Bridjet Duffy ’23 On Her Experience As a Racecar Driver

Sophomore Bridjet Duffy is gearing up for her second season as a racecar driver in the Varsity Racing League.

Duffy first started getting into racing at age 7, when she started go karting. Later on, her father joined the Monticello Motor Club and took the family along. At 14, she participated in the club’s Team Race Camp.

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic had most students in online school and saw fall sports canceled for many students. Professional racecar drive Aurora Straus saw that the racing camp graduates now had more free time and created the Varsity Racing League, designed to work more with young, dedicated drivers.

“I witnessed some of the cleanest, most competitive driving I’ve ever seen short of professional racing. More importantly, they’ve bonded for life,” Straus said in an Instagram post.

Duffy participated in the league’s inaugural season, and her dedication to the sport only furthered. She said it’s hard to explain the excitement she feels driving.

“It’s just the feeling you get in the car.” Duffy said. “You’re just so focused in the moment, it’s all up to you what happens, and you’re just in control at that time.

Duffy wants to still be racing far into her future, hopefully one day getting into professional racing. She mentioned specifically she would love to try racing Ferraris or Porches.

“I really hope to be racing professionally because that’s just what inspires me, that’s just the passion I have. I want to continue that,” Duffy said.

She encourages people interested in racing to keep at it and be aware that failure will happen; they just need to work through it and improve. She stated she almost quit go karting when she was young for fear she wasn’t good at it but got encouragement from her father and pushed through, eventually becoming the racer she is today.

“My dad was a huge part of this, and he motivated me,” Duffy said. “You’ve just got to keep going and keep getting better."

This season, Duffy will be racing an NB Miata, a switch from her NA Miata last season. The spring season of the Varsity Racing League starts this March and will run on select Saturdays and Sundays.