Macy Causey solidified her place in NASCAR's record books by becoming the first woman to ever win a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late-model race at South Boston (Virginia) Speedway, a feat the 16-year-old driver admitted came sooner than she expected.
"It most definitely felt surreal," Causey said of Saturday's victory in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I've never raced with a team or somebody else's car. I've always raced with my [family]. The first time I ever drove someone else's car was at the [Drive for Diversity driver] combine. For us to jell so quickly together ... showed what we're definitely capable of this year."
Causey's celebration after Saturday's race was short-lived, however. She said she thought she had kept herself well-hydrated on race day, but wasn't feeling well Monday and had a 104-degree fever. She was rushed to a Charlotte hospital Monday after she fainted. Causey was diagnosed with strep throat, a sinus infection and severe dehydration.
She was kept overnight at Carolinas HealthCare System University and released Tuesday night. On Wednesday, she traveled to her parents' Yorktown, Virginia, home to recuperate. She's not scheduled to race again until June 3 at Dominion Raceway in Virginia.
Causey's first late-model victory was special to her because of where it occurred.
"You have people like [former NASCAR drivers] Jeff Burton and Ward Burton that came up running at South Boston," Causey said. "So having those people, along with national champions that have won in the late-model division at South Boston Speedway, it's definitely an honorable moment to be able to say I won there and that I was the first female. But it all really didn't come upon me until I got back to the [race] shop [in Concord, North Carolina]."
The youngest participant ever in Rev Racing's NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, Causey survived Saturday's 75-lap wreck-filled race to claim the victory by 0.286-second over Brandon Pierce. She ran competitively throughout the race and with two laps remaining was third, watching Ryan Repko and Austin Thaxton battle for the lead.
"They were beating and banging, diving into the corner, slamming each other," Causey recalled. "I thought, 'You guys are going to wreck.' The next thing you know they both got together and they wrecked right in front of me. I thought, 'You can't do that. I am not going to let that happen.' "
The crash by the two lead cars left Causey on the inside of the front row for the race's final restart beside Pierce. She surged by him on the final lap for the victory.
"A lot of different things were going through my head [on that last lap] -- am I going to be able to hold onto this, is it going to push up?" Causey said. "I just had to make sure I didn't overdrive the turn."
With the win, Causey became the first Rev Racing late-model driver to visit victory lane in about six years and she saw it as a boost for her young team.
"Everyone was super excited," Causey said. "It was a great way to kinda bring everybody together. Unfortunately, my teammate [Maddie Crane] didn't have a very good night, but she still was super excited and happy for me. I was excited to see her happy for me."
A third generation driver, Causey is the granddaughter of Diane Teel, the first woman to ever win a NASCAR-sanctioned race at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.
Deb Williams is a North Carolina-based writer and former editor. She has covered auto racing for United Press International, USA Today and The Charlotte Observer. She has more than 30 years of experience covering motorsports and was the 1990, 1996 NMPA Writer of the Year.