Las Vegas Pilots Win Annual All-Women Cross-Country Airplane Race
Lauren Scott, flying for 3rd time, and Rebecca Carroll, flying for 5th time, in Air Race Classic, oldest air race of its kind
June 25, 2025, Las Vegas -- Lauren Scott, of Henderson, Nevada, and Rebecca Carroll of Las Vegas, both Las Vegas airline pilots Ninety-Nines members, took to the skies from June 17 to 20, 2025, in the 48th Air Race Classic (ARC), the oldest airplane race of its kind in the United States. They were a team of nearly 100 women pilots from across the country and around the world flying in this year\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s race, which began in Fairhope, Alabama and ended in Spokane, Washington.
This historic contest traces its roots to the 1929 Women\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Air Derby, aka the Powder Puff Derby, in which Amelia Earhart and 19 other daring female pilots raced from Santa Monica, CA, to Cleveland, OH. That competition marked the beginning of women\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s air racing in the United States. Today, the ARC is the epicenter of women\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s air racing, the ultimate test of piloting skill and aviation decision-making for female pilots of all ages and from all walks of life.
“Participating in the Air Race Classic is an incredible honor! It is a very different type of flying than the flying we do for our airlines. We were acquainted with one another before the race through our local Ninety-Nines chapter, but now after racing and working together as a team in the competition, Rebecca feels like family. We honed our flying skills, weather analysis, decision-making, and crew resource management. My daughter, Anna, also an airline pilot, was supposed to race with me, hence our name Skybound Scotts. At the last minute she had to go to upgrade training, but Rebecca was able to step in to be my co-pilot,” Lauren said.
Lauren, who grew up in an aviation family in Hawaii, moved to the Las Vegas area with her husband in 2002. They raised their 3 children in the valley. When their children were teens, one of them asked to learn how to fly. Lauren worked with a local flight instructor to regain pilot proficiency and began teaching her daughter, then other students. After 5 years of instructing and corporate flying, she became an airline pilot in 2024. She also serves as a pilot examiner, and is an active member of the Ninety-Nines and Women in Aviation. Her last race in the ARC was in 1996 as a college student for Purdue University; they also placed 1st that year.
Rebecca, originally from Aurora, Colorado, also comes from an aviation family. Prior to flying for her airline, she was a flight instructor in Arizona and Texas. She is very active as a volunteer in the community and for the Air Race Classic. Outside of flying she can be seen on hiking trails, recently completing Annapurna Base Camp Trek in Nepal in April.
Lauren and Rebecca competed in a field of 41 teams, flying a 2,426-statute mile route from Fairhope, Alabama to Spokane, Washington.
The race was to begin at 8 a.m. on June 17 at H L Sonny Callahan Airport in Fairhope, Alabama, with teams taking off one right after another, 30 seconds apart. Because of stormy weather, race officials cancelled the first two legs. Teams repositioned on their own to Harrison, Arkansas, where the race began on June 18. From there, the field spread out as faster planes moved to the head of the pack. As they progressed along the race route — McPherson, Kansas; Sterling, Colorado; Gillette, Wyoming; Rock Springs, Wyoming; Jerome, Idaho; and La Grande, Oregon — teams executed a high-speed flyby over a timing line as they raced against the clock. Some faster planes covered the course in only two days; slower teams arrived at the Terminus, Felts Field in Spokane, Washington, right up until the arrival deadline at 5:30 p.m. on June 20.
Because each plane receives a unique handicap, teams are racing against their own best time, not against one another. This creates a level playing field, so slower planes can compete against faster aircraft on an equal basis. Teams strategize to play the elements, holding out for better weather or seeking more favorable winds, to beat their handicap by the greatest margin. Official standings aren\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t determined until after the last team has crossed the finish line – the winning team, flying a 1973 230 hp 182P, was actually one of the last arrivals at the Terminus.
The ARC draws competitors of all ages, from teenagers to veteran pilots in their 90s, and from all walks of life, from college students to professional airline pilots to military veterans to teachers, writers, doctors, and businesswomen. For some teams, the ARC is a family affair, with multiple generations competing together every year. For others, the ARC presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience parts of the country far from home. For all, it is a chance to engage in fierce competition while sharing their love of flying – especially with young people – expanding their knowledge and skill as pilots, and encouraging the next generation of brave, fearless women to take to the air.
ABOUT THE AIR RACE CLASSIC
Air Race Classic Inc. is an all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with a mission of encouraging and educating current and future female pilots, increasing public awareness of general aviation, demonstrating women\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s roles in aviation, and preserving and promoting the tradition of pioneering women in aviation. For more information, go to airraceclassic.org. Follow Air Race Classic on Facebook. On Instagram: @airraceclassicinc. Stay abreast of race news – subscribe to the eFlyby newsletter at airraceclassic.org
