Melissa Fifield: Keeping the Faith

Two-Time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Most Popular Driver of the Year Melissa Fifield is living out Her Dream, One Lap at a Time

Story By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM     Photos By: DAVE DALESANDRO and MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM

SPRAKERS, NY- June 30, 2016- Wakefield, New Hampshire isn’t in the middle of nowhere; but you can see it from there.

Tucked away off of scenic route 16 in the Lakes Region of the ‘Live Free or Die’ state, the tiny town is about as picturesque as one would imagine when roaming through the hills of New England. It’s also the last place one would expect to hear the rumble of an asphalt modified engine on occasion and to be blunt; the driver that straps in is equally unexpected.

Melissa Fifield’s story isn’t one of guts and glory, success and glamour; at least not yet. From the tender age of 12, her dream of reaching the top echelon of the asphalt modified world had been her ultimate goal; her Mecca of sorts. However, for the victories the young driver is lacking, she makes up for in effort. Through that, she has risen to become an inspiration to many as opposed to the champion of a few.

“I started racing when I was 12-years-old and it was something that I had wanted to do since I was five,” said Fifield. “I begged my dad for years and years to let me get a go-kart. He finally gave in.” Fifield’s formative years were spent chasing race cars around the tracks of Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire and the ‘Magic Mile’ of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. It was at these aforementioned facilities that she ran across the division that would capture her heart as well as her attention.

“I would go to Lee and New Hampshire Motor Speedway and watch the modifieds,” continued Fifield. “I knew that if I could ever race one someday that it would be a dream come true.” Dreams, more often than not, usually end up being no more than a dream. Yet for Fifield, her determination was more than the difficult reality of racing could hold back.

“I started racing karts at Londonderry Raceway and won a track championship,” Fifield said. “Then I did a little touring and ended up entering the Allison Legacy Series and I ran on the northern and southern tour for about five years.”

The Allison Legacy Series became quite a stepping stone for the young driver. After running in go-karts, Fifield transitioned to a fully tubular chassis racer that weighed over ten times more than her small frame. Essentially, she was racing three-quarters of a NASCAR Sprint Cup car. With more horsepower than her go-kart could ever dream of putting out, adaptation proved a necessity especially with her next career already in her sights; competing in the Valenti Modified Racing Series.

With enough success and experience under her belt, Fifield left the Allison Legacy Series for an attempt at living out her dream; racing an asphalt modified. “I moved to the Valenti Modified Series and did that for a few years,” Fifield continued. “The first time I ran a modified was fun. We tested at Star Speedway [in Epping, New Hampshire] and ran well.” Even though others tried to sway her decision with a possible ride in an asphalt late model, Fifield had made up her mind; it was modifieds or nothing.

Making adjustments behind the wheel will always be a necessary evil that often comes with a steep learning curve. Fifield found out first-hand that the road to success is, more often than not, full of bumps and detours regardless of funding or pedigree.

“When we started with the VMRS I was running on some older equipment,” Fifield stated. “The results weren’t as good as I had hoped but we hung in there, completed the races and gained some valuable experience.” After a handful of top-20 and top-15 finishes, the rookie driver began preparing for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Ready or not, she took the plunge head-on.

“I was a little nervous when I entered my first tour race,” said Fifield. “I dreamed of it since I was a child and then there I was actually doing it. It was definitely exciting and I’ve grown to love being on the tour. The competitors are the best in the world at what they do.”

2016 is only her third year on tour with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series and although she is still working toward her first-career win, her impact has already been both noticed and recognized by the fans and her fellow competitors in the form of two consecutive Most Popular Driver Awards in 2014 and 2015.

“It’s really an honor to have the fans see my efforts and I hope that I represent the series well,” remarked Fifield. “I hope that I’ve gotten my foot in the door and shown other women that they can do this too. Being named the Most Popular Driver is really an honor.”

Though Fifield is first and foremost a race car driver, and undoubtedly she’ll be the first to bring that fact to your attention, there’s still the stigma of being a woman in a sport dominated by men that follows her around whether she likes it or not and thanks to the constant reminders by the cloud of negativity that is the internet, it’s a fact that she’s not likely to forget at any point in the near future.

“I have my faith in God and it keeps things like that from controlling my emotions,” said Fifield. “I’m off things like social media and I’m just focused on doing my own thing and working fulltime to provide for my modified and trying to make the team happen.”

Her poise and composure haven’t just won her fans; it’s also won her sponsorships which are slowly paving the way to brighter days for Fifield. “I was fortunate enough to land a fulltime sponsor last year with Eastern Propane,” continued Fifield. “Success is definitely coming, it’s just going to take some more work to get there but I’m still growing as a driver and the team is still growing as well so it’s going to take some time.”

The only thing that is certain in the realm of racing is uncertainty. Though the future is all but known for Fifield, her aspirations are quite simple; keep racing. “I’d love to stay on the tour and if I could race modifieds forever I would,” stated Fifield. “In the next few years I’d love to get into a newer car and better equipment and continue building my team year by year. It’ll take a few years but we’ll get there and get better established.”

Though her time behind the wheel is nowhere near to being over by any means, Fifield has taken some time to reflect on how she would like to be remembered and what would make her career a success before all is said and done.

“I certainly know that someday I can win on the tour,” concluded Fifield. “It’s going to take a little longer than we expected and I’d love to have a chance to compete for a championship but I just want to be remembered as a race car driver; someone who represented the sport well and did the best that I could.”

For now, Melissa Fifield is doing something that most race fans dream of and seldom get the opportunity to do; she’s racing. Through adversity and the insults from internet experts whom have never climbed behind the wheel of a tour-style asphalt modified, she continues to smile and compete on her terms and her terms alone.

She’s living her life and her dream, one lap at a time.

Matt Noles is a contributing writer for Racer’s Guide, Speedway Illustrated and Dirt Track Digest. He currently resides in Sprakers, New York.