Natalie Decker and her husband, Derek Lemke, are embracing life as new parents, spending the holiday season between Christmas and New Year focused on family while keeping one eye firmly on the road back to NASCAR. Decker last took the green flag in August 2025 at Daytona, where she finished 22nd, marking her return to competition months after welcoming their son in February. While she is currently savoring motherhood and marriage, another long-held ambition remains front and center, one she shares with her husband and intends to chase down.
A year ago, during an interview with Frontstretch, Decker sat down with Wyatt Watson ahead of her second career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway and laid out several personal goals. She spoke about a dream partnership with Bikini Zone, highlighted the importance of promoting sponsorship alongside her family, reflected on married life, and opened up about a shared vision with Lemke, which is lining up against him on the racetrack.
As Decker put it, “That’s literally our goal and dream. We talk about that daily. So here’s the thing: Derek has never beaten me. We talk about that all the time.” She explained that the two have raced each other only a handful of times so far, but they plan to settle the score properly by competing head-to-head in either a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race or an Xfinity Series event in the near future.
The intention, she said, is “We have to make it happen, and then we can then determine who is better after that race.”
When discussing married life, Decker shared that very little has changed beyond the wedding bands now on their fingers. Their lives, she noted, had already been connected long before the ceremony. Once Lemke was fully committed to supporting her racing career, they immediately approached everything as a team.
Decker added that they have been together for more than eight years (now over nine), and married for some time, and she finds it deeply fulfilling. For the 28-year-old, one of the highlights of getting married was celebrating alongside friends and family, hosting a large gathering that turned into an unforgettable occasion.
In 2025, Decker also joined a select group of women who returned to NASCAR competition after becoming mothers.
Beyond Shawna Robinson, one of only 17 women to start a NASCAR Cup Series race, who had two children in the late 1990s before competing in 21 races across NASCAR’s three national divisions between 2001 and 2005, drivers such as Sara Christian, Jessica Friesen, Tina Gordon, Ethel Mobley, Alli Owens, and Kelly Sutton also raced after entering motherhood.
Backed by sponsorship from Wawa, Decker drove the #92 DGM Racing Chevy in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Daytona International Speedway, and might be ready to do that in 2026 as well.
