Behind The Wheel - #30 - Tina Boggess
From West Virginia, Tina Boggess has found her passion in diesels, Dodge’s, and her 4 kids. Tina is the self-proclaimed “black sheep” of the family, as she grew up with both her father and brother having a love for everything Ford, while she had a passion for everything Dodge. Nothing has changed though, as you'll find Tina at the track in her Hellcat Durango, sporting a vanity plate that reads “MOMCAR”, with her kids acting as crew-chiefs supporting her in everything she does.
For the past 25 years, Tina has drag raced on and off, but always had a passion for cars and diesel trucks. Previously, she owned a 1992 Dodge Dakota which fueled her love for Dodge, a 1967 Barracuda with an old Hemi in it, and a Challenger. She also used to do truck pulling, but now she finds herself piloting her 2021 Hellcat Durango at the drag strip. Her Durango is equipped with many goodies, some of those being: Thitek ported factory heads, TKM/ Demon Performance shortblock, Kooks headers, Modern Muscle Xtreme Camshaft, GForce axles, was built by American Muscle Performance, and tuned by Brent Hughes. She currently holds the record for the fastest boost-only Hellcat Durango, with a PB of 9.58.
Tina went on to tell me about her personal pit-crew, her children. Chase and Zoey, her twins, are quite literally her biggest supporters at the track. “We tease that Zoey is my manager and Chase is my crew-chief. He won't let me put fuel in my car, he checks my tire pressure, pops my hood, and puts the fan on it. He won't let me touch a thing”, she said. She told me alongside with the goals of always going faster, and seeing where she can get with the Durango, “I would like to see my own kids race, if they want to. It’s a family activity for us”.
One of her next plans is to assist in the opening of another American Muscle Performance shop, this one in West Virginia, with her significant other Scott Boegler. Aside from that although she wants to see the Durango go faster, she might eventually see it as a fun daily and find herself in something she’s more comfortable with tearing apart the interior of to put a cage in and go faster. She hopes to spend more time at races as last year was her first time attending a Street Car Takeover event.
I asked her what drew her to the women’s class at the event and she told me, “We've never been to a Street Car Takeover, we decided to try something new. I saw there was an all-womens class and of course I wanted to race with the women. I love the atmosphere, I support the cause, and I wanted to race in it”. Her favorite event so far has been Bradenton, “I don’t even remember how I did in the class, the event overall was just so much fun, I don't even know why. I enjoyed racing in the class, watching Scott roll-race my Durango, and watching how Chase handled me”.
What Tina sees Women & Wheels doing for the industry is, “I think Women & Wheels brought women into racing that normally wouldn't race.I've been at events where I see other women that are nervous about racing with they guys because they're scared they'll mess up. When they see all women some of those nerves go away. The guys will push their girlfriends to try it. The environment is friendly, amazing and welcoming. You feel right at home”. Her biggest piece of advice is “Seek out a Women & Wheels event, everyone is so helpful and supportive. If you can't make it to one, go to a local test-n-tune and try it. Go in your normal, everyday, daily driver. It doesn't matter how fast you are, go out and have fun”.
Tina and her #MomCar are no slouch, and someone you should definitely keep an eye out for on the track.
For the past 25 years, Tina has drag raced on and off, but always had a passion for cars and diesel trucks. Previously, she owned a 1992 Dodge Dakota which fueled her love for Dodge, a 1967 Barracuda with an old Hemi in it, and a Challenger. She also used to do truck pulling, but now she finds herself piloting her 2021 Hellcat Durango at the drag strip. Her Durango is equipped with many goodies, some of those being: Thitek ported factory heads, TKM/ Demon Performance shortblock, Kooks headers, Modern Muscle Xtreme Camshaft, GForce axles, was built by American Muscle Performance, and tuned by Brent Hughes. She currently holds the record for the fastest boost-only Hellcat Durango, with a PB of 9.58.
Tina went on to tell me about her personal pit-crew, her children. Chase and Zoey, her twins, are quite literally her biggest supporters at the track. “We tease that Zoey is my manager and Chase is my crew-chief. He won't let me put fuel in my car, he checks my tire pressure, pops my hood, and puts the fan on it. He won't let me touch a thing”, she said. She told me alongside with the goals of always going faster, and seeing where she can get with the Durango, “I would like to see my own kids race, if they want to. It’s a family activity for us”.
One of her next plans is to assist in the opening of another American Muscle Performance shop, this one in West Virginia, with her significant other Scott Boegler. Aside from that although she wants to see the Durango go faster, she might eventually see it as a fun daily and find herself in something she’s more comfortable with tearing apart the interior of to put a cage in and go faster. She hopes to spend more time at races as last year was her first time attending a Street Car Takeover event.
I asked her what drew her to the women’s class at the event and she told me, “We've never been to a Street Car Takeover, we decided to try something new. I saw there was an all-womens class and of course I wanted to race with the women. I love the atmosphere, I support the cause, and I wanted to race in it”. Her favorite event so far has been Bradenton, “I don’t even remember how I did in the class, the event overall was just so much fun, I don't even know why. I enjoyed racing in the class, watching Scott roll-race my Durango, and watching how Chase handled me”.
What Tina sees Women & Wheels doing for the industry is, “I think Women & Wheels brought women into racing that normally wouldn't race.I've been at events where I see other women that are nervous about racing with they guys because they're scared they'll mess up. When they see all women some of those nerves go away. The guys will push their girlfriends to try it. The environment is friendly, amazing and welcoming. You feel right at home”. Her biggest piece of advice is “Seek out a Women & Wheels event, everyone is so helpful and supportive. If you can't make it to one, go to a local test-n-tune and try it. Go in your normal, everyday, daily driver. It doesn't matter how fast you are, go out and have fun”.
Tina and her #MomCar are no slouch, and someone you should definitely keep an eye out for on the track.