Bridget Burgess Explained

Bridget Burgess
Nationality: Australian
Birth Date:26 December 2001
Birth Place:Brisbane, Australia
Related To:Sarah Burgess (mother)
Total Arca Races:2
Years In Arca:2
Arca Car Team:No. 88 (BMI Racing)
Best Arca Pos:107th (2021)
First Arca Race:2021 General Tire 150 (Phoenix)
Last Arca Race:2022 General Tire 150 (Phoenix)
Arca Wins:0
Arca Top Tens:0
Arca Poles:0
Total Arca West Races:31
Years In Arca West:4
Arca West Car Team:No. 88 (BMI Racing)
Best Arca West Pos:9th (2021)
First Arca West Race:2019 NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208 (Meridian)
Arca West Wins:0
Arca West Top Tens:9
Arca West Poles:0
Updated:November 19, 2022

Bridget Burgess (born December 26, 2001) is an Australian stock car racing driver. She last competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for her family-owned team, BMI Racing.

Born in Australia, Burgess and her family moved to the United States in 2008. After beginning her racing career in short course off-road racing, she transitioned to competing on asphalt in 2019 to pursue a career in NASCAR.

Racing career

Burgess ran her first off road race at age 15.[1] In 2017, she competed in the Open V8 class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, scoring a podium finish in her debut race. She later competed in the series' Pro Lite class as well.[2] Burgess began her stock car career in 2019 with a pair of races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, where she finished 12th and 11th at Meridian Speedway and All American Speedway respectively.

At the 2020 ARCA Menards Series West series opener at the Las Vegas Bullring, Burgess' car suffered a gear failure,[1] leaving her with a 17th-place finish.[3] After skipping the series' doubleheader at her home track in Utah,[1] Burgess' family team received a 2007 Toyota chassis on loan from Bill McAnally Racing.[2] She drove the car in the remaining eight races of the season, leading to a streak of three consecutive top-ten finishes,[2] including a career-best of seventh in her return to Las Vegas.[4]

Burgess began the 2021 season with sponsorship from GearWrench tools and HMH Construction.[5] [6] In March, she made her ARCA Menards Series debut through a combination race with the West Series at Phoenix Raceway, where she finished 22nd.[7] Her season-best was an eighth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway. Burgess ran as high as fifth in the race, which was her first in the series on a road course.[8]

On March 8, 2022, Burgess announced that she would return full-time to the ARCA Menards Series West.[9] Burgess tied her career-best finish at Portland International Raceway, finishing seventh.[10] The next week, she followed up with another top-ten run by finishing tenth at Sonoma.[11] At the Las Vegas Bullring, Burgess competed against her mother, Sarah Burgess, as the pair became the first mother and daughter to compete against each other in a NASCAR-sanctioned race.[12] Bridget finished in 12th place ahead of Sarah in 17th.[13]

Personal life

Originally from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Burgess' family moved to the United States in 2008 to pursue opportunities in motorsports.[2] She currently lives in Tooele, Utah, near Utah Motorsports Campus.[2] Her father, Adam, serves as her spotter.[14] Her mother, Sarah, is a former off-road racing competitor and serves as Burgess' crew chief and owner.[2] With a lack of funding compared to bigger teams in the series, Sarah is often tasked with completing the jobs of an entire pit crew, such as changing all four tires during a pit stop by herself.[2]

Burgess frequently helps with mechanical work on her equipment;[1] during the 2020 ARCA West season, she replaced the gear differential on her car between races on back-to-back days.[2]

Motorsports career results

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (

Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Menards Series results
YearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920PtsRef
2021BMI Racing88ChevyDAYPHO
TALKANTOLCLTMOHPOCELKBLNIOWWINGLNMCHISFMLWDSFBRISLMKAN107th22[15]
2022DAYPHO
TALKANCLTIOWBLNELKMOHPOCIRPMCHGLNISFMLWDSFKANBRISLMTOL111th21[16]

ARCA Menards Series West

ARCA Menards Series West results
YearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314PtsRef
2019Tim Spurgeon86ToyotaLVSIRWTUSTUSCNSSONDCSIOWEVGGTWMER
31st65[17]
Stafford Smith34ToyotaAAS
KCRPHO
2020BMI Racing88ChevyLVS
MMPMMP10th283[18]
ToyotaIRW
EVG
DCS
CNS
LVS
AAS
KCR
PHO
2021ChevyPHO
SON
IRW
CNS
IRW
PIR
LVS
AAS
PHO
9th359[19]
2022PHO
IRW
KCR
PIR
SON
IRW
EVG
PIR
AAS
LVS
PHO
7th483[20]

Notes and References

  1. News: Bridget Burgess is trying to crack the code on an auto racing career — right in her backyard. The Salt Lake Tribune. Jag. Julie. June 29, 2020. August 11, 2021.
  2. Web site: Tadd . Haislop . Sarah And Bridget Burgess: The Mother-Daughter Duo Stepping On The Gas Pedal In ARCA . ARCARacing.com . December 16, 2020. August 6, 2021.
  3. Web site: 2020 Star Nursery 150. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 7, 2021.
  4. Web site: 2020 General Tire 150. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 7, 2021.
  5. GearWrench Partners With Bridget Burgess, BMI Racing For ARCA Menards Series West Season. ARCARacing.com . February 17, 2021. August 6, 2021.
  6. Bridget Burgess Teams Up with HMH Construction to Compete Full Time in the ARCA Menards West Series. SpeedwayMedia.com. March 11, 2021. August 6, 2021.
  7. Web site: 2021 General Tire 150. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 7, 2021.
  8. Web site: ARCA Menards Rewind: What We Learned At Mid-Ohio And Sonoma. Haislop. Tadd. ARCARacing.com . June 8, 2021 . August 7, 2021.
  9. Bridget Burgess Geared Up for another Full Season of NASCAR's ARCA Menards West Series with HMH Construction and Gearwrench. SpeedwayMedia.com. March 8, 2022. March 11, 2022.
  10. Web site: ARCA Menards rewind: Takeaways from Portland International Raceway. Fenwick. Adam. ARCARacing.com. June 6, 2022. June 10, 2022.
  11. Web site: Jake Drew doubles up on road course wins, takes checkered flag at Sonoma. Haislop. Tadd. ARCARacing.com. June 11, 2022. June 12, 2022.
  12. eBay Motors to sponsor Sarah and Bridget Burgess in historic mother-daughter ARCA race. eBay Motors. ARCA Menards Series. September 28, 2022. November 4, 2022.
  13. Web site: Sarah and Bridget Burgess make history, share moment of a lifetime at Las Vegas Bullring. Haislop. Tadd. ARCA Menards Series. October 17, 2022. November 4, 2022.
  14. Web site: Every day is Mother's Day at the track for Burgess family. Long. Dustin. NBC Sports. May 9, 2021. August 7, 2021.
  15. Web site: Bridget Burgess – 2021 ARCA Menards Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 6, 2021.
  16. Web site: Bridget Burgess – 2022 ARCA Menards Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 13, 2022.
  17. Web site: Bridget Burgess – 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 6, 2021.
  18. Web site: Bridget Burgess – 2020 ARCA Menards West Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 6, 2021.
  19. Web site: Bridget Burgess – 2021 ARCA Menards West Series Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 7, 2021.
  20. Web site: Bridget Burgess – 2022 ARCA Menards Series West Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 19, 2022.