Driving turbo-powered land rockets around circuits with sharp turns and executing motherhood duties at home – the wonder that a female race car driver can be! Natalie Decker, one of the few female faces on the NASCAR grid, recently became eligible for this category. Denny Hamlin’s mentee has pursued a part-time career in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the Xfinity Series, grabbing notable rewards on the way. For instance, she became the first woman speedster to clinch a top-five finish at Daytona in 2020.

But for now, Natalie Decker is on a different mission. She took a break from her high-speed stock car racing duties to focus on her pregnancy sabbatical. The social media icon keeps posting her little milestones in her health journey. However, she fell prey to some cyber-bullying. Yet Decker has the perfect response!

Natalie Decker destroys trolling

Well, the 27-year-old Eagle River, Wisconsin racer, has some peers to look up to. Three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart is currently competing in the NHRA. But the person he is replacing is a phenom – Leah Pruett owns 12 NHRA Top Fuel wins. Her enormous grit and power are now being used in the beautiful journey to become a mother. Similarly, Natalie Decker is on a similar path. Not only is she preparing to welcome a bundle of joy to her home, but also showing immense courage to fend off insensitive trolls on social media.

Recently, Natalie Decker posted gorgeous pictures of herself, reporting on her tummy look as she crossed the mid-path of her pregnancy journey. She wrote on X: “HALF BAKED time is going by so fast I can’t believe I am past halfway!!” Along came a sleazy comment from an insensitive X user, remarking on her looks. But Decker is a fan of Denny Hamlin – the Cup Series veteran known to be vocal about his opinions. So she fearlessly hit back: “Exactly what I am doing is being proud of my body for growing a little baby. Us expecting to be Mama’s are proud of what are bodies are capable of!!”

This reflects Natalie Decker’s lively personality on and off the racetrack. Although she has been unable to clinch good finishes in races for some time, the driver has not given up. The Denny Hamlin follower posted a career-high 18th-place finish in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona this season, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for DGM Racing. After she announced her pregnancy in August, speculation was rife about Decker’s exit from NASCAR. However, the motorsports athlete bashed this rumor as baseless: “I don’t owe anybody an answer for anything, but I want to make one thing clear once a race car driver always a race car driver. I’ll be back in the car in 2025.”

And all her inspiration for her career comes from some strong family bonds.

Pillars of support to keep her dreams alive

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Behind every successful woman is a true will to fight and to survive. Yet a little push from loved ones makes that journey to success a little less daunting. Similarly, Natalie Decker has a supportive family who keeps motivating her to pursue her racing ambitions. Her roots can be traced to a family tradition of racing together on weekends. Also, she has been in an 8-year relationship with her husband, Derek Lemke, who wanted to move to North Carolina for the sole purpose of supporting Decker’s racing dreams. So the NASCAR driver knows her loved ones would be there for her no matter what.

In an interview for Frontstretch this year, Natalie Decker expressed her gratitude to her family. “I’m very close with my family, and my family is the reason that I am being here in North Carolina, racing in NASCAR. The reason I fell in love with racing was because of my family. We would race on the weekends together. It was always my parents, my brother and my cousins, my aunt and uncle. So doing the sport together as a family makes it so wonderful.” She also hailed her husband for rooting for her even before their marriage. “Our life already was so combined together. We were such a team right away when he fully committed to supporting my racing.”

Now, Natalie Decker has motherhood duties instead of racing duties and Lemke is by her side. We wish Decker and her family a beautiful entry into parenthood!