Terry and Rosalee Noble Pat Garlits Memorial Award
Terry and Rosalee Noble are typical of a lot of drag race families, just not quite as well known. They got started in the sport in 1966 when their local drag strip, Coles County Raceway opened its doors. The couple were a common sight at the track, helping both the track owners and the racers when and where they were needed. Unfortunately, the track closed its doors in 1968 so Terry and Rosalee stepped away from the sport and spent the next few years building a home and raising their two sons.
In 1985 they were looking at a way to become involved in drag racing again and at the same time contribute to help improve it. The result of their quest was to join on a part time basis, The Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW) which had been formed the prior year. The mission of the non-profit association was/is to provide financial and emotional support to individuals involved in drag racing accidents at the track. DRAW’s members has included the wives of some of the sport’s most well-known competitors including Gere Amato, Holly Beadle, Etta Glidden, Lynn Prudhomme and Pat Garlits to name a few. In 1998 they were both retired so they became full time DRAW workers, working at the local tracks and traveling to national events to work the associations booth. Their duties at DRAW have had Rosalee serving as its secretary, working on its newsletter, serving as vice president and eventually as its president. In 1995 she assumed the position of fundraising chairman, a position she still holds today. Terry has stayed busy working the track booth at national events, selling DRAW “goodies” and maintaining all of the inventory, while attending as many as 25 events per year.
Not content to just spectate, in 1991 they debuted their 1982 Buick LeSabre station wagon, dubbed “Care Wagon” at Coles County Raceway. Since that initial outing, they have visited the winners’ stage many times and posted a couple of track championships along the way. In addition to competing with the Buick, as its name suggests, it is used to help bring attention to DRAW and its purpose.
In 2020 Rosalee was inducted into the Coles County Dragway Hall of Fame. In addition to their racing and DRAW involvement, Terry and Rosalee are also very involved in helping find homes and care for stray animals, especially dogs.