Ritamarie Goulet (née Thomason; born August 25, 1983) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver and

police sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Briti ...

. She competes part-time in the

ARCA Menards Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are h ...

, driving the No. 31

Chevrolet SS The Holden Commodore (VF) is a full-size car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufac ...

for Rise Motorsports, and the No. 01

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

for

Wayne Peterson Racing ''For the American composer, pianist, and educator, see Wayne Peterson.'' Wayne Peterson (born May 24, 1938) is an American professional stock car racing owner/driver and former paratrooper and United States Army Special Forces member. He curre ...

, and currently serves as a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

for the Gastonia Police Department in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. She was previously employed as a police sergeant for the Tuscaloosa Police Department in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Early life

Thomason was born on August 25, 1983, in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

, to a poor family. Thomason eventually

settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

when she was 11. Her parents got divorced when she was 15. She was kicked out of her house, and was moved into a homeless shelter at the age of 16. During the events of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, she continued to live in a homeless shelter, and worked part-time at a tourist attraction in

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

. After seeing the attack unfold on a little break room TV, she was desired to help others in difficult situations, which gave her the courage to train as a

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

. She was transferred into a vocational school to train as a

medical assistant A medical assistant, also known as a "clinical assistant" or healthcare assistant in the US, is an allied health professional who supports the work of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health professionals, usuall ...

. She was later offered an opportunity to finish her paramedic training in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

, for which she accepted.

Law enforcement career

After working as a paramedic for five years, Thomason began working as a

for the Tuscaloosa Police Department in 2011. She states that her persistent desire to help others led to a law enforcement career. She also works as a

school resource officer The United States Department of Justice defines school resource officers (SRO) as "sworn law enforcement officers responsible for the safety and crime prevention in schools". They are employed by a local police or sheriff's department and work cl ...

on Monday mornings, a security guard for an apartment complex on Monday and Tuesday nights, and provides security for a local hospital on Thursday nights. During the weekends, she works at a game-style

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

. After moving to

Denver, North Carolina Denver, formerly known as Dry Pond, is a census-designated place and Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Lincoln County, North Carolina, Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...

in late 2022 with her husband, she began working as an officer for the Gastonia Police Department.

Racing career

Early career

Thomason's interest for racing came at 11-years old, after her family purchased their first car, a 1983 Subaru wagon. She explained that the car "was more rust than car at this point." She began to drive at the age of 23, and purchased a 1992

Mazda Miata The Mazda MX-5 is a lightweight two-person sports car manufactured and marketed by Mazda. The convertible is marketed as the or in Japan, and as the Mazda Miata () in the United States, and formerly in Canada, where it is now marketed as the ...

. She officially started racing in 2018, at 33-years old, driving in an

autocross Autocross is a form of motorsport in which competitors are timed to complete a short course using automobiles on a dirt or grass surface, excepting where sealed surfaces are used in United States. Rules vary according to the governing or sanctioni ...

event. She found out that amateur club racing was something that she wanted to do, so she began to strip off the interior of her Miata and make it into a race car. She started driving competitively in the

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...

in 2019, racing mostly on road courses. She received her racing license at the end of the season in November. In 2020, she began racing in the

ChampCar Endurance Series The ChampCar Endurance Series is a budget class Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held on paved road race courses across North America, formerly known as the ChumpCar World Series, run by ChumpCar International Inc. Founded in 2009, ...

, along with the

24 Hours of Lemons The 24 Hours of Lemons, sometimes styled as "24 Hours of LeMons", "24 Hours of LeMONS", or "24 Hours of LEMONS", is a series of endurance races held on paved road race courses across the United States. The series holds the Guinness World Record ...

. That same year, she would earn a couple of wins in the SCCA. After watching old

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

races, she decided she wanted to go

. In 2021, she sold her Miata, along with her trailer, and purchased a 2014 Chevrolet SS stock car. She had her car tuned up by Dick and Bob Rahilly, the owners of

RahMoc Enterprises Rahmoc Enterprises is a former NASCAR Winston Cup team that operated from 1978 to 1993. The team was owned by long-time engine builder Bob Rahilly and Butch Mock. Rahilly and Mock split in 1992, with the race team becoming Butch Mock Motorspor ...

ARCA Menards Series

During the fall of 2021, Thomason tested her stock car at local road courses. She would sign part-time with Clubb Racing Inc. for the

2022 ARCA Menards Series The 2022 ARCA Menards Series was the 70th season of the ARCA Menards Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Lucas Oil 200 (ARCA), Lucas Oil 200 o ...

, where she planned to run two road courses, and 2-4 short tracks. She made her first start at

Berlin Raceway Berlin Raceway is a long paved oval race track in Marne, Michigan, near Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids. The track races weekly as part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. It has also held touring series events on the ARCA Menar ...

, where she started 15th, and finished 12th. left, Goulet's No. 31 car at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 2024 Since 2023, Goulet has driven for her own team, Rise Motorsports.

Personal life

Thomason met her first husband when she was 17, living at a homeless shelter at the time. They got married two years later. Thomason explains that she was sexually, physically, and financially abused by him. She also explains that he had control of what she did, and wouldn't allow her to drive, which eventually lead to a divorce. She moved to Alabama to avoid contact with her ex-husband, and would later meet her second husband. They both married after the move, but got divorced soon after, as they realized they were better off as friends. She met her third husband a few years later, and sometime during 2022, they divorced. Thomason met

pit crew member

Tim Goulet Timothy Goulet (born November 13, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver, crew chief, and team owner who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 31 Toyota for Rise Motorsports. He has previously wor ...

in early 2022, and realized that they both had the same goals of owning an

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

team in the near future. Rita and Tim married on January 1, 2023, and they currently reside in

, with a daughter and a son from Tim's previous marriage.

Motorsports career results

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series East

References

External links

* * * {{Chevrolet in NASCAR 1983 births American female racing drivers American LGBTQ sportspeople American women police officers ARCA Menards Series drivers Champ Car drivers LGBTQ people from Rhode Island LGBTQ racing drivers Living people Racing drivers from Rhode Island Law enforcement officials from Alabama