock, from young girls and boys to parents — there's a "Dystany Spurlock Day" in Kansas City and there's even a Maryland couple who found out about Spurlock and have followed her across the country to watch her race.
"It's things like that, that show me how much of an impact I have and the positivity that comes with that," Spurlock said.
As she continues to pursue the goal of being a full-time Cup Series driver and the business and brand reputation, Spurlock also has another passion: WYDF, which stands for What's Your Dystany Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to introducing and cultivating a passion for motorsports pathways among children and young adults. It's a program all kids can enjoy, but in a sport that was short on representation, it's an open door for the young Black girls who can now see themselves in the highest levels of racing.
Her newest challenge will be Pocono Raceway, one of the most unique tracks on the NASCAR circuit, as Spurlock prepares to compete in Friday's Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150.
"I've heard two different stories: I've heard some people say it's not that hard of a track, and I've heard others say it's tough because of the drafting and how you have to manage the racing line and all that. So we'll really find out soon," Spurlock said.
One thing's for sure, there are no signs of slowing down for Dystany Spurlock as she continues to write history in real time. What was once a dream is now her everyday life and she'll continue to inspire others while pursuing her own dreams.
"I'm so glad that I am the representation for all those other little girls and boys to be able to look at and be inspired by," Spurlock said. "It definitely feels amazing. We're here now, but there's still a long way to go. There's so much to do. There's a lot of learning, but to be to the point that we are in two months is phenomenal."
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Dystany Spurlock's long journey to Pocono Raceway
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