NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Last year, Canadian McKenna Bold made her Top Alcohol Dragster debut with Randy Meyer Racing and the results were, to say the least, impressive. Five races into her latest venture, Bold found the winner’s circle at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk. She ran low elapsed time of the event with a 5.180 and then went on to defeat soon-to-be two-time world champion Shawn Cowie in the final round.

Not bad for someone who to that point, had made perhaps 20 runs in a five-second alcohol car.

Not that anyone thought the first win was a fluke, but just in case, Bold returned for Norwalk for the Night Under Fire event a short time later and won the Lucas Oil Series North Central Regional race, beating Angelle Sampey in the final.

Before the season ended, Bold raced to another final round in Earlville, Iowa, qualified for the JEGS Allstars race, and won the Central Region championship. This season, she’ll proudly display the No. 8 on her Diezel Excavating dragster representative of a solid Top 10 finish.

“Yeah, I’d say we had a good year. It could have been a bit better. It was my first year, so I’m happy with the result,” Bold said. “If I had to grade myself, I’d five it a B-plus or maybe even an A-minus. I jumped into the car with not a lot of seat time. I made two full passes getting my license and then a couple more before my first race. Given what we accomplished, with two wins, the JEGS Allstars and winning the Region, I can’t ask for much more than that.

“I feel like I keep my expectations incredibly high,” Bold added. “I don’t make a goal list that doesn’t include winning, and I’m tough on myself. Last year, I knew there would be a steep learning curve but I’m racing with Randy Meyer, and he knows how to win championships so I almost felt like If I didn’t win, it would be on me.”

The Top Alcohol Dragster class is not only competitive, it’s also teeming with good young talent, and some of the best drivers in the class just happen to be female. Last year, nine of the top 25 finishers were women. So, what separates Bold from the rest of the field?

A good place to begin might be the starting line, where Bold’s reaction times were generally at or near the top of the category. Despite a lack of experience, she was in the .030 to .050 range more often than not when she hit the throttle, and that’s not something that comes easily, especially in an injected nitro dragster. The key to Bold’s starting line success likely comes from eclectic mix of physical and mental exercises. She plays ice hockey, skies, and works out regularly. She also has extensive seat time in a variety of sports cars, to go with a steady diet of bracket racing that began in the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League, and progressed to a Top Dragster.

“I can definitely make a connection [to bracket racing] there. I feel like I’ve always been consistent on the Tree,” Bold said. “When I bracket race, I try to vary only a few thousandths, and I also get on the practice tree a lot. The biggest adjustment last year was going from a foot brake to a hand brake and getting used to the clutch in an alcohol car, where you leave from an idle. The routine was a bit different, but the end goal is the same.

“I don’t like the thought of losing a race on a holeshot, so I keep my expectations pretty high. Even when I race a blower car, I say to myself, ‘Hey, I’m gonna leave before you.’ With Randy [Meyer, car owner and crew chief] I know the car is going to be there, so it’s up to me to do my job on the starting line.”

The highlight of the season for Bold was definitely the two Norwalk victories, but she also thoroughly enjoyed the JEGS Allstars experience, which was an unexpected bonus in her rookie year.

“The JEGS race was super fun,” she says. “I didn’t even expect to make it. We didn’t win, but It was great to be a part of the Division 6 team and to hang out with those guys.”

It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that at one point in the season, Bold was actually a contender for the championship, but late season struggles that included five-straight round one losses, scuttled those hopes. At no point, however, did she get discouraged.

“We had a few issues with the car. We just couldn’t get it to make enough power,” Bold explained. “At times were a tenth behind Matt [Cummings, teammate]. We had the car turned up and still couldn’t smoke the tires. It was a tough way to end the season, but Randy was great. We had some conversations where he said, ‘Hey, don’t let this get to you. Don’t let it affect your confidence.’  Randy is good about things like that. He’s great at bringing in new drivers. Honestly, from day one, I feel as though I’m part of the family, like I was his third daughter.”

At home in Red Deer, Alta., Bold works in the medical field, although she prefers to keep the focus on racing. She flies to each event to join Meyer’s team but also finds at least a few weekends a year to continue bracket racing. She currently shares that seat with her father, Mark, who is extremely supportive along with mother, Denise. Since the end of the NHRA season last November, Bold has spent a considerable amount of time working to better herself as a driver, and believes that she’s just scratched the surface of becoming the championship level driver she aspires to be.

“I want to be even better on the Tree,” she said. “If I can get myself into the .020-.030 range I’ll be had happy camper and I think my work on the Practice Tree and playing with my foot position this offseason will make that a possibility and help us win more rounds.”

Since 2019, Meyer has already delivered four championships, to daughters, Megan (2) and Rachel, and another to Julie Nataas. So, is there any reason to think Bold can’t be the next driver to carry the No. 1?

“I think we can do that,” she answers without hesitation. I believe in myself and believe in my team. I’m realistic. When I hear that question, I think about Shawn [Cowie] and Jackie [Fricke] and my teammate Matt [Cummings] and all the other great drivers in this class and I  wonder if I belong in that conversation, but I do think that if we didn’t have car issues, I would have finished higher last year.

“I also know that Randy has been working hard this winter. He doesn’t have an off switch. He found the issues that we had last year and he’s refining our race program,” Bold said. “I’ve also moved a few races around, so I’ll run Gainesville and Brainerd later I the season. I’ve got some great support from Kalim Menzel and Diezel Excavating, Troy Green from Maxima Racing Oils, Simpson, Gunk, and CP Carillo. I’ll also have more seat time this year, so I really don’t have any excuses.”