She’s a Chip Off the Old Engine Block : Kandice Elsebusch Wants to Beat Everybody--Even Dear Old Dad

When Kandice Elsebusch was 2 years old, she used to steer as her mother, Penny, pushed her sports car onto the starting grid before a race.

“She’d have to stand up to do it, but she knew how to steer right from left,” Penny recalled. “Dave (Penny’s husband) would be pushing his car onto the grid, so I had no choice but to have Kandice steer.”

Now 27 and behind the wheel of her own 1964 Triumph Spitfire, Kandice, of Sunland, placed third in front of fourth-place Dave in the Fabulous Inn Cup race Saturday at the Rodger Ward Invitational-San Diego Historic Grand Prix at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“There was a race in a race. He was racing with her,” Penny said. “You could just see his eyes get bigger as she pulled away.”

Kandice was pleased afterward, saying that racing vintage automobiles is low key and low pressure. She said that the cars that took first and second--a 1962 Miller Sports Racer driven by Robert Caro of San Diego and a 1963 MGB driven by Butch Bucciarelli of La Jolla--had higher horse-power engines than hers, which is four cylinders and 1,147 cubic centimeters.

Dave also drives a ’64 Spitfire, and his car was actually better suited for this race than Kandice’s because of better gearing and better tires.

Kandice started racing slalom and solo at 16 in a Lotus 7 and began wheel-to-wheel competition in the Spitfire when she was eligible for a racing license at 18. Once she got that license, Kandice began winning. In a two-year period, Kandice said, she won 25 of 27 Sports Car Club of America races. She holds track records at Riverside, Holtville and Phoenix.

“I got the craziest driver award in high school. I can’t wait until my 10-year reunion and I tell people I race cars. They wouldn’t be surprised,” Kandice said.

Based solely on appearances, one might not think Kandice, a beauty-salon owner, would spend her weekends racing cars. She and her mother agree that the stereotype of a woman race car driver is someone who looks like a monster truck driver and can carry her car off the track if it breaks down.

Penny said a lot of sponsors don’t think women are able to drive until they see it happen. Kandice may not fit the stereotype, with her styled blond hair and long red manicured nails, but she can keep up on the track.

“It takes a fair amount of driving to catch her,” said Penny, who raced for eight years and is considering getting back into it.

The women remember back a few years a ago when a male driver was so obsessed with finishing in front of Kandice that he went to all lengths, including running his car into hers while racing. The first time it happened, Kandice thought it was just an accident. When it continued, she knew it was intentional.

“Pieces of our cars were falling off,” Kandice said. “He was hitting me that hard, but the Spitfire is a tank and can take anything.”

Penny said the driver was criticized by other male competitors for not being able to accept losing to a woman and was suspended from some races because of his antics.

“Most male drivers she’s raced against know they can’t beat her,” Penny said. “She’s that good.”

Penny recalled another race where Kandice lapped the competition, got a flat tire, had to get a tow back to the pits and still won.

“After the race, I asked someone who won, and they pointed right at me,” Kandice said with a laugh. “The tow truck driver and I got a laugh out of that one.”

Kandice said racing is addictive: the speed, competitiveness and, of course, the winning. But being born into a racing family the day of the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, how could Kandice not be a racer?

“I drive to the edge,” Kandice said. “I drive into the red mist and go flat out. I used to ask mom if I had to bring back the car after a race.”

Said Penny: “I used to tell her to bring back the checkered flag or come back with no engine.”

Kandice has done testing for Chevrolet and different racing teams and would like to become a professional, but the key is finding the right team and the right money.

In May, Stock Car and Motor Sports magazine is sending Kandice and racing boyfriend, Mason Dickson, to Talladega, Ala., to test stock cars. Kandice has never raced stock cars. She said it should be a fun change.