PALM BAY, Fla. — A Brevard professional jet racer is breaking barriers in motor sports, and thanks to technology, she can compete better —​ and more safely.

For Josette Roach, drag racing is in her blood, and her new race car was custom-built for her.

What You Need To Know

  • Brevard County resident Josette Roach has been racing cars for 12 years

  • She says she has known since she was a child that she wanted to race

  • Roach says she has faced challenges because she has a small frame and most cars are designed for men

  • Her car is custom-designed, and she has a carbon fiber steering wheel that was printed  at Florida Tech's Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Design in Palm Bay

"My seat is custom-poured around me, so that's my impression in the seat," she said. "My levers have been placed where I want them for my arm, and then, of course, the new Markforged 3D printed steering wheel that has totally been designed for my hands.”

Florida Tech's Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Design in Palm Bay prints the new carbon fiber steering wheel.

John Kochenberger, a master's student in mechanical engineering, said he and the team can design wheels to fit any hands — and make it safer for the driver.

"The wheel fits her hand much better, gives her one less thing to worry about when she's driving,” Kochenberger said. “You don't have to worry about, ‘Is my thumb in the right spot?’ It's more natural."

Getting to this point in her career has been a long time comeing for Roach.

"Fun fact, the day before I was born, my parents were actually at a drag strip, so you could say that it's in my blood," she said.

Her dad builds cars, her mom and siblings race them.

But Roach said her brother and sister were the daredevils growing up, so her parents likely never saw her as one day living life on the edge and at full throttle.

"I remember going into my kindergarten class and telling all of my friends, ‘One day I'm going to be a race car driver’," Roach said.

After 16 years of waiting, she got her first car, a junior dragster — she says she knew then what she wanted to do for a career.

Roach has now been racing for 12 years and got her jet dragster license in 2021 — all in a field dominated by men.

But having a smaller frame brings challenges because dragsters are typically built for men.

That's where her custom-built car comes in.

According to the National Hot Rod Association, drag racing is one of the most gender inclusive sports in the world.

Officials say racing has a level playing field, with the skill set determined by the driver, male or female.

​Larsen Motorsports now has several women drag racers.

"Keep that childhood dream, and shoot beyond the stars,” Roach said. “People say, ‘Shoot for the stars.’ There's so much more out there so, shoot all the way past it. You don't know where it will take you."

Roach and her team will compete in the National Muscle Car Association’s Muscle Car Mayhem at the Orlando Speed World raceway on M​arch 18.