Breaking the Age Barrier

by Petrol Mum

Far too often, women of a certain age become invisible to society, but not Elaine Southworth. This retired woman from near Bewdley in Shropshire will tackle speeds of more than 130mph when she becomes a drag racer for the first time, in honour of her late husband.

Elaine Southworth has been involved with the high-octane motorsport for more than 40 years. But her involvement with the family team Daddy Cool is about to undergo a serious change of pace as she steps into the driver’s seat later this year – just like her husband Dave ‘Sag’ Southworth did right up until his death at the age of 64 from a rare cancer in August 2017.

“He always told us all how proud he was of everything we did, and it is to that end that we’re still here, still doing it, still enjoying, together,” Mrs Southworth said.

With no competitive racing experience, this will be the first time Elaine will go racing and she’s in her 60s! Their children Shana, Kyle, Faye, Chloe and partners Jamie, Becky, Ste and Andy all have different roles in the team. Faye pilots the same ‘Daddy Cool’ machine her father did from August 1989 while Kyle operates ‘Big Bro’.

The ‘Daddy Cool’ machine.

“All our family members bring their own attributes into the mix, and the combination of our abilities has allowed Sag’s project to continue. The team overall has a more modern outlook and very much wants to beat the times and speeds Sag achieved.

With Faye as driver of Daddy Cool, we are all hoping to do Sag proud for a very long time to come. He always told us all how proud he was of everything we did, and it is to that end that we’re still here, still doing it, still enjoying, together,” Mrs Southworth said.

Mrs Southworth is going to climb into ‘Her Indoors’ at the 30th Mopar Euro Nationals across August 9-11 at Santa Pod Raceway It is hoped she will cover a quarter-mile distance in under 11 seconds.

“When things go wrong in drag racing, they tend to go spectacularly wrong,” Mrs Southworth added in a wide-ranging interview with team sponsor Adrian Flux.

“But because safety is paramount and at the forefront of everyone’s mind, there are a lot of things in place to avoid dangerous situations as much as possible.

“I think the whole family, particularly Alan (Grimes, long-term friend), is driven by continuing Sag’s legacy. Sag always referred to Daddy Cool as a project, and always tried to continually develop the engineering of the car,” concluded Mrs Southworth.

Adrian Flux is one of the UK’s largest specialist motor insurance brokers, covering everything from classic and vintage cars to modified sports cars and much more. With more than 50 years’ experience in arranging cover for every kind of car imaginable, Flux’s best quotes are available over the phone. Visit their website for more information.

Photographs Supplied.

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