Shift Up Now is proud to announce the addition of three talented female drivers - Heather Hadley, Nicole Havrda and Megan Meyer - to the roster for the 2024 season.
Heather Hadley
During her debut season in 2023, Hadley was one of the inaugural Shift Up Now Foundation grant recipients. She was the first-ever female to win the U.S. Legends Cars Silver State Winter Series Championship. She holds the current track record at Hallet Motor Racing Circuit for INEX U.S Legends Cars and became a 5X points Champion in that series.
In addition, she won the Mazda Women’s Initiative Scholarship at their annual shoot-out in the fall of 2022, and went on to compete in her rookie season in MX-5 Cup in 2023. She was the top-finishing female 10 times, earning two top-ten finishes and five top-15 finishes. Originally from Northern California, Hadley now resides in Mooresville, NC.
Nicole Havrda
Havrda’s speed and versatility, both in open-wheel and GT cars, has made her a competitor on the racetrack. The 17-year-old racer from Courtenay, BC, Canada has been racing since the age of 10 and has her sights set on the top level of professional motorsport.
During the 2022 season, Havrda took part in a multi-day test with the W Series, a female-only, open-wheel series. She was the youngest participant at the test and announced as the youngest of nine finalists for the Aston Martin GT4 female shootout by The Heart of Racing team. Later in the year, she competed in India at the inaugural Indian Racing League Championship, earning several top-five finishes. In 2023, Havrda become the first female Formula Pro USA Champion and the SFR FA2 Champion. In 2024, she’ll continue to compete in open-wheel cars in the Formula Regional Americas Championship.
Megan Meyer
Meyer began her drag racing career in 2004 behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster before she became a 2x World Champion in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster class. She spent her childhood at the drag strip with her father, Randy Meyer. Along the way, she learned race technique as well as the art of acquiring sponsorships. She then went on to earn a degree in graphic design, and now handles the marketing and logistics for the Randy Meyer Racing Team.
Meyer competed for the team as well, driving a NHRA nitro-injected dragster. She had an incredible rookie season, earning rookie and driver of the year before winning the 2019 and 2020 world championship and re-setting the oldest track record in the NHRA. She briefly stepped away from driving to pursue marriage and pregnancy, and has since returned to the cockpit as a part-time driver. She was the first female to win a Nitro Chaos event, an outlaw drag racing series in the Midwest, and placed second in the inaugural 2023 season.
Shift Up Now was founded to help fund talented female racers in motorsport. Its mission is to afford female racers the opportunity to climb ladders and break barriers. As part of that mission, Shift Up Now is thrilled to welcome these three new drivers to the 2024 lineup.
To learn more about Shift Up Now, its mission and Membership options, please visit www.ShiftUpNow.com.
