26-year-old Natalie Decker is a part-time driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. One of the most promising female racers to be seen in the sport in some time, she made her second start of 2024 in Charlotte last Sunday driving the #92 Chevy of DGM Racing. Her first start was in the season-opening race at Daytona where she finished in 13th place after leading her career’s maiden laps in the series.
Advertisement
Decker was recently trending on social media for involving her mother in promoting the products of her sponsor, Bikini Zone. In light of the same, she spoke about the synchronization between her family and racing career in a recent interview with Frontstretch. Decker’s husband, Derek Lemke, is a part-time Craftsman Truck Series driver and also a big part of her journey.
She considers him to be her biggest mentor in racing for all the advice that he provides her. “He is there for me for anything I need, and he’s so smart,” she says. “And he’s also driven to help my career be successful. I have to say he is my biggest mentor because I literally look for him everywhere I go.” Decker and Lemke met at the Elko Speedway in Minnesota when they were just teens.
Let’s honor the brave souls who gave everything for our freedom pic.twitter.com/x6CmupztVc
— Natalie Decker (@NatalieRacing) May 27, 2024
They got engaged in December 2022 and are now happily married. Lemke pilots the #33 Ford F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing and drives late models when he isn’t. His father, Jon, was a racer who had one Truck Series start in his belt. While Decker happily notes that her husband has never beat her behind the wheel, she hopes to be racing alongside him someday.
She says, “We’ve only raced against each other a few times, but we’re going to battle it out in either a [NASCAR Craftsman] Truck race or an Xfinity race somewhere soon. We have to make it happen, and then we can then determine who is better after that race.” She finished in 29th place on Sunday, her best result at Charlotte.
Decker has more than 70 starts across the Craftsman Truck Series, the Xfinity Series, and the ARCA Menards Series. Lemke had two starts in trucks in 2023. He finished 33rd and 31st in Richmond and Milwaukee, respectively. “He’s not just a NASCAR wife anymore,” Decker quipped proudly after his debut. “He’s also a NASCAR driver. And now I’m a NASCAR driver and a NASCAR wife.”
