One of the better-known racers at the Knoxville Raceway is in the running for a different type of competition, one she didn’t expect to be entering.

McKenna Hasse has been a regular competitor and occasional winner at Knoxville; but next month she will go to Tacoma, Washington to take part in the NBC reality competition “American Ninja Warrior.”

The Des Moines resident wasn’t familiar with the show until she saw an episode; the program requires competitors to go through a grueling series of obstacles, designed to test their limits.

Hasse says she started training for the show mainly as a way to get into shape for racing, but it slowly evolved into a new opportunity for her.