With potential history on the line, Taylor Reimer is staying focused ahead of Sunday’s ARCA dirt race

In the brief time Taylor Reimer has been in motorsports, she has already blazed her own trail of success.

Possessing a strong background in dirt-track racing, Reimer’s accolades in the discipline include a checkered flag at Millbridge Speedway in 2022. That triumph established Reimer’s place in United States motorsports history as the first woman to win a National Midget event.

The historical significance of that moment was not at the forefront of Reimer’s focus when she brought home the trophy from Millbridge. Reimer is keeping a similar mindset ahead of Sunday’s Calypso 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET on FS1), where she will have a strong chance to become the first woman to win an ARCA Menards Series (national) event.

“I honestly don’t really care about being the first female or anything like that,” Reimer said. “I just want to win in everything I get in. To [be the first female National Midget] winner was cool, but just to be able to win was more special than anything.”

The Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds holds a special distinction on Reimer’s ongoing transition from dirt to full-bodied stock cars. Not only was it the site of Reimer’s first ARCA Menards Series start, but also her best finish on the platform to date.

Reimer recalls the culture shock she experienced turning her first laps around the Springfield Mile in 2023. The weight difference between the ARCA Menards Series chassis and a dirt midget was something to which Reimer struggled to adapt. That contributed to her finishing eighth, two laps down from race-winner Brent Crews.

With a rigorous-but-productive debut behind her, Reimer made sure she was ready for her return to the Springfield Mile the following season. She maintained track position inside the top five all day and ended up making history alongside her Venturini Motorsports teammate Isabella Robusto as the first pair of women to finish inside the top three in the same ARCA Menards Series race.

The key to enjoying a stellar sophomore outing at the Springfield Mile for Reimer was simple: She needed to forgo the fundamentals acquired from dirt midgets, as they did not apply to the ARCA cars or the track.

“I thought it would be more like a dirt race,” Reimer said. “With how the track is at the Springfield Mile, it’s honestly nothing alike. The dirt is very hard-packed, [so it is] basically a pavement race. I was kind of caught by surprise the very first year that I ran it, but once I got acclimated to it and ran it again the next year, we obviously ran very well there.”

Reimer backed up her performance at the Springfield Mile with another lead-lap finish at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds the following month. With a cadence established on the ARCA Menards Series’ two dirt venues, it was time for Reimer to test her skills on the platform’s pavement tracks big and small.

In just her second ARCA Menards Series race on asphalt, Reimer scored a fifth at Kansas with Nitro Motorsports, the largest track on which she’d raced to that point. Reimer has since tallied top fives at Berlin Raceway and Elko Speedway, both of which came with her current team, Pinnacle Racing Group.

Nothing about pavement racing comes easy, but Reimer is proud of the progress made in the ARCA Menards Series over the past two years. She hopes to start contending for wins on asphalt tracks soon and is optimistic her two recent top fives indicate she is close to reaching that goal.

“I feel like it’s been going well,” Reimer said. “Being fully funded by the sponsors I bring in, I feel like I’m doing the most out of what I can. Not being able to be full-time in anything is definitely hard when you’re racing against guys who run every single weekend. I’m just continuing to try and get better each and every race.”

One area Reimer cited as a major improvement from her first weekend in the ARCA Menards Series was in-race communication, as spotters are not utilized in dirt midget racing. The constant talking during a race, whether it was her spotter guiding her or exchanging feedback with her crew chief, was something Reimer found beneficial.

Reimer also commended PRG for making her feel more comfortable with the ARCA chassis. With veteran Kevin Reed Jr. as her crew chief, Reimer has displayed consistent speed in PRG’s No. 77 Chevrolet across four starts with the team; the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway being her only finish outside the top 10 due to a mechanical issue.

That consistency is why Reimer believes she can win Sunday’s Calypso 100. She has a fast car and more knowledge about the series compared to what she knew in 2024. She just needs to put it all together.

“I’m really looking forward to [Springfield],” Reimer said. “I feel more confident than I ever have before going into a race. We’ve worked really hard this year, and everyone at PRG has done a fantastic job behind the scenes to get my car ready to go. I think we’re going to do very well.”

Reimer understands the history she could make with a win Sunday, but pulling into Victory Lane would be special for other reasons. Since she started racing go-karts in the mid-2000s, Reimer has wanted to find success in motorsports, but all the years across dirt and pavement reinforced how difficult that is to achieve.

Despite this, Reimer faced every challenge head-on in dirt and came out the other side as a trailblazer. She is following a similar trend in the ARCA Menards Series and sees Sunday’s race at the Springfield Mile as a perfect opportunity to showcase her talent and poise.

“To win a race in the ARCA Menards Series would mean everything,” Reimer said. “I’ve been working hard each and every day to continue to find funding and do the best that I can behind the wheel. My goal for next year is to race full-time. If I win, I think that can help my chances and get seen by more people. It could change my career for the future.”

No matter how Springfield goes, Reimer will get another chance to win an ARCA race on dirt at DuQuoin on Sept. 6. Plenty of pavement tracks await Reimer after DuQuoin, but she now feels just as relaxed on them compared to the dirt ovals she ran in her formative years.

If she keeps progressing as planned, Reimer feels an ARCA victory on a paved track will occur sooner rather than later.