Hooked at First Drive
Faith Lyons Is One Competitive Lil Lady
Story By Savannah Rose | Photos Provided By Faith Lyons
There are lots of claims as the iconic hometown for every sport imaginable. Southern Texas is known to produce some of the best baseball players, the midwest yields a lot of top competitors in football, and southern California is the mecca for off-road hall-of-famers. With ample desert right in their backyard, the youth of powersports have a definite advantage over others. A perfect example of that is this month’s Little Ripper. Coming out of Apple Valley, California, Faith Lyons is a 14 year old ripper through and through. Although not yet of legal age to drive on city streets, Faith is already doing big things behind the wheel on the racetrack.
After all, you don’t need a driver’s license to race!
Faith has made herself known for her successes, primarily in the WORCS series, in her 2010 Polaris RZR 800 in youth classes, but most recently is making plans to do the same as she moves up to the women’s class in a 2015 Polaris RZR XP 1000. Racing since the age of 10, unlike most, Faith didn’t come from a long line of race heritage. Her father owns a 4-seat UTV for family fun, but his racing career existed exclusively in the BMX world. But racing is racing and her lack of 4-wheeled pedigree hasn’t slowed her down.
Faith got started in UTV racing through her social circle. After a handful of go-kart racing sessions with some friends, she and her father both realized she enjoyed the adrenaline rush of being behind the wheel and pitted against competitors. Faith yearned for more. She already had some friends who were racing UTVs, and coincidentally, one of them had an extra car and let them borrow it.
She was hooked before turn one.
Faith continues to find inspiration by so many different female athletes but is most sparked by Hailie Deegan, noting that “she doesn’t let being a girl affect her being in a male dominated sport.”
On racing against the boys, Faith said “I feel like there’s more competition out there because there’s always the ‘oh you got beat by a girl’ fear factor. I’ve honestly only had one boy competitor come up and say ‘Great job. Not only did I get beat by a girl but I got beat by a better driver.’ I feel like being a girl in a male dominant sport can be very hard at times, but at the end of the day you have to be able to look at yourself and not just think of yourself as a girl but as a girl that can do whatever a boy can do and maybe even do it better.”
Faith loves desert racing most, but she jumps at the chance to get behind the wheel no matter what it might be for. “I love how when you go out, you never know what’s coming, because it always changes slightly.”, she claims about the wide open terrain.
One of Faith’s racing goals is to compete at the 12 Hour Endurance Race at Texplex Park in Texas.
When Faith isn’t behind the wheel, you may find her playing volleyball. She’s currently trying out for her school’s team, all while still staying focused on her racing career.
Faith already has an impressive list of sponsors, like Go Fast Girls, Rugged Radios, HPR SoCal, Assault Industries, 5150 Whips, Method Race Wheels, Tensor Tire, and Benchmark Performance.
We’re thrilled to see Faith continue to improve upon her successes and pursue a name for herself in the UTV racing history books, so keep an eye out for her on the track and cheer her on!
If you want to follow along with Faith, her Instagram is @faith._.lyons and her loyal race dad can be found at @race_dad_673.
