Drag racing is expensive.

Tires. Fuel. Parts. Travel. It can all add up in a hurry and that point is magnified by thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, for competitors in the professional ranks of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

Some drivers have wealthy team owners that help offset those costs. Others have large, corporate sponsors that help foot the bill. And then there is a small breed of drivers that compete race-to-race on support of smaller sponsors that help bring in just enough to keep the tires turning and the nitro burning. They use their grit and determination to sell themselves to potential sponsors, hoping to scrape together just enough for a new blower, a fresh clutch and other parts and pieces to help make their car more competitive.

One perfect example of the prototypical journeyman driver, the kind of driver that helped pave the way for the megateams of the sport today, is Krista Baldwin. Baldwin is the granddaughter of legendary nitro racer Chris Karamesines and, at just 28 years of age, Baldwin is competing with the titans of the sport in her grandfather’s dragster, making the best of what she has on the biggest stage in the sport. It is not an easy task, but it is a challenge she enjoys.

“The biggest thing is trying to show people that this program does have the potential to go up there and win these rounds and get the notoriety that you need, especially this weekend during a live Fox broadcast,” Baldwin said. “Anytime we have new sponsors come onboard it means so much. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to buy the parts I needed for this weekend. I am very grateful for everyone that believes in what we are doing out here.”

At the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Baldwin welcomed a new company as primary sponsor on her nitro rail, IT consulting company IGTG. IGTG is a nationwide architect-level IT consulting company. They joined Mainline Sales and Breen Engineering on the roster of associate sponsors on her machine.

While a new sponsor may not be earth-shaking news in the grand scheme of the sport, it is new sponsors like IGTG that allows Baldwin to turn another lap, and in the case of this weekend, buy the parts needed to post quicker and faster times.

“After Charlotte we knew that we needed to make this program better, so our team put our heads together and we are making some changes in the clutch, we put some new heads on it, put a new blower on it and got a new fuel pump. So far all of that is coming together,” Baldwin said. “I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings and it is all possible thanks to these sponsors that believe in me and this team.”

After making her Top Fuel debut last year in Gainesville, Baldwin won her first career round at Charlotte later that year in the four-wide format alongside Antron Brown. This year, Baldwin has made two starts, falling in the first round at Gainesville and failing to qualify for Charlotte.

But that one round win less than a dozen races into her Top Fuel career meant the world to her and the team and has set the stage for what she hopes are many more to come. And to get to do this alongside the same drivers that she grew up idolizing just makes the experience that much more special.

“To lineup against people that I have watched my entire life is absolutely outstanding,” an excited Baldwin said. “One of the coolest moments was last year at Charlotte. The first person to come over and congratulate me was Doug Kalitta. I told him I used to like him when I was a kid. It was wild. I love the sport and I love every competitor out here. And I just love driving this car. I am going to try my hardest to do the best that I can.”