She attended Nathan Hale High School, graduating with honors at 16, and studied electrical engineering at Seattle University.

She was able to buy equipment with her own earnings, and with her father's support began racing in the midget circuit.

For five consecutive years she was state and regional champion and was one of the top ten drivers nationally.

Her dream was to compete in Indy car and the Indianapolis 500, before eventually moving to Formula One racing.

Her career was cut short, however, either due to injuries, as reported by the LA Times,[4] or lack of funds.

She also gave speeches to groups of students and political action groups;[2] for example, she spoke to 1,500 junior high school students in Washington D.C. in support of the U.S. Department of Transportation's drunk driving and drug abuse prevention program.