There’s no question the 2024 NHRA Pro Stock season was going to be a learning curve for Sienna Wildgust.

Well, the 17-year-old from Ontario, Canada, has proved to be a pretty quick study while behind the wheel of KB Titan Racing Camaro.

In her Pro Stock debut at the season-opening Gatornationals, March 8-10 in Gainesville, Fla., Wildgust was 20th on the qualifying ladder with her best run of 6.621 at 208.46 – failing to make the 16-car field.

At the second race of the Lucas Oil Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., March 22-24, Wildgust clawed her way into the highly competitive Pro Stock field in the No. 16 spot with her 6.625-second run at 201.91 mph.

“It was definitely an honor, I mean, my team at KB has been working so hard the last couple of weeks to get our engines going and to be competitive,” Wildgust about being able to compete on raceday in Pomona. “I'm just so happy that my team has helped me get here and thankful for each and every one of them. (Racing in Pro Stock) has been everything and more for me.”

Wildgust’s reward at the Winternationals was meeting No. 1 qualifier and her KB Titan racing teammate Dallas Glenn, who also has been a key mentor for her.

“He definitely has taught me a lot, so it was cool to get him first round, even though I didn't win,” Wildgust said.

Wildgust, who turns 18 years old in June of 2024, has cut her teeth bracket racing. So, the transition to Pro Stock has been an adjustment.

“I would just say the biggest thing for me is to try to stay calm and not get overwhelmed,” Wildgust said. “Take every moment in and just go with the flow. From Gainesville to Winternationals, I definitely learned from staging, especially in qualifying, it's super important. But definitely in Pomona I did a lot better with it. That was the one goal I had going into Pomona, ‘Let's just make sure I'm staging the car right, and I'm qualifying.’ It was awesome to make the field.”

Wildgust knows she will keep improving with experience.

“Basically, it's a lot of seat time, I mean, I drove a junior dragster, so I'm used to it, but my clutch car is a little bit more difficult. But definitely seat time is what's going to make that better.

“We were No. 16 in Pomona, so it was a huge accomplishment for our team. We went in there with one goal, again, just to qualify and make the field every Sunday, and we did that, and I feel like if we keep taking these steps that eventually we'll get our win and keep going.

“I feel like I'm so busy in the car doing stuff and shifting and so by the time I'm at the finish line, you really don't have time to realize how fast you're going, but in Pomona I was watching at the end of the track and that opened my eyes, I was like, ‘Wow, we are going really fast.’”

Wildgust said she plans to compete in at least 10 NHRA national events this season, and her upcoming schedule consists of the Arizona Nationals (April 5-7), and the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals (April 12-14) in Las Vegas and the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C., (April 26-28).

“We figured that doing the three in a row would be the best just for seat time and to remember things,” said Wildgust who will be making her inaugural racing experience at all three tracks.

Honestly, Wildgust is still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she is an NHRA Pro Stock driver.

“It's still like, ‘Wow,’ but I feel like since Gainesville I just digested it and got used to it, so for me, it's kind of weird though because I'm used to being on the other side of the ropes as a fan,” she said. “So, it's kind of awkward to be put in a situation where people want to talk to you and want your autograph, it's kind cool though.”