American racing driver and police sergeant
NASCAR driver
Ritamarie Goulet
(nee Thomason; born August 25, 1983) is an American amateur
auto racing
driver and
police sergeant
. She competes part-time in the
ARCA Menards Series
and full-time in the
ARCA Menards Series East
, driving the No. 31
Chevrolet SS
for
Rise Motorsports
, and currently serves as a
police officer
for the
Gastonia Police Department
in
North Carolina
. She was previously employed as a
police sergeant
for the
Tuscaloosa Police Department
in
Alabama
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Thomason was born on August 25, 1983, in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
, to a poor family. Thomason eventually
settled
in
Alaska
when she was 11. Her parents got
divorced
when she was 15. She was kicked out of her house, and was moved into a homeless shelter at the age of 16. During the events of
9/11
, she continued to live in a homeless shelter, and worked part-time at a tourist attraction in
Anchorage
. After seeing the attack unfold on a little break room TV, she was desired to help others in difficult situations, which gave her the courage to train as a
paramedic
. She was transferred into a
vocational school
to train as a
medical assistant
. She was later offered an opportunity to finish her paramedic training in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
, for which she accepted.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Law enforcement career
[
edit
]
After working as a paramedic for five years, Thomason began working as a
police sergeant
for the Tuscaloosa Police Department in 2011. She states that her persistent desire to help others led to a law enforcement career. She also works as a
school resource officer
on Monday mornings, a
security guard
for an apartment complex on Monday and Tuesday nights, and provides security for a local hospital on Thursday nights. During the weekends, she works at a game-style
bowling alley
.
[2]
[4]
After moving to
Denver, North Carolina
in late 2022 with her husband, she began working as an officer for the
Gastonia Police Department
.
[5]
Racing career
[
edit
]
Early career
[
edit
]
Thomason's interest for racing came at 11-years old, after her family purchased their first car, a 1983 Subaru wagon. She explained that the car "was more rust than car at this point." She began to drive at the age of 23, and purchased a 1992
Mazda Miata
. She officially started racing in 2018, at 33-years old, driving in an
autocross
event. She found out that amateur club racing was something that she wanted to do, so she began to strip off the interior of her Miata and make it into a race car. She started driving competitively in the
SCCA
in 2019, racing mostly on road courses. She received her racing license at the end of the season in November. In 2020, she began racing in the
ChampCar Endurance Series
, along with the
24 Hours of Lemons
. That same year, she would earn a couple of wins in the SCCA. After watching old
NASCAR
races, she decided she wanted to go
stock car racing
. In 2021, she sold her Miata, along with her trailer, and purchased a
2014 Chevrolet SS
stock car. She had her car tuned up by
Dick
and
Bob Rahilly
, the owners of
RahMoc Enterprises
.
[2]
[3]
[4]
ARCA Menards Series
[
edit
]
During the fall of 2021, Thomason tested her stock car at local road courses. She would sign part-time with
Clubb Racing Inc.
for the
2022 ARCA Menards Series
, where she planned to run two road courses, and 2-4 short tracks. She made her first start at
Berlin Raceway
, where she started 15th, and finished 12th.
[6]
Since 2023 she has driven for her own team,
Rise Motorsports
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Thomason met her first husband when she was 17, living at a homeless shelter at the time. They got married two years later. Thomason explains that she was
sexually
,
physically
, and
financially abused
by him. She also explains that he had control of what she did, and wouldn't allow her to drive, which eventually lead to a divorce. She moved to Alabama to avoid contact with her ex-husband, and would later meet her second husband. They both married after the move, but got divorced soon after, as they realized they were better off as friends. She met her third husband a few years later, and sometime during 2022, they divorced. Thomason met
NASCAR
pit crew member
Tim Goulet
in early 2022, and realized that they both had the same goals of owning an
ARCA Menards Series
team in the near future. Rita and Tim married on January 1, 2023, and they currently reside in
Denver, North Carolina
, with a daughter and a son from Tim's previous marriage.
[2]
[3]
[5]
Motorsports career results
[
edit
]
ARCA Menards Series
[
edit
]
(
key
) (
Bold
? Pole position awarded by qualifying time.
Italics
? Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * ? Most laps led.
)
ARCA Menards Series East
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ackley, J. A. (2021-09-28).
"Rita Thomason: The Long Road to ARCA"
.
Rock The Curb
. Retrieved
2022-07-04
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Haislop, Tadd (2022-06-17).
"Proudly bisexual, resilient and ready to race: Rita Thomason set for ARCA Menards Series debut"
.
ARCA
. Retrieved
2022-07-04
.
- ^
a
b
c
Christie, Toby (2022-06-16).
"Rita Thomason and Her Unbelievable Journey to First ARCA Start"
.
TobyChristie.com
. Retrieved
2022-07-04
.
- ^
a
b
Thomason, Rita.
"About Rita Thomason"
.
RacingCop.com
. Retrieved
2022-07-04
.
- ^
a
b
"Rise Motorsports - Driver/Team Owner Rita Goulet"
.
Rise Motorsports
. Retrieved
January 10,
2023
.
- ^
Kristl, Mark (2021-11-05).
"Alex Clubb Fielding His Own ARCA Team, Hopeful to Run Full Season"
.
Frontstretch.com
. Retrieved
2022-07-04
.
- ^
"Rita Thomason ? 2022 ARCA Menards Series results"
.
Racing-Reference
. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
July 4,
2022
.
- ^
"Rita Goulet ? 2023 ARCA Menards Series results"
.
Racing-Reference
. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
June 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Rita Goulet ? 2024 ARCA Menards Series results"
.
Racing-Reference
. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
April 26,
2024
.
- ^
"Rita Thomason ? 2022 ARCA Menards Series East results"
.
Racing-Reference
. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
January 10,
2023
.
- ^
"Rita Goulet ? 2023 ARCA Menards Series East results"
.
Racing-Reference
. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
March 26,
2023
.
- ^
"Rita Goulet ? 2024 ARCA Menards Series East results"
.
Racing-Reference
. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC
. Retrieved
March 20,
2024
.
External links
[
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]