A year ago, Emelia Hartford was one of the disappointed drivers who didn’t get the chance to race the full course of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak Hill Climb. 

A rookie, Hartford immediately decided she would be back after finishing as runner-up female to Loni Unser on the shortened course at Glen Cove. 

She returned with vengeance Sunday and took the top female title after posting a female record time of 10:11.018 in Time Attack 1. Laura Hayes, who owned the previous record, was the next fastest female with a time of 10:17.538 in the Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yomaha-Turbo division, which she won. 

Unser did not compete in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb this year, but was part of its Racer Network broadcast. 

“I don’t feel like I’m battling other women,” Hartford said. “When I come out here, I’m just trying to be better than I was previously, and I was better than last year, and got to do the full mountain and made it to the summit, so I’m proud of that.”

Hartford competed in a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette, which had three times the horsepower of her vehicle from last year. The course was slippier than she expected, and therefore, she didn’t earn the coveted production car record she desired. 

Still, Hartford couldn’t be happier to be on the mountain. 

“Everyone out here is family at this point,” Hartford said. “I didn’t know how I did, and it felt slower, but I’m just happy to get up safely and see all my friends up here.”

One of those friends is Pikes Peak Hill Climb legend Jeff Zwart, who coached Hartford ahead of this year’s race and was the first to greet and hug a teary-eyed Hartford after crossing the finish line. 

“She is awesome,” Zwart said of Hartford. “She did so well her first year here, really stayed in the program. Did awesome hammering away on the course, getting faster every run. This year she’s here with a monster Corvette, taking on everything here.”

The California native thanks her sponsors, Mobil 1, Porsche Colorado, and Hartford Racing for helping her win the Queen of the Mountain title, and is excited to return next year. 

The feeling of completing the full course is insatiable. 

“I had to shut my mind up a couple times and be like, stop celebrating, you’re not there yet!” Hartford said. “It was a surreal moment.”

For now, she is celebrating with some much-needed sleep.