We know Natalie Decker is no stranger to road course racing. She has won four karting championships in just two years; pretty impressive for a driver who started racing in 4-cylinder modified stock cars at just 12. Then, from winning the 2012 class championship at Marshfield Motor Speedway to being crowned the 2013 Rookie of the Year in the ARCA Midwest Tour, it’s been quite a journey. But what exactly inspired her to get into a male-dominated sport?

In an Exclusive Interview with EssentiallySports, Decker shed light on her inspiration for Hailie Deegan and how it changed her and affected her career plans.

And let’s just say, Natalie Decker was always destined to be a racer. For those who don’t know, her father, Chuck Decker, is the former owner of the Eagle River Derby Track, which hosts the World Championship Snowmobile Derby. And, the Decker family made a name for themselves in the Snowmobile racing circles in the 1970s and 80s as well, competing alongside Danica Patrick’s family back in the day. Now, imagine growing up in a scenario where your father owns a track, and the family is competing with another female racer’s family. It must be all things throttle; stock cars are discussed at the dinner table. 

So, she was quite used to that adrenaline rush, even on motor vehicles that have caterpillar tracks. 

Sharing her thoughts on how Hailie Deegan‘s career roadmap helped her in the exclusive interview with EssentiallySports’ Brahmi Dhaytadak, Natalie Decker said, “I would race anything. And I feel like if you were to ask Hailie, she probably would say the same thing, and that’s why she’s at this awesome opportunity she is. You know, I thought about road racing as a career that I could do instead of NASCAR, but my heart is still always there.”

And, we know, Deegan also started at the age of 7, with riding dirt bikes, and then went on to become the first female to win a Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, and then continued with Rev Racing. That’s what Natalie Decker‘s been doing as well. From winning a championship at the age of 9, and then moving to ARCA, and now competing in NASCAR. There’s this mutual hunger and a zeal to not give up.

Now we can also relate to why she said, “when things are going wrong, don’t give up,” as Decker spoke to Toby Christie after she became the 3rd female racer to compete in the United Rentals 300 Xfinity race at Daytona.

Further adding on to the authority of NASCAR, she said, “Because that’s just like, when you think of motorsports, that’s like the biggest there is, and the best there is. They race in NASCAR. So, yes, I would definitely take the opportunity.”

But making it in the motorsports world is far from easy, especially for a female driver in a male-dominated industry. But switching disciplines? That’s even more difficult, especially because Natalie Decker has already made a name for herself in the stock car racing world. However, her last NASCAR appearance was in 2024 for DGM Racing, where she finished 18th and 24th, respectively. And, clearly, she isn’t affected by the switch. Especially, now that Deegan has paved the way and normalised it, Decker might be next in line.

“I’ve done a lot of road racing with Ave Motorsports, and if I had the opportunity to go like full-season racing with him in one of the various series he runs at, I would absolutely take that opportunity,” Natalie Decker told EssentiallySports in the Exclusive Interview, ensuring that every opportunity is big.

Ultimately, it might all come down to not just having the opportunity, but sponsorship and funding. If that obstacle is out of her way, the Wisconsin native could have the world at her feet.

Natalie Decker’s counting all her well-wishers

As the sport is defined by fine margins, the difference between making it to the highest level and fading into obscurity can come down to a few milliseconds. For any driver hoping to make it to the highest level, taking advice from somebody who has been there and done that would be the most logical choice. And, for Decker, the likes of Danica Patrick and Katherine Legge would be the most obvious inspirations.

Especially knowing the fact that she’s been literally following in her footsteps. In 2018, Decker, who was 20 then, as an ARCA driver, became the fourth female to win a pole (Lucas Oil 200) at Daytona International Speedway. The 1st female driver to do so was, of course, Patrick in 2013.

And Natalie Decker seems to be in touch with not just her mentor but also her father. Yes, it looks like Natalie Decker isn’t just taking inspiration from the likes of Hailie Deegan, but former motocross racer T.J. Patrick as well.

Additionally, shedding light on the Patrick-Decker family relation and their dinners together, Decker said, “I’ve gotten to talk with her (Danica Patrick) a few times, and I’m close with her parents, who are longtime friends of my parents. If we’re ever in Indy or the same spot, we try to get together for dinner as families. She doesn’t try to dish out advice herself, but I’ve gotten a lot of advice from her father, just a lot about the experience and what you go through. I think it’s cool to get advice from a dad whose daughter was in racing.”

And, of course, T.J. Patrick knows more than just a thing or two about a female driver making it to the highest level against all odds, as his daughter has the most starts, laps led, and top-tens for a woman in the Cup Series. The road might be tough and full of obstacles. But Natalie Decker isn’t willing to let go of her NASCAR dream just yet, even though the odds aren’t stacked in her favor.

We would love to see you race in Top Tier NASCAR, Natalie. And, not just this, but also make female racers compete in every single race on the schedule, a new normal.