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Gray Leadbetter

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Gray Leadbetter (born 9 December 2004)[1] is a professional American race car driver from Morganton, North Carolina. Leadbetter has competed in a broad range of motorsports including Motocross, Karting, legends, Rallycross, Championship Off-Road short course, midgets, micro 600s, and sprint cars. She is the first in her family to drive a race car.[2][3]

Gray Leadbetter
NationalityUnited States
Born (2004-12-09) 9 December 2004 (age 19)
Morganton, North Carolina
Related toSteve Leadbetter (father)
Polly Leadbetter (mother)
Current teamGray Leadbetter Racing
Car number28
Former teamsRyan Beat Motorsports
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Championship titles
2022Championship Off-Road Pro Spec Champion
Awards
2018Pippa Mann Scholarship recipient 2018

Early life and education

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Leadbetter started playing around with motorized vehicles, first a little quad and then a PW50, at only four years old.[4] Her family was not then knowledgeable about racing but she was able to gain support from neighbors, and she started racing in some FMF Arenacross in North Carolina.[4]

In 2010, she was the champion in the 4–6-year-old 50cc class at Daniels Ridge MX, Taylorsville, NC. She finished 9th in the KTM Jr SX Challenge at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA in February 2013.[5] After breaking her shoulder at the age of 7 in a motocross spill, Leadbetter made the move into karts because it was considered safer than motocross.[4][6]

At the age of 12, Leadbetter received personal training from Swedish rally champion Patrik Sandell at the DirtFish Rally School in Washington state and on a frozen lake in Sweden.[7] At 14, she was training with 2004 Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice on road courses and in rallycross.[8]

Leadbetter attended On Track School, an online program for young athletes, and received her high school diploma in June 2022.[9]

Career

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Karting (2015–2019)

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Leadbetter started racing karts in 2015 at the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, NC. In July 2016, she took her first national podium with a 2nd-place finish in the United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS) IAME Cadet Class.[10] She moved up to the IAME Junior Class in December 2016 and finished second in her first race.[11] Leadbetter's first national win came in September 2017 at the Chicagoland Super Grand Prix in the IAME Junior Division. She was the first female driver to win in the category and finished 4th place in the class championship the same year.[12]

In October 2017, Leadbetter posted her first World Karting Association victory at the GoPro Motorplex, her home track in Mooresville, NC.  She took 2nd place the following day.[13] Leadbetter has competed in USPKS, Super Karts USA (SKUSA), and World Karting Association.

Americas Rallycross (2019)

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Leadbetter's first drive in a professional series came in 2019 at 14, when she signed with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing of IndyCar fame to run the Americas Rallycross Series.[14] Driving in the ARX2 Class, which included drivers with IndyCar experience, Leadbetter competed in all 9 events and finished 5th overall in the championship. Her best finish was 4th place, which she achieved twice. The series folded after the 2019 season, and with it the series records. The 2019 results are listed at 2019 Americas Rallycross Championship.

Championship Off-Road (2019–2022)

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In 2022, Leadbetter was the first woman to win a Pro Class Championship in the Championship Off-Road closed-course series that runs in the upper Midwest.[15] Driving the Pro Spec Class Ryan Beat Motorsports No. 28 Bilstein Chevrolet Colorado, she won the season opener and three more races to take the crown.[16] Ledbetter started driving in the Championship Off-Road series in 2019 with the Greaves Motorsports team. In December 2020, she was the first woman and youngest competitor to win a Sportsman SXS race.[17]

Sprint car (2021–present)

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Leadbetter moved into sprint cars in 2021 driving for Marc Dailey Racing. She started in the 450 hp 305 sprint car, but by the end of the year, she had moved up into the 900 hp 410 winged sprint car. She finished 5th in her first 410 race at Cherokee Speedway in S.C.[18] Leadbetter qualified to compete in the World of Outlaws Finals in Charlotte, N.C. in both 2021 and 2022.[19] In 2023, Leadbetter is driving a 410 sprint car with Marc Dailey Racing in the All Star Circuit of Champions.[20]

Extreme E (2024)

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In February 2024, Legacy Motor Club joined electric off-road racing series Extreme E for the 2024 season with Jimmie Johnson as the lead driver. Leadbetter partnered with Travis Pastrana for the first two rounds of the season with Pastrana substituting Johnson, who was tied up with 2024 Daytona 500 during the weekend.[21] The team finished in sixth in Rounds 1 and 2 at the Desert X-Prix while scoring its first Super Sector in Round 2.[22][23] Extreme E male championship reserve driver Patrick O'Donovan was announced as Leadbetter's partner for Rounds 3 and 4.[24]

Ambassadorship

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National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (2022–present)

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In January 2022, Leadbetter became an ambassador for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. In addition to promoting the NPCF through her racing and public appearances at NPCF events, Leadbetter has committed to donating 10% of her sponsorship dollars to the group.[25][26] The NPCF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding and developing novel research and clinical trials to find less toxic, more effective treatments for childhood cancer.[27]

Racing record

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Complete Extreme E results

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(key)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points
2024 Legacy Motor Club Spark ODYSSEY 21 DES 1

6

DES 2

6

HYD 1

HYD 2

ISL1 1

ISL1 2

ISL2 1

ISL2 2

VAL 1

VAL 2

6th* 16*

* Season still in progress.

References

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  1. ^ "Gray Leadbetter on X: "Oh hi. It's my birthday :) …happy to have made it another year 🤍 #19"". Twitter. Gray Leadbetter. December 9, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "About Gray". Gray Leadbetter. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "17-year-old Gray Leadbetter posts another first for women in racing". Cision PR Newswire. June 10, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "An Inside Look with Gray Leadbetter". Monster Energy. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Atlanta Supercross Results 2013". Dirt Rider. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "#RaceLife Spotlight: Gray Leadbetter". World Karting Association. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Wert, Trevor (September 27, 2017). "Gray Leadbetter: A 12-Year-Old Champion". DirtFish. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "Teenager Leadbetter to campaign DRR Rallycross entry". RACER. June 4, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "On track school: Class of 2022 at Loretta Lynn's". Racer X Online. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  10. ^ Long, Matt (July 10, 2016). "EKN Trackside: 2016 United States Pro Kart Series – GoPro Motorplex Sunday Report". United States Pro Kart Series. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "GoPro Motorplex :: 2016 Karting Challenge Results". www.gopromotorplex.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Long, Matt (September 24, 2017). "EKN Trackside: 2017 United States Pro Kart Series – Chicagoland Super Grand Prix Sunday Report". United States Pro Kart Series. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  13. ^ "From the Tower: 2017 WKA Manufacturers Cup Series – GoPro Motorplex – eKartingNews". ekartingnews.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  14. ^ "Morganton's Gray Leadbetter moves up to rallycross". Morganton.com | The News Herald. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Leone, Chris. "VISION WHEEL ATHLETES EXCEL IN CRANDON, INDIANAPOLIS OVER LABOR DAY WEEKEND". Jim Beaver 15. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  16. ^ Nguyen, Justin (September 4, 2022). "2022 Championship Off-Road titlists crowned at Crandon". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  17. ^ aftermarketNews Staff (October 13, 2020). "Gray Leadbetter Wins Champ Off-Road Sportsman SXS". aftermarketNews. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  18. ^ "11/2/2021 – Cherokee Speedway on MyRacePass". www.myracepass.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  19. ^ Walters, Shane (November 6, 2021). "World Finals Results: November 6, 2021 (World of Outlaws Sprint Cars)". Racing News. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  20. ^ "All Star Circuit of Champions | 410 Outlaw Sprint Car Series ASCoC – All Star Sprint Series". www.allstarsprint.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  21. ^ Ryan, Nate (February 12, 2024). "Jimmie Johnson will join Extreme E for 2024 season with Legacy Motor Club". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  22. ^ "Rosberg X Racing win epic opening round of Season 4". Extreme E. February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "ASXE take Round 2 victory in Jeddah to conclude Extreme E Desert X Prix". Extreme E. February 18, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  24. ^ Wilde, Dominik (July 4, 2024). "O'Donovan to race for Legacy Motor Club at Scotland Extreme E round". RACER. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  25. ^ Racing, Gray Leadbetter. "ReadyWise signs with Leadbetter, rising female star driving for cancer charity". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  26. ^ Guyardo, Gayle. "Professional Race Car Driver Help Speed Up A Cure for Childhood Cancer". Wfla.com. WFLA Channel 8 News. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  27. ^ "About Our Research". National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
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