Known to her fans and friends as "Stevie", Stephanie Welch was born in 1982, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and won four AMA amateur national championships by the age of 15. She turned pro in 1998, placing in the top 20 in the nation in the Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Series in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Welch earned AMA National Number 79 in 2001. Although she has completed one degree in nursing and is working on a second, she still maintains an active professional racing program, competing in as many as three classes, including the Grand National class.