Less than a year into the DH Davies Racing Developmental Driver program, 16-year-old Madi Turley secured her first win last Saturday at Bristol Dragway at the Street Car Takeover, where she won the Women & Wheels class. Turley drove her Dodge Challenger R/T to victory after two qualifying runs and three rounds of eliminations. The young driver from Rutledge, Tennessee almost didn’t attend the event since they had just received the car back from Mass Acceleration Motorsports in North Carolina, where her car got tune-up with HP Tuners software.
“We had the car getting tuned up in North Carolina and had just gotten it back right before the Bristol race. We had canceled all our plans but then we decided to just see what could happen,” said Turley. “I love racing at Bristol Dragway. It is my home track. I got my NHRA license there and we were just at the Thunder Valley Nationals earlier this year so we took a chance.”
Turley who races with the support of her father Mark and mother Kennetha, was also joined by her brother Josh and sister-in-law Leva at the track. The family celebrated in the winner’s circle, and Turley was ecstatic to be able to have her family with her for her first win.
“It was amazing to have so much of my family at the track. My brother and his wife work a lot, so that was really special,” said Turley. “My dad and mom have been so supportive; just seeing their reaction when I got that trophy was almost better than seeing that win light in the final round. I have to thank all our sponsors and also David Davies. I don’t think I would have gotten into a winner’s circle this quickly without his support.”
Turley also received a congratulatory phone call from David H Davies, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown competitor and the driving force behind the DHDR Developmental Driver program. Davies reached out to Turley earlier this season to provide assistance and direction to the young MOPAR driver. This is the first win for the DHDR Developmental Driver program, and Davies sees many more in the future as well as the addition of additional drivers.
“Madi showed me that she has the determination and the drive to be a really good racer; her program just needed some assistance,” said Davies. “We helped her make some connections but also gave her some encouragement off the track and introduced her to other drivers. I think helping her build her own network, assisting her with some sponsor connections we had and really giving her the confidence to just go out there and race helped make this happen. I could not be more proud of her and I know there are more wins down the road.”
Turley’s route to victory took her through three tough competitors. She outran as Jepp Grand Cherokee, a Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and in the final a supercharged Holden. She was consistently quick on the tree and overcame some tuned-up car issues to race for the win.
“With the new tune-up Madi’s shift points changed so she was a little off on her burnouts, but she was consistently off which is kind of funny,” said her mom Kennetha Turley. “The car ran consistent numbers on track, and Madi just kept doing her thing. We could not be more proud, and we are very thankful to David Davies and all our sponsors.”
Turley will be back on track at Holley’s 4th annual MoParty™ at Beech Bend Raceway, September 15-17, 2023.
This story was originally published on August 11, 2023. 
