During the 2011 racing season SportsRantz spotlighted drivers throughout the different racing circuits and with the 2012 season knocking on our door steps the time has come to return the spotlight series. Names like Justin Johnson, Joey Saldana and Dan Wheldon graced the pages as some of SportsRantz Driver Spotlights and this season will be no different. And to kick off the 2012 season our January Driver Spotlight honors goes to Tina Stull.
Tina Stull is an NHRA driver at the Super Comp level. And Tina decided to pursue her passion for racing after being diagnosed with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in 2002. After being told she only had 3 years to live Tina prevailed through any fears she had and became a dragster. A return visit to the doctors and she found out that the cancer was gone and Tina still competes as a Super Comp dragster in the NHRA and is helping people everywhere overcome their obstacles and reach for their dreams.
As a Super Comp dragster, Tina gets to race at speeds up to 185 mph and run an index of 8.90 seconds! Now that is amazing in my eyes and Tina has a lot of passion for the sport and she definitely showed it on last week’s “Slicks and Sticks” radio show on SportsRantz Radio. If you missed our interview with Tina be sure to click the link and give it a listen!
Tina’s road to where she is now wasn’t always an easy one; but Tina stood her ground and she often says that failure is not an option and she continues to prove that she will not give up and should be a role model for anyone pursuing their dreams!
Many things about Tina stand out to all of us at SportsRantz ; but the thing that stood out the most was her tremendous respect for the troops and their families. Tina took couple trips to visits to BAMC s’ burn and amputee center she decided to ask the track for some tickets to share with the soldiers and their families, thinking the track would be a great way to take a break from the endless hours of rehab. From there the program grew from 50 tickets to as many as 6000 tickets per event. What started out as an outreach to the wounded became an opportunity to say thanks to all that serve.
Thus, creating Team Troops which is a support group for the men and women in our military and their families. Tina continues working with several military-focused ministries to provide on-going support for the service members and their Families, and is responsible for distributing thousands of free tickets to racing events to members of the military.
Tina will be racing in the Texas area and surrounding areas this upcoming season and we at SportsRantz know she will excel on the track and continue to bring cheer and smiles on the all the faces of the military families by helping them out. And for that Tina we all applaud your efforts, hard work, dedication and your never give up attitude!
Here at SportsRantz we look forward to hearing from Tina more throughout the season and Kristina Chambers and Dougie Spatafore are looking into going to Texas to see Tina race live , meet some of the troops and take in the full NHRA experience. Until then, we wish Tina all the best and keep on the look out for February’s Spotlight Driver Profile !!