The Queen of Speed

Valerie Thompson is a woman after my own heart. At the age of 32, the Tacoma, Washington, native bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and the world would never be the same.

A need for speed propelled her into the world of motorcycle drag racing. Suddenly comfortable at over 200 mph, she pushed further into Land Speed Record attempts. In March of 2018 at the age of 51, she became the world’s fastest woman on two-wheels by going 328 mph in a motorcycle streamliner. Only days later she had a horrific crash at 363 mph, sliding for nearly a mile on an Australian dry lake bed, but luckily walked away.

This March, she’ll be returning to Lake Gairdner in Southern Australia to attempt new speed records on four wheels piloting the Treit & Davenport Target 550 Streamliner at two premier land speed racing events. Her goals include breaking the 415.867 mph class World record for a four-wheel blown fuel streamliner powered by a piston engine.

As a woman in the predominantly male-dominated world of wealth management, I can identify with Valerie’s desire to outperform the boys. But there’s another lesson in Valerie’s story that gets overlooked: male or female, it’s never too late to get out there and chase your dreams.

“Why can’t I be fifty, fabulous and fast?” asked Valerie in a recent interview.

Part of making your dreams come true is acquiring a solid, performing investment strategy. There’s an old saying in racing: “Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?” My skills as a wealth manager are just as critical as those of a mechanic when it comes to getting your high-octane dreams up to top speed. Contact me and let’s talk about how we can tune your investments for high performance.

For my part, I saw that Valerie’s dream was a good “investment,” and have donated to her record attempt. You too can contribute to her fundraiser at GoFundMe.

As for the Queen of Speed Valerie Thompson – an inspirational woman who I am proud to call my friend – I’ll be riding along with her on the salt this March, if only in name. The Treit & Davenport Target 500 streamliner will be wearing sponsorship decals from Barone’s Cars and Capital Markets in her record setting attempt Down Under. Follow along on Facebook at Valerie Thompson Racing.



Investment Advisory Services offered through Mutual Advisors, LLC DBA Biltmore Advisors, an SEC registered investment advisor.