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Rookie Like No Other: Female Driver Jorgensen Eyes Third Victory in Pro Trucks Debut Season

By Chuck Corder

When you’re a natural, you can become immune to nerves.

Every time Taylor Jorgensen climbs behind the wheel of her Legends car, she has to shoo away butterflies from her stomach.

But once the 20-year-old female driver from Stockbridge, Ga., slides into her Pro Trucks No. 3, a sense of peace washes over Jorgensen and she feels right at home.

“I haven’t been nervous through this whole experience,� she said. “All I can say, is behind the wheel of a truck is the most comfortable I’ve been in a racecar. When you get a driver comfortable, beautiful things happen.�

Jorgensen’s first season in a full-sized stock car of any kind has been a thing of beauty, a sight to behold.

She has turned heads by winning her first two Pro Trucks features in as many outings, and hopes to add to a perfect rookie campaign during a 40-lap feature Friday at Five Flags Speedway.

“This is already so different of where I expected this year to go,� said Jorgensen, who was the first female to win a Pro Trucks feature in Pensacola. “We wanted to get some seat time in a full-sized stock car. The goal is completely different now. We want to keep the momentum up and try to get a championship at the end of the year.�

While Jorgensen hopes for yet another triumphant return, the Deep South Crane Blizzard Series Super Late Models resume their season with the Rubber and Specialties 100, the fourth Southern Super Series race of the season.

The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen (25 laps) and the Butler U-Pull-It Bombers (20) also continue their long seasons Friday.

Gates open at 4 p.m. with heat races set for 8 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6-11; free for kids 5 and under.

When she made her Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks division debut in March at Five Flags, Jorgensen did it with little fanfare. When she left the famed half-mile asphalt oval, though, Jorgensen had become the belle of the ball.

A Legends and Bandolero champion, who still regularly competes at Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder, Jorgensen created an instant fan base for her scintillating win.

The Five Flags crowd loved that she was unafraid to mix it up against some veteran drivers to reach clean air.

“Truthfully, I was not expecting to win,� Jorgensen said. “We were hoping for a top-five finish, which would’ve been an awesome debut. But once the green flag waved, I started racing, and I knew I needed to get to the front. When I got the checkered flag, I was so speechless. It didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t feel real.�

Lest anyone think that first win was a fluke, Jorgensen came back last month and backed it up with another victory.

While the opening victory holds a special place in her heart, Jorgensen’s second win seems to resonate deeper.

“Guys weren’t underestimating me in the second race. Guys were racing me harder because I did win that first time,� she said. “I qualified poorly, and my confidence level was nowhere it needed to be. I saw that one slipping away before it even got started.

“Honestly, I surprised myself when I found myself in the front with no cars to pass. Once there, my mindset changed and I focused on winning.�

Jorgensen said that the victory taught her a valuable lesson in maintaining a positive outlook

“I said, after the first race, I didn’t know what I was doing out there because I really didn’t. Everything was new. Spotting was new,� she said. “After the second race, I do know what I’m doing.

“I know where my doors are. I know where I need to be to complete a pass coming outta the turns. Also, I missed a shift during a restart, and now I’ve learned how not to miss shift. I’ve made appropriate mistakes that didn’t cost me.�

Jorgensen knows, though, that much of her success can be credited to the wealth of experience and intelligent minds surrounding her. For every race, Charles Benefield, a longtime short-track car owner, and veteran crew chief Curt Britt make sure Jorgensen’s only job is to drive.

Jorgensen has found an invaluable tutor in Britt, who was the crew chief for Riley Thornton when he won the Pro Trucks Snowball Derby in 2013.

The partnership of Jorgensen and Britt extends beyond the racetrack, as Jorgensen works at Britt’s retail store Serendipity in Locust Grove, Ga.

“I couldn’t ask for a better team,� she said. “I’ve got the best crew chief. The handling of the truck is always incredible, and I can’t thank Curt Britt enough. I’m learning to trust people that are putting a hand on my career.�

Trust and comfort. That doesn’t bode well for the competition.

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