It’s not every day that you see a female driver whooping up on the male competition at an auto cross event. Even more rare is a 16-year-old girl stomping the competition in her custom pink Cuda, but one Louisiana teen is doing just that and more. Not only does this young lady dominate at the track, she also takes car shows by storm- winning numerous awards. Thanks to Hotchkiss Sport Suspension who brought us this story on their Facebook wall.

Stephanie Williams, a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, isn’t your average young lady but neither is her car. She drives a bright Panther Pink 1972 Plymouth Barracuda 340. Impressed by Williams’ dedication to a friend with cancer, Williams’ uncle, a doctor, custom built the car in California with some help from her dad.

The Panther Pink color was chosen from bracelets that Williams had made to remind others to pray for her friend. Inspired by a Barbie car that she played with as a child, Williams requested that the interior of the car be changed from black to white.

Williams received her car about this time last year, just in time for her 16^th birthday. The family met at Mopars at the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada to unveil the car. At the event, Williams’ uncle pulled up in the car, complete with glow-in-the-dark stripes on the side, surprising Williams. Williams entered her new Cuda in the car show and won Best Show Car All-Around, Best Paint Job, Best Gen-X Car All-Around and Best Interior.

Determined to prove her car was more than just a nice paint job and upholstery, Williams also entered the drag-racing and auto cross events. Professional auto cross driver, Mary Pozzi gave Williams some tips during a ride-along to get her started. Driving the car for the first time, Williams blew past her competition and took first place in the event.

It was at the event that Williams was approached by Hotchkis Sport Suspension about sponsoring her car. Williams received a new suspension built to improve the ease and smoothness of the car as it cornered.

To add to Williams’ many track-event and car-show wins, her and her car have been featured in a number of photo shoots, on a TV show and in three different magazines. In response to the question about why she had her car painted pink, she refers to her license plate that reads “YNOTPNK.” We would agree- what better color for a young lady taking automotive shows and racing events by storm?