Dina Parise did not grow up in the staging lanes.
She did not come from a family of drag racers. She was not raised around blown alcohol engines, Pro Mods, or late nights in the shop chasing hundredths. Her first big stage was not asphalt. It was ice.
Before she was a 2015 IHRA Pro Mod World Champion, before she became the first woman to hold that title, before “Stella” became one of the most recognizable Cadillacs in Pro Mod, Dina Parise was a professional figure skater with the Ice Capades.
And somehow, that makes perfect sense.
Because whether it was under the lights in skates or strapped into a 3,000-horsepower Cadillac, Parise has always been a performer. She has always been competitive. She has always been willing to put herself out there.
These days, many fans know her by another name: Spicy Meatball.
The nickname, like most good racing stories, was never planned. Parise was watching racing online, staying involved with fans in a live chat, when a troll showed up. Not wanting to deal with it under her real name, she quickly changed her screen name to “Spicy Meatball” as a joke.
Then she forgot to change it back.
The fans noticed. They kept calling her Spicy. Eventually, the name stuck.
“It was just this weird accident,” Parise said. “The fans kind of gave that to me.”
The name fits. Parise is Italian, from Long Island, quick with humor, and not afraid to say exactly what she thinks. She is also known for cooking at the track, including meatballs that have earned their own reputation among friends in the racing world.
But behind the humor is a serious career, and a story that reaches far beyond a race car.
Parise grew up as a gymnast and figure skater. She captained her high school gymnastics team while continuing to skate, then went on to perform professionally with the Ice Capades. She still describes it as one of the best jobs she ever had.
The Ice Capades also left her with something unexpected: a group of friends who likely never would have watched drag racing if not for her.
“A lot of the friends that I have from Ice Capades said they would never have watched drag racing,” Parise said. “But because of me, they started watching it, and they’re enjoying it. They’ve become fans.”
That matters to Parise. Bringing new people into drag racing has become part of who she is. So has educating them.
Even while she has been away from active competition for the last few years, Parise has never really left the sport. She still watches racing. She still talks with fans. She still posts, teaches, explains, and promotes the companies and people who continue to believe in her program.
She uses her platform to talk about safety equipment, fan safety, the realities of drag racing, and the companies she actually uses. Partners such as Red Line Synthetic Oil, Hussey Performance, Red Horse Performance, Star Racer Belts, DMPE, Speedwire Systems, P1 Web Development, and X1 Connecting Rods have remained part of that story.
Parise is clear about one thing: she does not want to just post sponsor logos. She wants people to understand why those companies matter.
“I like to do educational posts,” she said. “I like to educate people about our safety equipment, the safety equipment we wear, fan safety at the racetrack, just different things about the sport itself.”
That combination of education, entertainment, and transparency is very much Dina Parise.
She is professional, but she is not stiff. She is serious, but she is not afraid to laugh. She knows motorsports is a business, but she also understands that fans connect with people, not polished corporate statements.
“We can be professional and still have a sense of humor and a personality at the same time,” Parise said.
That personality extends to her husband, who has become a recurring source of social media entertainment. Parise jokes that once she finally got him on camera, he probably regretted it.
Together, the two have built a life around racing. At one point, they had two Pro Mods: a 1963 Corvette for Dina and a 1953 Corvette for her husband, both with 526 Hemi combinations. Then came the phone call that changed the direction of the program.
Rob Mathias had developed a carbon fiber Cadillac body. When he thought about who should have it, Dina was the first person who came to mind.
Parise and her husband sold both Corvettes to acquire the Cadillac.
That car became “Stella.”
The name came from Dina’s grandmother, a woman who never even had a driver’s license. Stella had fiery red hair, and the car’s red color became part of that tribute. Parise laughs when she talks about the irony of naming a 3,000-horsepower Pro Mod Cadillac after a grandmother who never drove.
“What’s better than a 3,000-horsepower Cadillac?” Parise said. “An Italian girl from New York and a 3,000-horsepower Cadillac. That seems pretty right on point.”
Stella helped carry Parise to the 2015 IHRA Pro Mod World Championship, making her the first female driver to win that title.
But Parise does not live in the past.
In fact, she says she rarely talks about the championship unless it comes up naturally. She is proud of it, but she does not want her story reduced to one trophy from 2015.
She is still pushing. Still planning. Still working toward a return.
Life has made that more complicated.
After COVID, things changed. Parise lost her brother suddenly in 2022. Her mother battled dementia. Her husband dealt with health issues in 2023. Racing, like life, does not always follow the schedule written on paper.
But the car is still there. The trailer is still there. The desire is still there.
“We’re still pushing,” Parise said.
Her goal is to secure the marketing partners needed to return to a full season, or something close to it, in 2027 or 2028. IHRA remains the target. It is a place that has meant a lot to her career and a place where she would like to write the next chapter.
Getting back is not easy. It is especially difficult when a driver has been away for a few years, did not grow up inside the sport, and has to rebuild momentum in a sponsorship market that is never simple.
Parise knows that. She also refuses to let it stop her.
One of the biggest pieces of her message now is aimed at people who think their time has passed. Parise is 59, and she is not hiding it. In fact, she is embracing it.
A female racer once told her she might not want to tell people her age. Parise rejected that immediately.
“If they’re not going to want to sponsor me or work with me because of my age, then that’s on them and it’s not on me,” she said.
For Parise, age is not something to apologize for. It is part of the point.
She wants people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s to keep chasing what matters to them. She wants them to understand they are not finished just because the world often markets dreams to 20-year-olds.
“We ain’t dead yet,” Parise said. “So we need to keep going.”
That attitude has also shaped how she handles negativity online.
Parise has seen the ugly side of social media. Like many women in motorsports, she has dealt with comments that go far beyond normal racing criticism. She understands the difference between someone questioning a driver’s call on track and someone making personal, derogatory attacks.
She has little patience for the latter.
Years ago, after one racer made a nasty comment online, Parise found him at the track and asked if he wanted to say it to her face.
He did not.
“If you don’t have the guts to say that to somebody’s face, then don’t put it on social media,” Parise said.
That is how she views the internet. To her, posting online is no different than saying something in front of a crowd of people. If you would not say it in person, do not type it from behind a keyboard.
Still, Parise does not let the negativity consume her. More often than not, she turns it into humor.
When one regular critic returned to her comments, she responded by telling him she had missed him and that her algorithm needed him.
That is Dina Parise in one sentence: sharp enough to fire back, seasoned enough not to let it ruin her day, and funny enough to turn the whole thing into content.
Underneath that humor, though, is a very real belief that people need to be better to one another.
“People forget that they’re actual people with real lives and families,” Parise said. “How can you be so negative?”
Parise would rather use her platform for something better. Education. Humor. Encouragement. Realness.
She is transparent, but not reckless. She shares enough for people to know who she is, while still keeping parts of her personal life personal. She wants fans to see the person behind the helmet, because that person is what makes the racing story matter.
Her brother’s death in 2022 changed her perspective. Losing him suddenly reminded her not to sweat the small stuff and to appreciate the time she still has.
That perspective now shapes the way she talks about life, racing, age, and opportunity.
“We get one ticket in life,” Parise said. “I’m using mine till it expires.”
That may be the best way to understand Dina Parise.
She has lived a life that has moved from gymnastics mats to ice rinks, from salons to staging lanes, from professional skating lights to Pro Mod fire suits. She has won a world championship, built a brand, entertained fans, educated newcomers, fought through grief, handled critics, and kept showing up even when racing had to pause.
She is not finished.
Not even close.
The car is still waiting. The fire is still there. The meatballs are apparently still legendary.
And Dina Parise is still keeping it spicy.
Insta- Dina Parise. @dinamparise
FB- Dina Parise. @DPariseRacing
