25-8d0a2259-550?v=1

Grab the Wheel and Let's Do This

Tayne Griffin Gets Behind the Wheel of Fast Cars and Discovers How to Get Out of her Own Way

Tayne Griffin grew up in Manhattan Beach, spending summer days on the sand. Today, she finds herself spending days on different sand. After she and her husband Eric joined APEX Motor Club last year, she took to the APEX track carved out of 280 acres of Arizona desert south of Chandler. Learning to race cars is the most intimidating thing Griffin says she has ever done, but she's learning and using her driving lessons as life lessons. 

One semester into college, Griffin bought a ticket to visit a friend in Miami and canceled her return home at the end of the first week.

"I spent the next year-and-a-half working two jobs, one of which was running a VIP room in a South Beach bar," laughs Griffin. "Man! I could write a book on the crazy things I saw and participated in for that year and a half."

What the experience did was make Griffin understand the importance of education. After two years of junior college in California, she transferred to Arizona State University (ASU).

At ASU, she met her best friend, Eric. 

"Eric and I were in the same co-ed business fraternity, and one night I came home and announced I was leaving after graduation to live in New York. He got very quiet and then looked me dead in the eye and said, 'Marry me.' I laughed, thinking it was a joke. It wasn't."

Griffin says she gave it a moment and a memory popped in her mind.

"My mom used to tell me, 'If you ever get the chance to marry your best friend, take it.' So I said yes. We got engaged and started dating on the same day!"

The friendship worked and the Griffins, now with two children of their own, just celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary. 

"I'm grateful every day for the journey that brought me to this point in my life," explains Griffin.

But it wasn't always easy.

"I spent a decade in corporate medical sales," she recalls. "Then I had a new business start and fail, and went back to corporate life. I was longing for a deeper connection to my purpose."

Griffin says she knew she wasn't the only one looking for this. 

"I decided to become a coach," she explains. "I worked on myself, started to lead by example, and other women wanted to know more about what I was doing to make the types of changes in my life they were seeing.” 

Working to help women feel more empowered became a focus for Griffin.

Her world shifted again when she and her husband joined APEX Motor Club.

“My husband has always loved cars and I thought the idea sounded fun, although very intimidating.”

After taking a two-day introductory course for those with little-to-no driving experience, Griffin says she realized she needed to figure out how to get out of her own way.

“Before I would get on the track, I was dealing with so much anxiety, fear, and doubt,” she says. “I would be a shaky, nervous mess. Then, when I actually started driving, I found myself talking myself through all the fears I was up against.”

Griffin appreciates the life lessons.

“In the car, I can’t think about anything else except what is right in front of me. I can’t worry about my kids, my work, or my relationships. I’m focused on the road.”

That translates into being more present off the track.

“I’m more present for just one thing at a time instead of trying to do a million things at once.”

Griffin says racing helps her stay positive.

“On the track, I’m talking myself up and telling myself I can do it instead of cutting myself down. Off the track, I get to feel what it’s like to compliment myself and hold space for the woman I am."

Griffin is creating a docuseries about learning to race in the middle of her life. It follows her in the cars she drives at the track: 2019 Porsche gt3rs, a 2021 Porsche gt4 Clubsport, and a 2020 Radical SR3xx. The docuseries culminates in her first race in October at Apex, where she will be the first woman to compete on the Apex track. 

“We go through life thinking we have all the time in the world to live out our dreams. We don’t. Don’t wait to start the thing that inspires you. Write the book, make the call, race the car. I’m learning to take chances, grow, and share my light. I hope it will inspire others to do the same.”

Related Businesses

Related Articles