Natalie Marie Decker Lemke (born June 25, 1997) is an American racing driver.
She was a 2015 NASCAR Drive for Diversity participant and 2016 Alan Kulwicki Driver Development competitor.
[6][5] Decker began racing in the ARCA Midwest Tour and took the 2013 Rookie of the Year by finishing third in points.
[5] She was added to the Rev Racing team in 2015 as she was named to the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program.
[3] In 2017, it was announced that she would drive in three ARCA races for Venturini Motorsports (Elko, Toledo, and Pocono).
54 Toyota cut a left front tire and rupture an oil line, setting the truck on fire on the first lap.
[17] At Kentucky Speedway in July, Decker was involved in an on-track incident with Spencer Boyd, eliminating both drivers from the race.
Later, in the truck garage, Decker took Boyd’s hat off his head and slammed it on the ground before being verbally warned by a NASCAR official stating "that's enough".
On February 14, 2020, she finished fifth at Daytona, becoming the highest-finishing female driver in Truck Series history.
[19] She missed the Pocono race after being hospitalized for bile duct complications related to her gall bladder surgery in December 2019.
[20] On September 25, Decker was not medically cleared to race at Las Vegas after experiencing a high heart rate and high blood pressure; because her truck had cleared inspection and was placed on the starting grid, she was credited with a last-place finish in the race.
[21] Decker later pinpointed high blood pressure as the cause for fatigue, but with a deeper cause undetermined, she also missed the following race at Talladega Superspeedway, where Kaz Grala took the seat.
[22] On February 5, 2021, it was announced that Decker would make her debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021, driving the No.
[27] Decker was also going to drive the same car at Talladega in April, but like at Daytona in August 2022, had a sponsor that was not approved by NASCAR.
The car was fielded by longtime Decker family friend Tony Ave.[30] Ave wanted her to drive his car after he was impressed by her performance in the 2017 Road America ARCA race, where she finished 7th, which was her best finish of the season.
[32] Decker was scheduled to make her Trans-Am SGT class debut at Road Atlanta with Ave Motorsports in November 2020, but was forced to miss the race after testing positive for COVID-19.
[39] In December 2022, Decker got engaged to fellow NASCAR driver Derek Lemke (who would make his Truck Series debut for Reaume Brothers Racing in 2023).