Grace Howell is no longer the driver of the Cunningham Motorsports Pro Stock Mustang. The Aiken, SC-based driver issued a statement late Monday evening confirming her departure.

“For as long as I can remember it has been my dream to race as a professional in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and I can’t thank Jim and Gloria Cunningham enough for helping to make that dream come true,” said Howell. “Over the last 11 months, I have had the opportunity to compete alongside some of the sport’s best Pro Stock racers and I have learned a lot. Although the time has come for me to move on I wish for nothing but the best for the Cunningham Motorsports organization.”

Howell, 26, joined Cunningham Motorsports in August 2011, and in 15 races, qualified three times. Howell also recorded a career best run of 6.558-seconds at 210.67-mph.  

Howell has plans to return to full-time status on the Full Throttle tour and, until then, plans to keep racing in the Lucas Oil sportsman series.

“I’ve been racing since I got my first Jr. Dragster at age 8, so no matter what, I plan to continue racing,” said Howell. “I love the Pro Stock class, and I feel like I made a lot of progress as a driver in the last year. Pro Stock is where I want to be but at the same time, I would certainly consider a switch to Top Fuel or Funny Car if an opportunity became available. The bottom line is that I want to continue racing professionally and right now, my focus will be on continuing to make that a reality.”

In the short term, Howell is likely to return to the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series racing alongside her father, Bill. The Howell family team owns several competitive entries in the NHRA Super Stock and Stock classes including a Ford Mustang Cobra Jet.

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