Exchanging the bikini for a tracksuit.
If you’re a NASCAR fan you’re probably already familiar with Natalie Decker. The 26-year old made her Craftsman Truck Series debut in 2019, and quickly turned heads for her driving skills…and not in a good way.
Through 32 races in the Truck Series, Decker has a career-best finish of 5th at Daytona in 2020. But other than that race, her finishing positions look more like the ages of the women you try to pick up at your local dive bar: Mid ’30s.
Natalie has caused more than her fair share of crashes over the years. And who can forget this hilarious moment from Bristol a couple of years ago when she got wrecked by a tow truck pushing her back to the garage? Even her spotter was sick of her bullsh*t and just walked out in the middle of the race.
But despite all of that, for some reason, Decker still seems to be able to attract fans and sponsors, so she keeps getting rides. I’m not entirely sure why…
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Throughout her career, Decker has built up a following not only for her racing, but also for her risqué content that she posts on Patreon and social media, along with her daily life updates and behind-the-scenes content.
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Well this year Decker (who got married in the offseason and is now Natalie Decker Lemke) managed to land a ride in the Xfinity Series with Emerling-Gase Motorsports, driving the #36 car part-time in both Xfinity and the ARCA Menards Series.
And she made her debut in the car yesterday at Daytona in the season-opening United Rentals 300.
Decker not only made her debut in her new ride, she also had a pretty decent race. She managed to stay out of trouble, and finished the race in 18th (which, let’s be honest, is pretty respectable given her situation and her past results).
But over the course of the race, she also became just the third female driver to lead laps in a NASCAR Xfinity Series (formerly known as the Busch Series) race.
Thanks to some fuel strategy, Decker managed to lead the race for seven laps before getting shuffled back in the pack after the next round of pit stops.
Eagle River native Natalie Decker led for seven laps in the United Rentals 300 at Daytona tonight! It's her first laps led in the Xfinity series in her career. @NatalieRacing #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/khmuqdaZzE
— Noah Manderfeld WSAW (@ManderfeldNoah) February 20, 2024
But after the race, she was pleased with her performance – even if it wasn’t exactly a win:
After becoming the third female racer to ever lead laps in the @NASCAR_Xfinity Series and scoring an 18th place finish, @NatalieRacing says anyone who feels like things are going wrong, and wants to give up, “don’t give up.” Decker has reemerged after a dismal stretch. pic.twitter.com/ufIwT1wYXw
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) February 20, 2024
And she also had some words for her critics who were mocking her for celebrating an 18th place finish:
18th is not a win… but what is a win for us is the opportunity to be here at Daytona. Qualifying a car into the show that had NO owner points. Finishing the race and bringing the car home. oh and did I mention the team put this car together in 2 weeks… that is also a BIG win. https://t.co/iRXVp4lzYB
— Natalie Decker (@NatalieRacing) February 20, 2024
I guess we’ll have to see what she can do in a tracksuit and not a bikini…
