Kayla Peterson finished her high school career as a drag racing champion. Now, with some upgraded parts in her car she’s working on her reaction time as she prepares to compete in a new, more competitive class.

The young racer has gathered a number of awards over the years including the title of 2024 High School Champion from the Yellowstone Drag Strip in Acton, Montana, and in the same year a “Wally,” a trophy named in honor of the National Hot Rod Association’s founder Wally Parks.

Winning the Wally, and the success of her 2024 season as a whole, made it clear racing is her thing.

“[The Wally is] like the coveted award. You usually only have maybe one chance a year to win,” Peterson’s father Ryan Smith explained. “They’re not at every race … it's kind of a big deal for drag racers to win one.”

It was a tight race, Peterson said. “I was so thrilled pulling into that winner’s circle and getting a Wally.”

It’s hard to know how a race will go, Smith said, as every round has new opponents, and everyone is starting from square one.

“We don't know until it's over, you got 12 seconds and that's it,” Smith said.

Peterson’s other big moment, being crowned high school champ, came from being consistent, she said.

Peterson had been working on her reaction time and a new, faster motor installed by Smith and Peterson also helped.

“[It’s a] 360 [engine] so we could go faster,” Peterson said with a laugh.

The Duster could previously do 14 seconds in a quarter mile, now it’s down to 12 seconds, Smith said. 

Along with a faster car Peterson has gained new skills since starting four years ago.

She’s learning how to race to the finish line rather than “hold the car wide open all the way through,” Smith said. “She’s able to do all that stuff now which is a huge advantage.”

It also helped, Peterson said, that she learned how to shift the Duster manually, instead of relying on automatic. 

Heading into the Sportsman class in May, Peterson isn’t nervous, she said. Thinking of how well she did last year makes her excited to put even more effort into this new class. 

In preparation, Peterson and Smith will get their practice tree out, a tool that helps them with their reaction times. The Duster also has “all kinds of new stuff already, it got a new hood, it got new cooling fans, it’s getting a new rear axle [and] a different gear ratio.”

Even though she’s preparing, this actually isn’t Peterson’s first time racing the Sportsman’s class.

She raced it last year for fun and even made it to the quarterfinals. 

“[There’s] definitely a lot of cars, a lot of competition, but definitely not nervous … I have hope for myself,” Peterson said with a laugh. 

While she prepares to try her hand at a new racing class, Peterson is also trying her hand at higher education, pursuing a nursing degree at Northwest College. But she’s not trading in her racing suit for scrubs. 

“Not a lot of people can say they have a fast, cool car," she said, adding, "I take pride in racing, and I'm good at it, and I want to continue it."