A glamorous Oklahoma woman is racing to break barriers by becoming her town’s first female sprinter and opening a welding shop to inspire young girls.
Emme Hughes, 21, of Enid, has spent the past 12 years racing and finally took home her first win on June 1 at Enid Speedway in the Sport Mods/B-Mods division, where she was the only woman in the race.
“I was very excited,” Hughes told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. “I was very nervous, but at the same time I had an adrenaline rush.”
It was only the sixth time he had raced his mirrorless B-Mod car, having previously driven sprint cars until recently, when his 78-year-old grandfather and former racer, Ted Shepard, became too ill to work on his car.
Then his father, Shawn Hughes, bought him the B-Mod car and the rest is history.
Emme Hughes, 21, of Enid, has spent the past 12 years racing and finally took home her first win on June 1 at Enid Speedway in the Sport Mods/B-Mods division, where she was the only woman in the race.
“I was really excited,” Hughes told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. “I was really nervous, but at the same time, I had an adrenaline rush.” It was only the sixth time she had raced her B-Mod car, having previously driven sprint cars.
Although Shepard was too ill to attend the race, he was “super ecstatic” to learn he had won his first race.
“He told me, ‘I knew you’d do it soon,'” Hughes recalled. “He just believed in me more than I could ever imagine.”
His grandfather used to race cars at Enid Speedway and is well-known in his town of 50,000.
“I can’t go anywhere without someone saying, ‘Are you Ted Shepard’s granddaughter?'” Hughes said with a laugh.
The 21-year-old from Oklahoma grew up in a large racing family and often missed birthday parties and other youthful rites of passage because she was too busy on the track, but she has no regrets as it brought her family closer together.
He even had a race track in his backyard growing up so he could “focus on my sport” and become a “driven person.”
These skills now help protect her when male runners get too upset about a woman participating in the sport.
At the age of 18, Hughes opened his welding shop, EH Metal Works, which specializes in making cattle guards, art pieces and signs, with the help of his grandfather, who also owned a welding company.
He remembers spending a lot of time in Shepard’s old Dodge pickup, eating donuts and listening to Reba McEntire on the way to his grandfather’s shop, the place where he learned to weld at the ripe old age of six.
“I’ve been shouted at,” she told DailyMail.com, revealing that horseplay and fights are normal in racing. “I can’t help being a woman in a male-dominated field.”
But she will use the misguided criticism to continue empowering young women to pursue their dreams.
At the age of 18, Hughes opened his welding shop, EH Metal Works, which specializes in making cattle guards, art pieces and signs, with the help of his grandfather, who also owned a welding company.
He remembers spending a lot of time in Shepard’s old Dodge pickup, eating donuts and listening to Reba McEntire on the way to his grandfather’s shop, the place where he learned to weld at the ripe old age of six.
With the help of his former team and some business advice, Hughes set out to start his own company and hasn’t looked back. He now has three employees and is working on creating workshops to help girls and boys learn the basics of being an entrepreneur and a welder.
His father, Shawn Hughes, got him the B-Mod car and the rest is history.
And she plans to keep winning races to show young women that they can do it too.
“All I do is eat, sleep, work and compete,” he told DailyMail.com. “I hope to continue doing this for the rest of my life.”
And she is not afraid to bring a little pink into a traditionally male-dominated space.
“I want to keep my feminine energy while doing something that is considered a male-dominated industry. I love being able to embrace myself,” Hughes said. KOMO News.
“I’m still the Rosie the Riveter of the modern era, you know?” she continued. “If any little girls would like to come to my shop and learn, please. I’d love to.”
