Glamorous Oklahoma woman breaks down barriers by opening a welding shop aged just 18 - then becoming city's first female speedway

A glamorous Oklahoma female is racing to break down barriers by becoming nan first female speedway successful her metropolis and by opening a welding shop to animate young girls. 

Emme Hughes, 21, of Enid, has spent nan past 12 years racing and yet took location her first triumph connected June 1 astatine Enid Speedway successful nan Sport Mods/B-Mods division, wherever she was nan only female successful nan race. 

'I felt very excited,' Hughes told DailyMail.com connected Wednesday. 'It was nerve-wracking, but astatine nan aforesaid time, [I had] an adrenaline rush.' 

It was only nan sixth clip she had raced her mirror-less B-Mod car, arsenic she utilized to thrust sprint cars until precocious erstwhile her 78-year-old grandfather and erstwhile racer, Ted Shepard, grew excessively sick to activity connected her car. 

So her father, Shawn Hughes, sewage her nan B-Mod car and nan remainder is history. 

Although Shepard was excessively sick to be her race, he was 'super ecstatic' to study she had won her first race. 

'He said: "I knew you would do that soon,"' Hughes recalled. 'He conscionable believed successful maine much than I'll ever know.' 

Her grandfather utilized to title cars astatine Enid Speedway and is well-known successful their municipality of 50,000. 

'I can't spell anyplace without personification saying: "Are you Ted Shepard's granddaughter?' Hughes said pinch a laugh.   

The 21-year-old Oklahoman grew up successful a large racing family and often missed day parties and different youthful authorities of transition because she was excessively engaged astatine nan track, but she doesn't regret it arsenic it brought her family closer. 

She moreover had a racetrack successful her backyard increasing up to let herself to 'focus connected my sport' and go a 'driven person.' 

These skills now thief protect her erstwhile antheral racers get a small excessively upset that a female is participating successful nan sport.  

'I person been yelled at,' she told DailyMail.com, revealing that roughhousing and fights are normal astatine racing events. 'I can't thief that I'm a female successful a male-dominated field.' 

But she'll return nan misdirected disapproval to support empowering young girls to pursuit their dreams. 

At nan property of 18, Hughes opened her welding shop, EH Metal Works - which specializes successful making cattle guards, creation pieces, and signs - pinch nan thief of her grandfather, who besides owned a welding company. 

She remembers spending a batch of clip successful Shepard's aged Dodge truck, eating donuts, and listening to Reba McEntire connected nan measurement to her grandfather's shop - nan spot she learned to weld astatine nan ripe property of six. 

With nan thief of his aged instrumentality and business advice, Hughes took disconnected to build her ain institution and hasn't looked back. She now has 3 labor and is moving connected mounting up workshops to thief young girls and boys to study nan basics of being an entrepreneur and a welder. 

And she plans to support winning races to show young girls they tin do it too. 

'All I do is eat, sleep, work, and race,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I dream to do this nan remainder of my life.' 

And she isn't afraid of bringing a small pinkish into a traditionally male-dominated space. 

'Staying successful my feminine power while I'm doing thing that's considered a male-dominated industry. I conscionable emotion it, to beryllium capable to clasp myself,' Hughes told KOMO News. 

'Continuing to beryllium nan modern-day Rosie nan Riveter, you know?' she continued. 'If immoderate small girls want to travel to my shop and learn, please. I would emotion it.'