Watch out for this girl racer!

Amanda Shepherd is not your average 19-year-old. The bubbly, blonde teen has a not-so-secret identity. On weekdays she joins other Sydneysiders in dragging herself out of bed, hopping on a train and heading into the city to her day job at Legal Aid. But on the weekend, there's another side to the youngster, as she pulls on her superhero suit and gets ready to fly with her alter-ego.

“During the week I'm normal, then on the weekend I'm a speed demon, a massive adrenalin seeker,” she says.

Shepherd competes in the Top Fuel Championship and is the only female doing so.

While she's clearly a passionate drag-racer in search of the thrill, Shepherd gets a little edgy for the two weeks leading up to an event.

“I get so nervous, the butterflies aren't butterflies, they're terradactyls,” she says.

And with round five of the series hitting Western Sydney International Dragway as part of the Summernationals next weekend, those dinosaurs have awoken once again.

Sitting in fourth position in her first attempt at the series, Shepherd says it's like living a dream. With a racing enthusiast as a father, racing is something that runs through her blood. So it was only natural that as a 13-year-old, she wasn't spending all her spare time at the shops or movies, rather at the drag strip.

“Dad asked me if I wanted to be a part of his pit crew and I jumped at the opportunity,” she says.

“After every run in the car, we'd have to pull the engine apart down to nothing, replace eight pistons, replace the entire clutch system, fix any damage, put new tyres on and we'd have to do it all in about two hours ready for the next race.”

After four years of working on the car, it was time for the next step of driving one.

So it was off to drag racing school in Queensland, at just 16. After learning the “ins and outs” on a nine-second dragster, Shepherd's dad took a break from competition to give his daughter a chance in his five-second beast. There's no over-statement in the description, this machine producing a massive 7000hp, reaching 475km/h.

“I can't even describe the feeling you get when you take off and it pushes you back into the seat,” she says. “It feels like you're in a rocket, the thing just launches. I get so excited after a run.”

It's also an exhausting event and when she first started, it wasn't rare that she'd go home with bruises from the tight seatbelts. While it may be seen as a dangerous sport, Shepherd says she remains in control and focused the whole time.

“If I'm not happy with the car and I don't feel like I'm comfortable, I get off the throttle and the minute you get off everything stops,” she says.

“If you're not comfortable, the car starts driving you and that's when things happen. The minute you pull the parachute, it's the biggest sign of relief, you know you're going to pull up.”

And as a female in a male-dominated sport, Shepherd was surprised at how supportive the other competitors were at her first meeting.

While there's plenty of support from her friends, she says at the same time they also think she's the “craziest woman alive.” And it seems similar thoughts go through her boyfriend's head. He thinks she's a complete “nut.”

“He's a massive rev head and he loves it, but he can't watch me race cause it scares the pants off him so much,” she laughs.

And while her mother can also be a “nervous wreck,” Shepherd says it's the comforting words she offers which gets her through the lead-up.

Her other family members have their roles as well, with her brother as the crew chief on the car and her father also part of the crew. Shepherd looks forward to one day competing in the US, where the sport has a much bigger following.

“But before I do that I want to race my dad, I just want one race down the quarter mile in Top Fuel with my dad and then I'll take it from there,” she says. “Everybody admires dad and so do I, he'd have to be my biggest hero.”

And the older Shepherd is feeling the urge to get back on the track and reclaim his drag car.

So, together with her brother, Shepherd is looking at running her own drag car next season. And so begins her search for some sponsors to keep her dream alive.

Snapshot

Summernationals

When: next Friday and Saturday

Where: Western Sydney International Dragway, Ferrers Rd, Eastern Creek

Cost: Friday adults $35, conc $25, ladies free, Saturday adults $40, conc $30

What: more than 370 drag racing teams, the world's fastest sedans, Motorsport Precision and much more