Oak Ridge English teacher races sprint cars on the weekends

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- Monday through Friday, 28-year-old Tanya Landewee teaches language arts classes at Oak Ridge High School.

But come Saturday night she kicks off her heels, puts on a fire-retardant suit and helmet, and straps herself into a bright purple sprint car.

At speeds averaging 85 mph, Landewee competes in races every Saturday night from May through September on the three-eighths of a mile dirt track at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark near Benton, Mo.

Landewee, born and raised in Oak Ridge, started driving stock cars by chance when she was 21.

Her brother, Todd Rowland, had been driving sprint cars for a few years, and her father, Jim Rowland, had been very involved in the sport. One afternoon, Landewee said, while she was home from college, her father asked her to test drive one of the stock cars he had recently purchased.

"He really wanted me to get an idea of why they liked racing so much," Landewee said. "At the time, I don't know if he thought I would like it as much as I did."

From that moment on, Landewee understood why her brother and father were so fascinated with the sport and decided to get behind the wheel of her own stock car. Painted her favorite color, purple, the car had the number 21 painted on the side to represent Landewee's age.

She drove stock cars for five seasons before trying sprint cars this year. She made the switch to the smaller, faster cars, she said, because her father had growing concerns about safety. Rowland finances 100 percent of Landewee's hobby and told her if she wanted to continue racing she would have to do so in a sprint car, not a stock car.

This is Landewee's second year teaching at the high school. One day last year she took all of her safety equipment, including a helmet, neck brace, driving suit and shoes to school to share with her students. They quickly became very interested in her hobby.

One of her students, sophomore T.J. Easley, said he was surprised to find out that Landewee raced cars on weekends.

On his first day of class last year, he noticed the racing posters throughout the room and the pictures on her desk but never imagined they were of her.

"At first I thought she was just another ordinary teacher," Easley said. "But now I think she is pretty cool."

Freshman Rusty Statler agreed. "Most teachers are old and have gray hair," he said. "She actually does stuff. It's really cool. She could be big and famous some day."

Though she doesn't believe she will ever be truly famous, Landewee admits she enjoys the attention. At the end of the night, sweaty and covered in dirt, Landewee makes her way to the grand stand to sign autographs for little kids, who, she said, don't really know she isn't famous.

Though she might never be known by everyone, she won't go unnoticed. Landewee is the only female sprint car driver in the Benton circuit, and she is proud of it. On the front of her car she put the words "Playin' with the Big Boys" to show that she isn't intimidated by the men.

Staying safe

Landewee considers herself lucky because she has never been in an accident. Her brother, on the other hand, has had his share. Landewee said he averages about two accidents per season, and although some of them might have looked bad from the stands, he has never been seriously injured.

Safety, Landewee said, is the most important part of racing, a lesson that she takes back to her classes in Oak Ridge.

Tonight, when the green flag drops, Landewee will put the pedal to the metal in her final race of the season. Although she is glad the season is winding down, she said not to expect her to do the same. She is already looking forward to next year, and the only thing that will stop her from racing any time in the near future is if she decides to have a baby.

"My husband, Rodney, and I have been thinking about having a baby in the next few years," she said. "And pregnancy and racing just don't mix."

hkronmueller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128