Column By: TOM WENNER / RPW – OAKS, PA – Andrea Cap ended her two-year run as Ms. Motorsports at the Pioneer Pole Building Motorsports Racecar & Trade Show on Friday night, January 21st.
Andrea will forever be known as the only Ms. Motorsports who had a two-year run with the title (to date).
When Covid-19 played havoc on the 2020 racing season, and then cancelled the 2021 show, Area Auto Racing news, the organizers of the contest, decided to give Andrea a second year so she could enjoy her reign. She shared jokingly that she will be referred to as the “COVID Queen” and took a few minutes out of her busy schedule at the show to catch up and reflect on her run with her title.
DAndrea has grown up as a Sprint Car girl. She frequented the central PA sprint car tracks while growing up and has followed veteran racer Danny Dietrich for many years. Her first crown was as a track queen at Grandview Speedway with the very popular Thunder On The Hill Series, promoted by Bob Miller. Andrea served as Miss Thunder On The Hill which served as a stepping stone for her move to Ms. Motorsports.
During her multi-year run, Andrea visited 37 race tracks in 14 different states. Some memorable moments included spending a lot of time in victory lane with a young racer who has won a lot. His name is Kyle Larson and to say that happened a great deal would be an understatement.
She also mentioned getting dressed up like a dad for a fundraiser she had put together and having Lance Dewease spray her with champagne in victory lane. In that same victory lane ceremony, Dewease’s crew chief, Davey Brown Sr., took a swig from that very bottle. That is something Andrea will remember forever.
Another moment was from the the South Oklahoma Speedway where she met John from the Tiger King TV show. John was quite the Sprint Car fan.
You never understand what the time as Ms. Motorsports means to a woman until you see their interaction with the fans. I got to see it as I was talking with Andrea for this interview. While we were chatting, a young girl came up to pose for a photo. Andrea’s purchased a great deal of tiara’s and has given them out to any young girl who’s stop by and said “Hi.”
I can tell you from personal experience, this little girl will never forget the moment Ms. Motorsports gave her a crown. She wore it proudly as she walked away, holding her mother’s hand, but looking back at Andrea with a huge smile on her face.
That’s what it means to make a mark on the sport.
Now that her reign is complete, Andrea’s looking forward to some down time after serving for two years. The ending is bittersweet and will certainly create a lifestyle change for her and she has no immediate plans in racing. However, she did mentioned that she would love to emcee different racing events, if she was called upon.
I asked Andrea if she could offer any advice to the newest member of the Ms. Motorsports sorority, Morgan Rochelle-Bealer, what it would be?
Her response?
“Stay true to yourself,” Andrea said. “Get to know the fans, drivers and teams and you’ll have so much more fun in the role.”
Perfect advise…just perfect!