DI Women of Power: Randi Lyn Butner Writes a New Chapter
Although Randi Lyn Butner has no intention of closing the book on racing Stock Eliminator in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the year 2024 opened a whole new and exciting chapter for the lifelong racer. This season, Butner is making history racing in the 800-plus-cubic-inch Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock Series alongside husband and JHG teammate Bo Butner. She’s also racing her 1967 Pontiac in Stock Eliminator whenever she can.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #189, the Women of Power Issue, in July/August of 2024.]
For Butner, the decision to add a monstrous Pro Stock car to her side of the garage was a big one. She thought long and hard about racing it and didn’t fully commit until she made her first few passes in the Elite Motorsports-powered, Frank Gugliotta-tuned JHG Chevrolet Camaro. Testing and licensing was deeply impacted by the weather over the winter months, but she cut her teeth in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod at Bradenton Motorsports Park in February and made her NHRA debut at the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte in April.
“They broke me in the hard way,” says Butner, who quickly gained experience with tire shake and getting out of the groove in the wily Mountain Motor car. “I don’t know if I would have called it fun in the beginning, because it was very nerve-racking, and I was definitely out of my element, but sometimes change is good. It was empowering to make good runs and be able to do it. I never thought I would have this opportunity – I’d seen Bo do it a million times, but it’s so different to be the one inside the car controlling it.”
With 12 cars vying for a spot in the eight-car field, Butner peered around the massive hood scoop on her JHG Chevy and ran a 6.650-second pass at 224.92 MPH to lock into the No. 5 spot, while her husband scored the pole on a 6.205, 227.04. On race day, Mrs. Butner gave it a good go in the first round with a 6.297, 223.80, but veteran John DeFlorian got the nod on a 6.257, 224.36.
The next stop on the six-race JHG Mountain Motor Pro Stock tour was Bristol Dragway, where a hot and bumpy racetrack challenged her budding skillset and allowed Butner to stretch – though perhaps a bit too far and into the no-fly zone.
Through three qualifying runs, she worked to keep a gentle approach while also wrestling a car that wanted desperately to play outside of the groove. She got first-hand experience with trying to tame an absolute beast and bumped a timing block in one of her attempts. Although Butner did not, ultimately, make the field, the experience only made her more eager to get to the next MMPS event.
“I’m still learning my limitations, and every race is a new learning experience for me with another thing to know,” says Butner. “But I’ve learned a lot already and have more confidence in myself now than I did in the beginning. It’s crazy that before this, I didn’t even know if I could drive a clutch car. I’m finding my way, and it’s really exciting.”
So far, husband Bo has scooped up each of the two available trophies in the series. Butner, a seven-time winner in Stock Eliminator, can envision one for herself in the future.
“You always think a win could happen, and I know I have a car perfectly capable of winning – I just have to get in there and do my job,” says Butner. “If the stars align, it can happen anywhere – and if not, I think Bo will be my biggest competition. That’s OK, too.”
This story was originally published on August 23, 2024.
The post DI Women of Power: Randi Lyn Butner Writes a New Chapter first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
