Charlie Sullivan, 51, owner of Sullivan Drilling Inc., has been racing since he was a teen. In addition to competing on many different drag bikes, Charlie also enjoyed some time behind the wheel of an alcohol funny car. Raising three children, he spent 15 years at local tracks running Jr. dragsters and has said, “I wouldn’t trade the time we spent together as a family at the race track for anything.” Charlie put his racing aside when Katie set her heart on racing drag bikes. They raced together for the first year until Katie moved to a faster bike and a higher competition level, then Charlie took on the role as her crew chief.

“I can’t even explain how much my father has done for me,” says Katie, ” I have worked so hard to get where I am today, but none of this would be possible without my dad and my whole family.” Katie, 21, a full time business student and owner of Tough Girl Designs, goes on to say, ” Too watch my dad out there competing with me again is beyond incredible. There isn’t a person in the world I think deserves it more than he does.”
The Sullivan Family Race team also went on to talk about the support they have received from so many people. Katie stated ” The support from our family, friends, and fans has been really amazing. We also are continuing partnerships with MotoWear International, JP’s Paint & Body Works, and Girls For A Change. We owe such a huge thank you to all the people standing behind us.”

The Sullivan Family Racing team is headed to Valdosta, GA to test their equipment and get a few rides down the track in. The next weekend, both Sullivans will compete side by side in the Gatornationals, happening in Gainesville, FL, March 8 – 11. As of now Charlie’s plan is to just run the one race in Gainesville, fulfilling a dream years in the making, and both Charlie and Katie could not be more excited.

About Girls For A Change:

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world and reinventing girl culture through GFC! www.girlsforachange.org

Now for Christmas I am on a plane headed to Montana with my parents. All of my family is originally from Montana, so we go back every so often to see everyone.  I am really excited to get to spend some quality time with my family. During the race season I tend to miss some family functions, so this is a great time for me to catch up with everyone.

Although I have stayed very busy during this off season, I have to say I miss racing so much. The off season always feels longer then the race season to me. I have had a lot of people asking what our plan is for the up and coming season. We are busy servicing motors and getting ready to get back out there. We will probably run around 5 to 7 races like we have the past couple years. I will be honest and say although I am always looking for sponsorship, I have spent a lot more of my time working on my own business. As great as a sponsor would be, I came to the conclusion I can sit back and wait for money or I can work really hard and make my own. So Tough Girl Designs is in full swing. I have huge hopes and ideas for my business, so I am working really hard to make things happen.

Another really exciting chapter in my life is also coming up! Very soon I will have completed my associates in Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and I have decided to further my education. I have been talking with councilors at the School of Arts in San Francisco. They have a great online program that sounds perfect for me. So as of right now my plan is to further my education in graphic design. I am really excited to be doing this. I have always loved art, and this is a great way for me to keep it in my life as well as put it to work in my world of racing.

I feel really fortunate that we are going to be able to run our 4^th pro stock motorcycle season. I have really been blessed with an amazing family to be so supportive of what I want to do and where I want to go in life. I can’t wait to see what the new year holds, not only for the start of a new race season, but also for my other endeavors in life. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and a great New Years. Don’t forget what a great opportunity the New Year is to start fresh!

Sadie Floyd grew up in a racing family, which races a series of dragsters, roadsters and door cars in the Pacific Northwest. Sadie was first introduced to the sport of drag racing when she was ten years old when her father purchased a 1948 Anglia and raced it in the Pro class at Woodburn Dragstrip in Woodburn, Oregon. She served as crew chief for her dad that year until she was exposed to the junior dragster circuit. The following year, Sadie got behind the wheel of a junior dragster and was officially hooked. Growing up in a mechanic’s household, she had always been exposed to the life of cars and even had a go-kart at the age of six that resembled a 1932 Ford Roadster that she drove around at car shows throughout the Northwest. Getting behind the wheel of a racecar seemed to be the natural next step for Sadie and served as a transition step in her life. At the age of eleven, not only did Sadie become a racecar driver but also she hit her 5-year mark of being officially cancer free.

Sadie was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblasticleukemia (A.L.L) when she was two years old. The symptoms started out with severe fevers and puzzled doctors unable to find out what really was wrong. After a week, her symptoms minimized until she woke up one morning with the side of her face completely swollen. Rushing her to the hospital, an immediate blood test was ordered. The blood work showed that she had no red blood cells and would have to have a blood transfusion within the hour or she wouldn’t make it through the night.

The following morning, Sadie had a bone marrow procedure to diagnose the specific leukemia she needed treatment for. The next four years were spent in and out of Emanuel Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon. In that four-year span, Sadie had over 15 blood transfusions, several experimental procedures, and four years of chemotherapy. Losing her hair twice from the chemotherapy, her hair always grew back with the vibrant red that is now the essence of her sassy personality, or ‘red hair flair’ as some call it. By the age of six, Sadie was allowed to be at home full time and was on her way to being cancer free.

Now, 16 years later, Sadie still resides in the Portland area, pursuing a degree in marketing at Portland State University. At the age of 22, Sadie has the fight of any man twice her size. Competing in classes such as Pro, Top Dragster, Super Pro and Super Comp, Sadie has many victories under her belt from the last decade she has been behind the wheel.

Away from the track, Sadie plans to use her racing career as an outlet to get the word about blood cancers and children’s cancer to the forefront of the racing community. She has a keen interest in supporting others who are facing the disease and also has been in alliance with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the last couple of years. Making appearances with her racecars at their Light the Night Walk, sharing her story and giving hope to other families in similar situations is precisely Sadie’s mission. Continuing her racing career in the years to come, she wishes to pair up with many other cancer related programs on her path to become a professional racecar driver.

Although the walls in the Floyd’s “Hot Rod Garage” are covered in plaques and trophies, Sadie would agree that the biggest victory she will ever experience is her victory of beating leukemia. I am so impressed by Sadie, and I can’t wait to see where her drag racing career takes her!

Phoenix, AZ – The weekends 27th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix AZ was a great opportunity for the K&N Filters/Girls For A Change/Sullivan Racing Team to get out and get some more runs under their belt. Any time you can make four passes down the track and are able to learn from your experiences, most would call it a great weekend. “We didn’t qualify, but I am not discouraged. We learned a ton, and got some great data going into Vegas. We had some great people helping us this weekend, especially my dad and Mark Savage. I really believe everything will come together soon.” Said Sullivan.

This weekend seat time was extremely valuable for Katie having never run a National Event at Firebird before. The teams second through fourth passes were all very consistent 7.308 (Round Two), 7.233 (Round Three), and 7.324 (Round Four). Katie’s best MPH run was Round Two when she topped out at 186.15 MPH. While the team didn’t make the cut of 16, a trip to the desert is logged in, and the data will be useful when Firebird rolls around again in 2012. Stay tuned!

With the season winding down, it’s all about building strong momentum heading into 2012. Katie and the crew will take the next few weeks to run the data from Vegas 2010, do some testing and be ready for The 11th Annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip in Vegas October 27-30, 2011. “Now we just take what we learned in Phoenix, and put it to work in Vegas, so bring on Vegas baby!” Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying starts in the heat of the sun on Friday, October 28th, 2011 at 12:15PM. Temperatures are expected to be in the low eighties.

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About K&N Filters Corporation:

K&N Filters were originally developed for the excessive demands of Off-Road Racing. K&N’s High-Flow Air Filters are built to provide increased throttle response, horsepower and the protection you need to perform in the most extreme conditions. K&N also offers Performance Oil Filters that are built to withstand racing conditions. Manufactured with a Premium Synthetic filtration media, these oil filters are compatible and allow for the High-Flow rates associated with today’s synthetic oils. If you’re serious about Performance, choose a K&N High-Flow Air Filter, Performance Oil Filter, or Complete Intake Kits for your car, truck or motorcycle. Let your engine breath with K&N Performance Filters. Visit our website @ www.knfilters.com

About Girls For A Change:

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world and reinventing girl culture through GFC! www.girlsforachange.org

Photography: Craig Holsey

Phoenix, AZ – For Pro Stock Motorcycle driver Katie Sullivan and the Sullivan Racing/K&N Filters/Girls For A Change team, the season has been a series of ups and downs on the track, but off the track including recent testing at Medford, OR that they are making some serious headway towards taking that next step towards being competitive on a regular basis. “We have been at home making improvements and recently got to test at the divisional in Medford, OR,” Said Katie, “for once, it feels like we are finally getting ahead of the game.”

The team’s last competition was the Fram/Autolite Nationals at Sonoma, CA, which is their home track, and they laid down two solid passes in rounds one and four of qualifying, (Round 1) 7.192@ 184 MPH, and (Round 4) 7.141 @ 187.81 but the numbers were not quick enough to break into the field. The extra testing however, and solid data they have compiled, the team hopes to quicken up their ET’s to match the solid MPH numbers.

This weekend, the team heads to the desert, to compete in the 27th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix AZ, where the weather conditions call for temperatures reaching 100 degrees all weekend. “I’m so stoked to be in Phoenix for the first time ever in my racing career. I think we have a great shot this weekend.” Said Sullivan. “I feel pretty cool calm and collective going into this race.” The field will definitely be competitive, as 24 teams have entered competition in Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend. There’s one thing for sure, the K&N Filters/Girls For A Change team will give it their all, and leave nothing back. “I can’t wait for Friday to get this bike rocking down the track again, and hope to be racing on Sunday”.

You can follow all of the action online at nhra.com or at dragracecentral.com. For more information about Kalifornia Katie Sullivan, visit her website at www.kaliforniakatie.com. To follow here on facebook, type in keyword Kalifornia Katie.

About K&N Filters Corporation:

K&N Filters were originally developed for the excessive demands of Off-Road Racing. K&N’s High-Flow Air Filters are built to provide increased throttle response, horsepower and the protection you need to perform in the most extreme conditions. K&N also offers Performance Oil Filters that are built to withstand racing conditions. Manufactured with a Premium Synthetic filtration media, these oil filters are compatible and allow for the High-Flow rates associated with today’s synthetic oils. If you’re serious about Performance, choose a K&N High-Flow Air Filter, Performance Oil Filter, or Complete Intake Kits for your car, truck or motorcycle. Let your engine breath with K&N Performance Filters. Visit our website @ www.knfilters.com

About Girls For A Change:

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world and reinventing girl culture through GFC! www.girlsforachange.org

It is really challenging to sit out from races, but it makes a lot more sense to show up to a race ready to rock. I have been that rider who is running up to the line still buttoning up the bike and throwing on my gear, but it makes it a lot more of a challenge that way. There is a lot to be said for being calm and confident in your program. That is the feeling I have right now. We have really had time to prepare.

To be honest the biggest place I have had time to prepare is with the mental aspect of racing. Sometimes I let my mind get the best of me. It is hard to not have 10 million thoughts in your head after being off a bike for so long. When we went to Medford I was able to get back to my calm self. Just clear my head and get the bike from the start to the finish line.

We have the rig all loaded, and my dad and I plan to be on the road by tomorrow afternoon. It feels great to be loaded and ready. I am really anxious to get on the road and get going. Today it has been a challenge to get the things done I need to get done, because I am so excited I can hardly sit still. However, I have a lot of homework and some graphics work to line out before I leave. I have to buckle down and get things done!

Throughout my racing career I have had an unbelievable amount of support and there are some people who I would like to congratulate on their recent wins. The first are Doug and Chris Bracey. I have known Doug and Chris since I was a little girl racing Jr. Dragster and they have always been so support of my racing. Doug and Chris both won Wally’s at the National Open in Redding, CA a couple weekends back. Congrats to an amazing husband and wife race team! The next is the Kris and Kevin Hool. I recently got to know the Kris and Kevin. They are brothers who run a Top Alcohol Funny Car together. They have been so great supporting us, and sponsoring us with their amazing Gripper Clean Products. They recently won at the National Event in Brainerd, MN. Huge congrats to them on such a big accomplishment!

It is amazing for me to watch these people win races. I really look up to the Hool brothers and Doug and Chris Bracey. I can’t wait to follow in their footsteps. So look out Phoenix, here we come!

- Katie

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My dad and I had made the decision to pull out of some races we were going to attempt this season, in order to go testing. I was able to make 8 passes on our pro stock bike 2 weeks ago in Medford, OR. Now I know compared to some teams, this is not a big deal. For us it was huge. That is the most runs I have ever been able to make on a pro stock bike in one weekend. It was great for me to be able to just ride my bike under absolutely no pressure. I had a complete blast, and it really got us pumped up for Phoenix.

It is really tough for me as a rider to be off a bike for a month or more at a time, and then hop back on one at a national event. I believe it has caused my riding to suffer a little bit. That is why testing was so big for me, and then for us to be able to hit so many consecutive races at the end of the year. I feel like this is really our chance to shine. As much as I hated to miss out on some races, I really believe we made the right decision.

Along with dreaming about racing all day and all night, I manage to find some time to work and go to school. Both are really going amazing. Tough Girl Designs is really in a pre mature stage of where I want the business to go, but it has still been great for me. I am in the process of trying to sell some things to come up with some money so I can get into screen printing. I am working really hard at pushing this business, and I have to admit it really is because of racing. As most of you know we are really on a shoe string budget for racing. Even with all of the sponsor searching I do, it has been really tough to come up with the money to go racing. The more I thought about it, I decided that instead of sitting back and just trying to find a sponsor, that I would work on my own way to help pay for the racing. Also, I have such a huge spot in my heart for the non-profit organization I work with called Girls For A Change, so I would love someday to be able to generate money for them as well. I know I am a big dreamer, but everything starts with a dream right?

Unfortunately I have some sad news to share, we recently lost our big track dog “Boo.” He had been one of our family members for quite a few years. If the family was headed to the race track, Boo wanted to be headed there too. He will be greatly missed. I guess we better win some races in his honor!

When I was in High School, I had a lot of great friends. However, I rarely went out and if I spent the night anywhere, I was gone by 5:30 in the morning and to this day that hasn’t changed. I have such a huge drive for racing, I spend a lot of my spare time in the garage. I love it, but I face a lot of criticism for it. There are people who tell me I am missing out in life, that I work too hard, that I am too uptight, and lots of things of that nature. Not only from people who I don’t really know, but also from people who I consider good friends.

When I began my path to ride a pro stock motorcycle, I have never felt so overwhelmed with negative criticism before. Once again from people who I really didn’t know, but also from people who I consider good friends. Then I was also facing comments at the race track from complete strangers. A lot of the time it would be guys who were joking around with their buddies, but they would make inappropriate jokes towards me or criticize my size, stature, or whatever they thought of that day. I would hold my tongue and try and be the bigger person and just turn and walk away. However, it was a really big challenge to get the criticism out of my head.

There have been times, when I have had to go in the motor home, or to the bathroom to get myself together. There has also been times when I have just had to call or find my mom and sister to vent too. It’s funny because I am so blessed to have so much great support in my life. I can’t believe all the people who have stood behind me, but there for a while in my life I was thinking more of the criticism then I was about all the support I had. I think it is so easy for people to take support, but criticism is a really challenging thing to take. This is especially true if it’s not constructive criticism.

The internet has also become a place for people to share their thoughts and opinions. Which I think is fantastic, but it also gives some people a sense of bravery. They feel compelled to say things they probably wouldn’t say in person. It is so easy to do that when sitting behind a computer. I have read some things about myself online that hurt me as well.

Now I want to be clear that the reason I am writing this blog is not for sympathy, it’s not to say poor me, because I feel quite the opposite. I have been able to learn how strong I truly am and have been blessed to learn some life lessons at a young age. The reason I wanted to share this is because I have learned that criticism can only keep you down if you let it. It’s so easy to get caught up in what people think of you as a person, but at the end of the day it really only matters what you think of yourself. If I had listened to the people who told me I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t be here. If I had listened to the people who told me I shouldn’t have my nose pierced or my hair dyed 17 different colors, well then I wouldn’t be being myself. If I didn’t work so hard, I probably wouldn’t be on a pro stock bike.

If you can accept yourself and love yourself, you will go far in the world. Nobody on this planet should ever make you feel like you’re not amazing, and they never will if you don’t let them. You can’t please everybody, but you can please yourself. I also, share this because sometimes it is easy to be the one to criticize others, and I know I am guilty of it. Now that I know what it feels like to be on the opposite side, I try to make everything I say positive, because I want to see others reach their dreams as well. I hope you will all do the same and don’t forget to dream big!

- Katie

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It is a pretty amazing place to go visit. Mark works for Al Billes Racing. Al is a great guy and his family is amazing. I love getting to hang out at their shop. I have never been in a shop with so many toys before, I am really grateful to Al for letting me hang out there when I am in town. I joke with Mark that when I pictured heaven, I pictured it like their shop.

As I headed home I was still sick, but my mind was racing about the things I needed to do when I got back in town. My dad and I were really trying to make it to Indy. The national event in Indy wasn’t on our schedule, but the closer it got, the more and more my dad and I want to be there. I had been trying to find some financial backing to help us get to the race, but I didn’t had any luck. In the end, that ended up being an okay thing for us. We decided it would be best to stay home and save our money to test. We also got to add Phoenix, AZ to our schedule which we are both really excited about.

Life at home has been busy too. I recently talked to my councilor at school and found out that in February I will have earned my Associates Degree in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I am still trying to decide if I will go on to earn a degree in business, or take some graphic design classes. I still have a little while to decide, but it has been on my mind a lot recently. Out of nowhere I also had this fantastic idea to go to school for welding. I am not sure where I get all these ideas, but they are never ending. Between school, work, and racing I do not spend much time at my own house. Luckily I have an awesome roommate and friend, Melissa Grens, who helps me look after my cats while I am gone so much. She is pretty amazing.

I wish I had some more to report about racing. We are still working really hard. My dad and I are always in the garage whenever we are not working trying to improve our bike and make everything perfect. I have also been spending a lot of time sitting on my bike making passes in my head. Sometimes I even make the sound effects…. But don’t tell anyone.

Take care!

- Katie

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Only about 4 years ago, I swung my leg over a drag bike for the first time. Only about 2 years ago, my dad and I started working on pro stock bikes. I have made less than 20 passes on a pro stock bike this season. My bracket motor blew up the first time out this season, so I have not been able to practice with a bracket motor. Basically the point is not to make an excuse when we struggle, but to look at what we are really working with and how far we have really come.

This is my 3rd season riding a pro stock motorcycle. When I really sit back and think of what my dad and I have accomplished, I can only really smile. I ran my first professional race when I was a senior in high school. I qualified for my first professional race when I was 18, I had only graduated from high school one week before. My dad and I began to run our own team when I was 19. Now today at 20, we are still running our own team. Just to have our own competitive pro stock motorcycle, be able to make the events we have, and have qualified for the ones we have has been an amazing feat. Not to mention the shoe string budget we have done this on. Now that is something to be proud of.

My dad has been a racer all his life. I am not sure if he believes he is blessed to have a daughter like me or cursed because of how much work I am for him. Regardless, he was the one who told me I could do it and has stood by my side the entire time. To be honest, I know my dad loves to ride and I am sure he is ready to be back on a bike full time.

However, he has put that aside to help me accomplish my goals. Not only do I have to thank him for that, but I have to say how truly proud and astounded I am by him. My dad is the crew chief on my bike, while we are competing with some of the best in the business. People who have done this for years and decades, who spend all of their time around these bikes. Then there is my dad, a drilling contractor. We work out of my parents little garage in our small town home in Corning, California. He is one amazing person.

The reason I want to push out the word struggle is because when I really think about it, we are learning. Every mistake, every day of bad luck, every good time, you learn. You learn what to do right, what not to do, who is around to help you, it doesn’t matter what you are learning as long as you are learning. And oh boy have we learned. Unfortunately we don’t always get to learn things the easy way either.

So back to how I feel about Sonoma. I feel like we are one step closer to being in that winner’s circle. I feel like we are one step closer to that top 10. I feel like we are one step closer to a championship. We will be a contender, there is no doubt in my mind. Of course through the learning we face criticism, but one of my favorite sayings about criticism goes like this: If you don’t want to be criticized, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

-Katie

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