Shift Up Now Awards 2026 Grants
Meet the drivers from this year's cohort.
The Shift Up Now Foundation recently announced that it is awarding over $300,000 in grants this season to more than fifteen talented female drivers who are making history across ten different racing series. The news came as part of the foundation’s celebration of Women’s History Month.
What is Shift Up Now?
The Shift Up Now Foundation was launched in December 2022 to help find the funding, partners and sponsorship for female athletes to continue competing at professional and semi-professional levels in motorsport. 2026 marks the foundation’s fourth round of grants. The funds distributed this year will take the total number to more than a whopping $750,000 since the Shift Up Now Foundation was launched.
But who are the female drivers that will be on the receiving end of these grants? Keep reading to find out who each of them are and a little bit about their backstory and what they’ll be doing in 2026.
Erika Hoffmann
Erika Hoffmann has gone from dreaming of a life in motorsport to becoming a fully fledged racing driver in her own right. The Canadian Racer took it upon herself to forge a career in motorsport, despite not having any connections in the industry whatsoever. So far, Erika’s raced a McLaren 570S GT4 car in the 2022 GT Cup Championship in the UK and represented her country in the FIA Rally Star competition. Now, Erika competes with Kellymoss, the most successful Porsche customer racing team in history, where she drives for them in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. She also co-founded Slate Racing, an all female racing team with an eye on raising awareness and creating opportunities for women in motorsport, both on and off track.
Ashley Freiberg
Born and raised in Illinois, Ashley started karting in 2004 and hasn’t looked back since. She’s gone on to compete in open-wheel, sports car and endurance racing. Freiberg has won numerous titles on her ascension up the motorsport ladder. Having competed in series such as the Star Mazda Championship and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, she returned to the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America in 2024, where she’ll continue to race in 2026, also driving for the Kellymoss Team.
Loni Unser
Coming from a strong and iconic lineage in motorsport, it’s not surprising that Loni became a racing driver. While her love for Pikes Peak will never waver, Loni doesn’t just compete in arguably the best hill climb race in the world. In 2020, she also competed in World Racing League races in a Porsche Boxster with Round3Racing, finishing seven of the eleven races on the podium. This enabled her to secure the Eastern Championship that year. Loni continued entering and winning WRL events in a Porsche Cayman in 2021. She’s competed in the Mazda MX-5 Cup too and became the first woman to finish in the top in ten back-to-back races in St. Petersburg. Today, Loni also races in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America for the Kellymoss Team.
Laura Hayes
Laura Hayes began racing when she was eight years old. Starting out in karting and quarter midgets, she proceeded to rise up the ranks and into endurance racing. Laura won the inaugural Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama in 2024, setting the record for the fastest woman ever up the Mountain in the process. Last year, she competed in the SRO GT4 America series, finishing on the podium on multiple occasions and also won at Barber Motorsports Park in the Am Class.
In 2026, Laura will drive the No. 37 Mercedes AMG GT4 for Dome Motorsport in the Pirelli SRO GT4 America series alongside her teammate Eddie Killeen.
Sabré Cook
Sabré Cook started out her motorsport career in single seater racing. She’s competed in W Series, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship and the Formula 4 US Championship to name a few. The American then switched to Sports Car and Endurance Racing, competing in the likes of the Mazda MX-5 Cup and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
This year, Sabré returns to JDX Racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America for a fourth consecutive season. There, she’ll debut the Type 992.2 Porsche 911 Cup car.
Charlotte Traynor
Charlotte Traynor began karting when she was thirteen years old. The Arizona born driver moved up into racing cars four years later, competing in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup. Traynor has also taken part in select World Racing League events with AEVictory racing, driving their Toyota Supra GT4 car. In 2026, Charlotte will race again in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, where she’ll drive the No. 43 entry for Parker DeLong Racing.
Sally Mott
Sally Mott started her motorsport journey in go-karts before transitioning to Spec Miata racing. Within a year, she advanced from local club racing to regional Spec Miata and then into the notoriously competitive MX-5 Cup. In November 2023, Sally earned the Mazda MX-5 Cup Women’s Initiative Scholarship, which secured her a place on the 2024 MX-5 Cup series grid as a factory-supported Mazda driver. She finished in P12 overall in her rookie season. She also featured in the Amazon Prime docuseries First to the Finish, which is available to watch now.
Ellie Gosset
Hailing from South Carolina, Ellie first competed in the INEX spec series, winning several races and earning multiple podium finishes. In 2024, she was awarded the Max Papis Hard Charger Award at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Ellie then began competing part-time in her own Mazda Spec Miata and finished in P20 overall in SARRC points for the 2024 season. Last year, she competed full-time in the series and finished thirty four of the thirty five races with only a single DNF due to a mechanical failure. Ellie achieved several top ten results and finished the year in P10 overall.
In 2026, Ellie will once again be competing in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup, alongside Charlotte Traynor. She’ll be driving the No. 77 for BSI Racing.
Melanie Johnson
As the daughter of fourteen-time NHRA Top Fuel National Championship-winning crew chief Alan Johnson, it’s not a surprise that Melanie Johnson followed in her father’s footsteps. In 2025, she finished in P10 overall in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster National points standings. Melanie was also named in the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 Class of 2025, which recognised her impact and potential in the sport. This season, she’ll be competing in the Top Alcohol Dragster for McPhillips Racing.
Madelyn Tabor
A third generation rally driver, it was inevitable that Madelyn would dive head first into the motorsport landscape. Her inclusion in the Shift Up Now grant programme is a first because Madelyn has now become Shift Up Now’s first rally racer to receive a grant from the foundation. This year, she’ll be competing in the American Rally Association for Tabor Racing Team in the Limited 4 Wheel Drive (L4) class, driving a Ford Fiesta Rally 3 car.
Alana Carter
Alana Carter is one of the rising talents in Canadian Motorsport. Part of the first all-female lineup to win a World Racing League GTO race, Alana then became the first Canadian woman to finish on the podium in TC America - something that she achieved on her debut weekend! Carter was also the first woman to compete in Radical Cup Canada. In 2026, Alana will be racing with Radical Academy Canada for Fel Motorsports in the Emzone Radical Cup Canada Championship.
Emy Kissick
Emy started driving and racing in 2023 when she was fifteen years old. From the Pacific Northwest, Emy won the 2024 Mazda Spec Mx-5 Shootout and became the first female winner of the Spec Mx-5 Shootout in the process. In 2026, she’ll be racing in the Spec Miata and Spec Mx-5 Championships.
Michele Abbate
Heralding from Las Vegas, Michele has raced in the Sports Car Club of America and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2026, she’ll be competing in the World Racing League for the AE Victory Racing Team, driving a Toyota Supra GT4.
Paityn Feyen
Originally from Colorado, Paityn moved to North Carolina so that she could pursue a career in racing. She started karting when she was thirteen years old and had her first Championship win in 2024. This year, she’ll be competing in over thirty Legends races.
Brenna Schubert
Brenna started competing in rental karting when she was ten years old. She then competed in 2023 STARS KA100 in 2023 as well as in the Northeast Karting Challenge (X30). Schubert transitioned to car racing the following year. Brenna also finished in P5 in the European NASCAR Rookie Challenge debut in 2025. In 2026, she’ll be competing for the AE Victory Racing Team in the Prodigy Racing League.
Candice Pahl
A Canadian stock car driver from Alberta, Candice began racing in the Future Stock division in 2010. In 2011, she became Future Stock Champion at Edmonton International Raceway. She was also the first female winner of NASCAR Thunder Cap 100 lap special. Candice finished fifth overall in the Women In Motorsport North America standings in 2024. In 2026, Candice will continue on her path on the road to NASCAR.
Taylor Ferns
The first female to get onto the podium in a USAC Silver Crown race (twice), Taylor was also the first female to win a 500 Sprint Car Tour race. She holds the record for most USAC wins in a single-season by a female racer and has over fifteen career Sprint Car wins between pavement non-wing and dirt wing cars to her name. Ferns was also the 2011 USAC Regional Midget Champion with more than twenty Midget wins between pavement and dirt on her record as a result. Aside from Shift Up Now, Taylor will also be supported by Mobil 1 Racing in 2026.
Ella Martin
From Toronto, Canada, Ella has had multiple top five finishes as well as a podium finish in the Briggs Lo26 class, a grassroots karting series. She’s participated in the Radford Racing School F4 U.S. Karts to Cars Scholarship School and in 2026, will be competing in the Canadian Formula 1200 Championship.
Supporting The Next Generation Too
But that’s not all. In addition, the Shift Up Now Foundation collectively decided to add both a winner and runner up for the Loni Unser Karting Scholarship. This will be the first time that the foundation has awarded funds to kart racers. The two recipients as the winner and runner up are
Ashlyn Taylor - a twelve year old karting driver and junior driver for Spark Performance and Maddie Grace - a young American karting racer.
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Learn more about Shift Up Now here.