Baby girl is born in parking lot of New Hampshire racetrack

Shawna Arnold and her boyfriend were on the way to the hospital Friday after the mom-to-be went into labor. But the pair made a pit stop at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway after realizing Arnold was going to give birth.

Shawna Arnold with her new baby, Katie, after giving birth Friday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.


LOUDON, N.H. — A New Hampshire woman and her baby are doing fine after the woman gave birth in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway parking lot.

Shawna Arnold began going into labor Friday and she and her boyfriend hopped in a car to the hospital. But when Arnold realized she was about to give birth on the way, they made a pit stop at the racetrack parking lot in Loudon.

“He’s like, ‘I can’t drive any faster. I can't drive any faster,' and I'm like, 'I'm not going to make it. I'm not going to make it,’” Arnold told ABC affiliate WMUR in Manchester. “I had a contraction and I stood up in the back seat on my knees, and I’m not going to make it. My water just broke.”

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon had its first-ever birth on Friday.

Arnold said that she and her boyfriend delivered the baby, named Katie, in their Saturn sedan. An EMT at the track then came to help, and the couple and the baby were taken to Concord Hospital.

"We had a motorcycle event on track, and typically, we would have a couple of ambulances on property to provide safety for the riders and competitors that come here to enjoy the magic mile,” Tom Blanchette, the Speedway’s director of operations, told WMUR. “It was timed perfectly for them, they knew where to stop.”

As a present, Speedway General Manager Jerry Gappens said he’s giving the newborn two tickets to NASCAR races every year for the rest of her life.

Katie was born Friday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“She’ll be up there every year to watch at least a race,” Arnold promised.

Meanwhile, this was the Speedway’s first-ever birth at the track, officials said.