For Brandy Protz, life moves fast—sometimes at 125 miles per hour.

As a physician assistant in Carmel, Indiana, she spends her days helping patients improve their health through functional and lifestyle medicine. But on weekends, she trades her scrubs for a fire suit, climbing behind the wheel of her 1964 Chevelle wagon, the same car her father raced decades before her.

“I don’t remember a time without racing,” Brandy said. “I grew up at the track, watching my dad, and I started racing when I was nine.”

What started as a childhood love for competition has become a family bond that spans generations.

Now, she and her father race together, working on cars side by side, passing down the knowledge and skill that have defined their family’s legacy.

And while Brandy’s career has taken her to a different state, her connection to Vandalia, her family, and the lessons she learned growing up remains stronger than ever.

Brandy’s journey from Vandalia to the medical field was shaped by hard work, injuries, and the realization that she wanted to help others heal.

As a high school athlete, she suffered multiple major injuries—two torn ACLs, a broken pelvis—and spent countless hours in orthopedic clinics.

“I was constantly around PAs, athletic trainers, orthopedic surgeons,” she said. “And I realized—I want to be on the other side of this. I want to help people get better.”

She attended Indiana State University on a full-ride scholarship, studying athletic training and sports medicine, before earning her PA degree from the University of Dayton.

Now, she specializes in functional and lifestyle medicine, approaching patient care the same way she approaches racing:

“If your check engine light comes on, you don’t just turn it off and ignore it,” she said. “You figure out what’s wrong, what’s out of balance, and how to fix it. That’s how I see my patients—as puzzles that need to be solved, not just symptoms to be covered up.”

Racing has taught Brandy more than just how to handle a car—it has taught her about patience, problem-solving, and cherishing the time you have with people.

“If I could go back and tell my younger self anything, I’d say: Make sure you take the time to enjoy the moments with the people you love; don’t miss those moments you’ll have to shoot hoops with your younger sister.” This is where, in the interview, I lose it. But through my cracking voice, I know Brandy has processed it and has come away stronger and more deeply in love with those moments she shared.

“I see patients every day who tell me, ‘I wish I had done this sooner.’ And that applies to everything—not just health, but how we spend our time, who we prioritize.”

That perspective, shaped by her own very personal experience with loss, has influenced the way she approaches life, relationships, and even her career.

By fate, circumstance, or the invisible hand, Brandy has learned to see life through a philosophically complex but Zeiss-sharp lens; for her, it’s about the relationships, about the family, about the moments in life. And so it is with racing; it’s always been about more than speed. It’s about connection, legacy, and the moments that matter most.

As Randy prepares for retirement and Brandy continues building her medical career, their connection remains as strong as ever—on and off the track.

For them, racing isn’t just about competition. It’s about tradition, time spent together, and the values that define a family.

And whether it’s mentoring students in Vandalia, caring for patients in Indiana, or fine-tuning engines for race day, the Protz family will always keep pushing forward—an eighth-of-a-mile at a time.