By Teena Monteleone

Prince Albert woman competing in NASCAR event

Jul 3, 2018 | 2:00 PM

It’s the highest level of racing you can get to in Canada and Shantel Kalika will be there.

“A lot of people work their racing careers towards this and now we’re here. So, it is very exciting for us,” Kalika said.

The Prince Albert resident will be the only woman competing in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series western swing which includes stops at Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon and Edmonton International Raceway later this month.

“Everybody in their competitive nature wants to go out and say, ‘I want to win’… but it’s an elite group of guys racing so we have to keep a level head about it,” Kalika said. “I think we’ll hold our own and be happy if we walk away within that top 10.”

Kalika started racing in the Pro Truck division eight years ago and became the first female to win the Pro Truck Championship in 2016. This year, she made the switch from racing trucks to cars by moving into the Sportsman Division at Wyant Group Raceway where she currently sits first in points. Despite being a male dominant sport, Kalika said racing comes naturally to her. Her father, Ben Busch, is a fellow racer and her family grew up at the track.

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“Now my dad is my crew chief and my mom is also part of the pit crew,” she said.

Kalika will spend the next two years racing as part of this series. Her first event is on Wednesday, July 25 at Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon.

teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TeenaMonteleone