Speed Racer

At a Texas racetrack in March 2018, Aurora Straus stood on the top of the winner’s platform. She held up her trophy to the cheering crowd. At just 19 years old, she had won her first professional car race! 

Straus learned to drive at a racetrack near her New York hometown. Her dad took her there to teach her how to control a skidding car. But as soon as Straus zipped around the track, she fell in love. “It was one of the most exciting moments in my life,” she says.

Straus became a pro sportscar driver in 2016. Understanding how forces affect her car gives her an edge on the track.

Aurora Straus stood on the top of the winner’s platform. It was at a Texas racetrack in March 2018. She held up her trophy. The crowd cheered. She was just 19 years old. And she’d won her first professional car race! 

Straus’s hometown is in New York. She learned to drive at a racetrack there. Her dad took her there to learn how to control a skidding car. Straus zipped around the track. And she fell in love. “It was one of the most exciting moments in my life,” she says.

Straus became a pro sportscar driver in 2016. She understands how forces affect her car. That gives her an edge on the track.

“The scariest part of every race is before you turn the car on, when you’re sitting and waiting,” Straus says. But when the race begins, there’s no time to be scared! Straus presses the gas pedal on her BMW, and the car shoots down the track. 

The cars quickly accelerate, or gain speed. Race cars have smooth shapes to reduce drag, the force of air pushing against them. That helps them reach more than 322 kilometers (200 miles) per hour—over three times faster than a car on a highway!

“The scariest part of every race is before you turn the car on, when you’re sitting and waiting,” Straus says. But then the race begins. And there’s no time to be scared! Straus presses the gas pedal on her BMW. The car shoots down the track. 

The cars quickly accelerate. That means they gain speed. Race cars have smooth shapes. The shapes help cut down on drag. It’s the force of air pushing against cars. That helps the cars reach more than 322 kilometers (200 miles) per hour. That’s more than three times faster than a car on a highway!

At each curve, Straus has to slow slightly and steer carefully so she doesn’t crash into the track wall—or other cars. That’s because an object in motion, like a speeding car, tends to resist a change in motion. This tendency is called inertia. 

Straus can keep control of her car thanks to friction, a rubbing force created between the car’s tires and the road. A device at the back of her car, called a spoiler, also helps. Air flowing over the spoiler pushes the back of the car down. That helps keep the tires from sliding as Straus speeds around the track!

Straus has to slow slightly at each curve. She steers carefully. She does this to keep from crashing into the track wall or other cars. That’s because object in motion tend to resist a change. That includes a speeding car. This property is called inertia.

Straus can keep control of her car thanks to friction. It’s a rubbing force. It’s created between the car’s tires and the road. Straus’s car’s spoiler also helps. It’s a device at the back of the car. Air flows over the spoiler. That pushes the back of the car down. It helps keep the tires from sliding as Straus speeds around the track!

Back when Straus began racing, she was one of only a few women in the sport. That’s why in 2018, she founded an organization called Girls With Drive. The group connects girls with mentors who work in fields  dominated by men.

Straus hopes to inspire girls to follow their dreams. “If you see someone who looks like you doing something, it gives you more confidence that you can do it,” she says.

Straus was one of only a few women in the sport when she began racing. That’s why she founded a group in 2018. It’s called Girls With Drive. The group connects girls with experts. They work in careers usually held by men.

Straus hopes to inspire girls to follow their dreams. “If you see someone who looks like you doing something, it gives you more confidence that you can do it,” she says.