Mullica Twp Drag Racers

You’ll never catch Karen Stalba at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City or Morey’s Piers in Wildwood.

“I can’t ride roller coasters,” she said with a laugh. “They really upset my stomach.”

She’s much more at home at Atco Dragway.

The married Mullica Township mother of two may not be able to handle amusement rides, but she’s very good at climbing into a top alcohol dragster and roaring down a quarter-mile straightaway at more than 270 mph.

“When you get to that starting line, I feel a big rush all the way down to my feet,” Stalba said. “My heart beats so loud, I can hear it. It’s just such an amazing feeling.”

Stalba, 43, is not the only one who feels it in her family.

Her husband, Tom, 50, and even their 10-year-old son, Paul, spend most weekends in the spring and fall zooming down drag strips up and down the East Coast as the unofficial “first family” of drag racing.

“Our daughter Emily (7) hasn’t shown an interest in racing, yet,” Tom said with a smile. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if she joins us at some point.”

Entire article & video at
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/martin_truex/drag-racing-a-family-affair-for-karen-stalba/article_6e63dbcd-8f4a-5735-a220-abb3049931c5.html