Sometimes it’s easy to see how an individual is involved in drag racing. Drivers, tuners, crew members, and even track operators can be seen in the public eye. Then there are those who work behind the scenes, constantly striving to push the sport we love forward without being in the spotlight.
Enter Madelyn Marconi, age 28, who for years has been pushing to help save drag racing in southern Florida. While she has previous experience driving Jr. Dragsters and bracket cars, she has since shifted her focus; both in efforts to preserve Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR), and after its closing, to secure a new facility in Palm Beach County.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #191, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in November / December of 2024.]
“At this point, I’m an advocate for the sport,” says Marconi. “I grew up around drag racing my entire life, and I think a lot of the skills that I’ve exercised over the past two and a half years fighting for motorsports were acquired during my time at racetracks and being around the drag racing community.”
Marconi recalls being heartbroken when PBIR finally closed in April of 2022, after operating for 60-plus years. She dedicated thousands of hours researching solutions to potentially save the track, and came very close to doing so. Unfortunately, the attempts were ultimately unsuccessful as the property was set to be redeveloped for warehouses.
But Marconi didn’t give up. Instead, she doubled down on her efforts, helping racers and fans navigate the complicated system of working with local elected officials – whether it be flooding their inboxes with emails or showing up to local hearings.
Their persistence was rewarded in May of 2023, when one of the Palm Beach County Commissioners discussed setting aside a 128-acre parcel of land in the western part of the county, and made official proposals to potential developers last August. While the county owns the land, they would lease it out to an investor to build and operate the track. While there is still a lot of work to be done, Marconi is excited at how well the community and government have worked together to achieve this goal.
“When [PBIR] wasn’t there, it just left a complete hole in our community, something our local government recognized,” Marconi says. “I think this is a big win for motorsports. I’m not sure if this has happened anywhere else in our country, where they’re putting out a request for people to come in and build a racetrack on county-owned land. It’s pretty historic in that sense.”
Marconi also works as a freelance writer for Drag Illustrated to further her outreach as an advocate for the sport, sharing the positive impacts not just at the track, but within communities – stories such as Freedom Factory owner Garrett Mitchell using his own personal helicopter to help distribute essential supplies to hurricane victims throughout the Southeast region this year.
“I think storytelling is really important, and there’s a lot of good stories coming out of our motorsports community,” says Marconi. “Just sharing that good news and the uniqueness of different people’s stories. I want to help in any way I can because people always say drag racing is a dying sport, and I refuse to let that happen.”
While not every attempt has been a success, Marconi has witnessed an outpouring of support from both the drag racing community in southern Florida and local government officials alike. And led by her efforts, the sport appears to be in a great position to continue moving forward in Palm Beach County for the foreseeable future.
“My goal in all of this was really to just inspire people to stand up for what they believe in,” Marconi says. “Fighting an uphill battle is not for the faint of heart. It’s like putting a target on your back for people to say anything they want about you and the sport. But I’d do it over and over again to protect and preserve drag racing. It’s exhausting and it’s not easy, but sometimes the results are in your favor. Sometimes it’s worth it.”
This story was originally published on February 10, 2025. 
