Eagle’s Jackie Alley started racing at Firebird Raceway in 1996. On Sunday, she was crowned NHRA Super Stock world champion, the first person from Idaho to win such a title.

“A lot of it still hasn’t sunk in to me yet, it all still seems so unbelievable,” Alley said. “It’s quite an honor to be the first person in Idaho to win.”

Alley started racing because she was tired of sitting in the stands watching her husband, Mick, compete.

Said Mick, now her crew chief: “She told me, ‘I’m a do-er, not a watcher. If we’re going to continue doing this, build me a car.’”

Jackie has steadily climbed through the ranks by racing around the country. In July, she won her first national competition in Denver, and her confidence blossomed.

“I did go into it wanting to destroy,” Jackie said. “I think that’s probably what pushed me over the top.”

Jackie claimed the points lead after her final race in Las Vegas on Oct. 30, then officially earned the title Sunday in Pomona, Calif., where a competitor failed to score enough points to claim the season-long championship.

The NHRA awards ceremony was Monday night in Hollywood, Calif., where Alley picked up a trophy, a world championship coat and ring and $15,000.

“My dad started the track in 1968,” said Scott New, the director of racing at Firebird, the track that Alley uses as home base. “We’ve always hoped there would come a day when we could see one of our racers climb to the top of the ladder.”

Alley’s Camaro will be adorned with No. 1 for next year’s season, which begins in February.

“You kind of have to prove to everybody that you are good enough to be that world champ,” she said. “So there’s going to be some pressure there, but I think I can overcome that.”

Alex Calinsky: 377-6361