Finding success in the drag racing world is difficult, but it is actually one of the easiest parts of Madi Turley’s life. Now 17-years-old, Madi fought harder just to survive the first few years of life than many drag racers will fight to win championships, but after battling through a variety of serious health issues early in life, she has emerged as one of the top young guns in the drag racing world with her black Dodge Challenger.

Kennetha Turley was just a few months into her pregnancy when Madi began having issues in utero. At her 12-week checkup, blood tests suggested that the baby could have an open spine, and they staff suggested that they terminate the pregnancy. The doctors told Kennetha and her husband, Mark Turley, that if the baby survived, she would likely unable to walk, talk or do anything for herself.

The medical professionals were sure that she would be confined to a bed forever and would have a poor quality of life. Over the next few months, things would get worse, forcing Kennetha to check into UT Hospital in Knoxville in August of 2006, where she was told that she would be staying until they gave birth. Madi’s original due date was in October, so the Turleys expected to spend the next few months in the hospital, away from home. However, a week later that all changed.

Kennetha Turley was 24 weeks into the pregnancy when the doctors discovered that the amniotic sac was too small, so they had to take the baby out to have any hope of saving her. At birth, Madison Turley weighed just 2 pounds, 9 ounces and she measured just 15 inches long. Kennetha and Mark both got to hold her for a short time before she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where she spent the next 66 days. Madi nearly lost the battle on her third day on Earth, but with the work of the doctors and the lots of praying by the family, she pulled through those first few months.

Unfortunately, the fight for life didn’t get much easier for Madi Turley after that lengthy stint in the NICU. When she was a year old, she had a severe reaction to a live virus vaccination and her parents were told that she had just three hours to live. Family members and members of their church community, including their pastor, came to the hospital to say goodbye, but baby Madi pulled through.

After being born very premature and surviving several near-death experiences as a baby, Madi faced many more challenges in her early years. She spent two years in physical therapy to learn to walk, along with going through two years of vision therapy and six years of occupational therapy. She still deals with vision problems, dyslexia, dysgraphia and some learning disorders, but as you can see from the images here, none of these early issues in life have prevented her from living a very exciting life as a teenager – including making quite a splash in the drag racing scene – and she will graduate from high school in 2025.

Introduction to Drag Racing
Madi Turley’s first two times on the drag strip were both ride-alongs – first with her dad in his Dodge Challenger R/T and then a short time later in the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat of Joe Frazier. After those experiences as a passenger on the track, Madi quickly became a huge drag racing fan, reading more about the sport online and watching it on television whenever possible.

She also began attending events with her family, and while the group was watching racing at zMax Drag Strip, they learned about the NHRA Junior Street program. Junior street is an 8^th mile bracket class open to racers between the ages of 13 and 16, and the vehicles are required to run 9.00 or slower.

The class seemed ideal for Madi, so the Turleys began the search for her first “race car”. Kennetha found a lightly used Challenger R/T for sale in their area, so they went to check it out. While there, Mark took the car for a test drive with Madi in the back seat, at which point she found a handheld tuning device. The salesman explained that it came with the car, and the fact that this Challenger R/T came with some extra horsepower drove home the point that this was Madi’s first race car.

Once Madi had her new-to-her race car, she and Mark headed to the drag strip so that she could complete the licensing process for the Junior Street class, which required her to make five clean 8^th mile passes down the track with her dad riding along and a sixth pass with an NHRA official. Madi’s first runs were so clean that the NHRA official on hand waved the sixth and issued her the paperwork needed to race in the Junior Street ranks.

On the day that Madi and Mark Turley went to the track for her licensing runs, they found that the venue also had a bracket racing program. She entered the bracket program and ended up finishing second in her class in her Dodge Challenger R/T, with just a handful of runs under her belt. That same day, family friend Doug Collins referred to her as “Mopar Madi”, and that nickname is still in use today.

Madi Turley’s first big break in the drag racing world came when she met David Davies. Davies is a competitor in the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown class with a Dodge Challenger Drag Pak along with being the Chief of Staff of Flexjet – the class sponsor for Factory Stock Showdown class. Davies supports the sport of drag racing as a team owner, driver and CEO of a major class sponsor, but more importantly for this discussion, his race team includes a Developmental Driver Program. Through this program, Davies has helped Madi Turley grow and advance in the sport, providing sponsorship, helping her find other sponsors and helping her name become better known throughout the racing community.

Madi Turley’s Dodge Challenger R/T
When Madi Turley first began racing her Dodge Challenger R/T, it was powered by the factory 5.7-liter Hemi with aftermarket headers, cold air intake and a mild tune. Through Davies, she met Mopar tuner AJ Berge of Hemituner Performace, who provided a custom engine tune. She also added Billet Specialty wheels, Mickey Thompson tires and E3 spark plugs and coil packs for her first season of racing with David Davies Racing. With this setup, Madi’s best elapsed time was an 8.07 in the 8^th mile.

For the 2024 season, Madi Turley debuted a new 392 Hemi crate engine with a Legmaker cold air intake and open headers, tuned by Mass Acceleration Motorsports in Denver, North Carolina. She has line lock, but she prefers to use the foot-brake method. She has also turned 17, so she is no longer in the NHRA Junior Street class, having moved onto quarter mile racing in the Sportsman class in the DER Bracket Series at Bristol Motor Speedway, where she has been in the top ten in the class championship chase all season. Her current best time in her Dodge Challenger R/T with the SRT Hemi is an 11.90 at 116.16 miles per hour. Her sponsors for 2024 include DHDR (David Davies Racing), E3 Spark Plugs, Wesley Motorsports, US Body, Mass Acceleration Motorsports and Mission 22.

Madi’s biggest win came at the Women and Wheels event at Bristol in August 2023, which helped her win the Woman and Wheels People’s Choice award at the year-end event in Oklahoma in January 2024. Madi was also chosen to be the NHRA Grassroots ambassador at the Bristol Super Grip Nationals in June 2024. In her local bracket series, Madi scored her first “total package” in June 2024, running exactly on her dial-in while also turning in the best reaction time in her class (11.90 on an 11.90 dial, .018 reaction time).

“I’m uncertain what I want to do after high school graduation. But one thing I do know is that I want to be a full time drag racer. I would like to start out in Factory Stock and work my way up, but I’m open to any opportunity.” You can follow along with Madi’s racing progress across the various social media channels here.

On track photos courtesy of Terry Ferrell of Dialed In Drag Racing Photos

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