Go, go: speed CPA.

• Position: Final entry - Interview

Shannon Webster, CPA has a need ... a need for speed. Her mild mannered life consists of working as a director in the financial services department for Daniells Phillips Vaughan & Bock in Bakersfield. The firm has been around for nearly 60 years and is an alliance member of the RSM Network. She started with the firm in July 2000 as an intern and has been there ever since.

Then there is her racing life as Shannon McQueen. She started racing quarter midgets (a go-kart with a roll cage and seat belts) in 1985 and never looked back. We had the chance to talk to Webster about her life behind the wheel, and the ledger.

When and why did you become a CPA?

My uncle was a corporate tax analyst for Chevron. He retired at age 55 so I figured he must have made a pretty decent living. Also, my mom was a bookkeeper and her job seemed to be interesting. Based on these two individuals, I thought a career in accounting would be a good path. And, if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right and get my CPA license. I passed the Uniforma CPA Exam in 2002.

Talk about the type of racing you do.

I race with the United States Auto Club Western States Midget and Sprint Car Series. I've been racing in the Midget Series for the last 10 years or so. A midget is very mighty. It is a 900-pound car (without the driver) with approximately 400 horsepower from a mechanically injected four-cylinder motor. For comparison: My daily driver is a Honda Accord that weighs more than 3,000 pounds and approximately 200 HP. You can see there's a clear difference. In addition to racing the midget, I race a 360ci sprint car, which is a little bigger than the midget. It is approximately 1,500 pounds and has approximately 725 HP out of a 360 cubic inch V8 motor. The sprint car is bigger and, as such, the driving styles between the midget and the sprint car are different. I started racing the sprint car in 2015.

What's your favorite car to race?

I really enjoy racing the midget. It's more difficult to drive than the sprint car as it has a much smaller wheel base and an incredible amount of HP-to-weight ratio.

Whereabouts do you race?

We generally race in Chico, Petaluma, Placerville, Santa Maria, Tulare, Hanford, Bakersfield and Ventura. We also will race in Las Vegas and Phoenix on occasion. We spend a week in Tulsa, Okla., in January an event called the Chili Bowl Nationals, which is the largest midget race in the country. Also, in 2015, I had the opportunity to race for a week in...