She ran 92nd Indy 500 this past weekend, but was knocked out of the race by driver Ryan Briscoe when his car left the pit. While she was never in contention for the lead spot, it's gotta be the ultimate piss-off to get that far and not finish the race. Patrick was, and still is, fightin' mad...
The 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, May 25, 2008, and this is the first time a woman is fielding an IndyCar as both driver and team owner.
The multi-talented Sarah Fisher qualified this past weekend in the 22nd position for her seventh Indy 500 race, along with two other female drivers, recent Indy Japan 300 winner Danica Patrick in fifth position and Milka Duno in the 27th spot.
With TAG Heuer Eyewear as a sponsor, Sarah is bound to look good on the podium.
Beverly Rae Kimes, author of essential books of automotive history, has passed away.
Kimes was active in the Society of Automotive Historians and had served as the group’s president. She was also a longtime editor of Automobile Quarterly as well as a frequent contributor to the Mercedes-Benz Club of America magazine The Star.
Perhaps equally important was the inspiration she gave to a generation of female automotive journalists who followed in her footsteps. As a blogger said in tribute to Kimes: “she was the exception to the rule” when she began in the almost exclusively male bastion of automotive journalism...
“There is a planned strategy here,” said Bob Burns, 3D Experience Events Manager for Land Rover North America. “ "What’s that?”" I questioned, expecting an extremely technical explanation to ensue. His answer; “"Get stuck!”"
We were watching the first of ten two-person co-ed teams drive a Land Rover LR3 up the Nellis sand dunes in the Nevada desert. The object of the exercise was to get stuck and winch the last 200 feet of steep sandy hill.
In this case, winching was the art of using the 100-feet of coiled steel braided cable (mounted on the front the Land Rover) to prevent the vehicles from getting buried in the deep, soft sand. Pulling a fully loaded 6,000 pound vehicle with a kayak and two bikes strapped to the roof straight up a sand dune is a skill that demands lots of concentration, strategy, muscle power and endurance.
This last challenge was the last of a stunning round of gruelling athletic endeavours that included mountain biking, kayaking, rock-climbing, trail-running, orienteering, off-road driving and navigation.
"I've always had a need for speed and intense things, ever since I was a little girl....thrill-seeking, with everything. As soon as I could, I got in a car and raced."
Alexis DeJoria is focused on her goal of turning professional and driving a nitromethane-fueled Funny Car like Ashley Force, but first she must work her way up and pay her drag racing dues in the Sportsman class; the non-professional teams in the NHRA.
Make no mistake, though -- a Sportsman driver like DeJoria leaves nothing on the track when it comes to competitive fire. The 30-year-old Alexis is the daughter of John Paul DeJoria, the very recognizable ponytailed founder of both the Patrón Spirits Company and Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products.
"My Dad always had really fast cars, so I grew up around that. At school, I gravitated towards the guys who were building hot rods. I got one of my own when I was 16; I had a 1967 Chevelle SS with a 454 big block."
John Paul DeJoria himself stuck his head in during our interview (but it didn't seem like the right time to tell him how much I like his Freeze and Shine hairspray.) He told a road trip story about Alexis driving, er, quite rapidly enroute Las Vegas. She protested, “That was him! He said, 'Pass this guy!' so I said, 'Oooo-kaay!' I don't want to glorify it, kids do things that are stupid, but I really wanted to make it [cars] a part of my life, meaning professionally."
The senior DeJoria wanted Alexis to approach motorsports the right way, by getting properly licensed to race.
"I wasn't quite sure what kind of racing I wanted to do. I was interested in Indy Racing League-type, track racing, so my first school was Skip Barber’s....it was so much fun; I was the only girl in that class."
Sarah Fisher and Hillary Clinton have a certain amount in common. They are both groundbreakers, advancing women's position in areas strongly dominated by men. So it wasn't unfitting that Fisher decided to endorse Clinton.
Today the AP reported on Clinton's visit to Fisher's garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Fisher gave Clinton a team helmet and introduced her around...
In professional drag racing, cars don't just launch down any old street. They need a 1,320-foot strip that is carefully prepared to handle 2,000 pounds of nitromethane-fueled vehicle reaching over 300 mph in mere seconds.
Enter the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Safety Safari. It provides crash rescue and emergency medical assistance if needed, but is also responsible for orchestrating racing competitions and grooming the track.
Robin Crosby has been working national-level events on the Safety Safari since 2000. During the NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park, I asked about her responsibilities:
"Anything that has to do with track preparation, anything that has to do with the safety of the drivers, racers, crew and our own [NHRA] staff," said Robin. "I [first] started out in the staging lanes....I used to pair up cars, make sure that drivers were in, that [competitive] pairs were correct, that they had all their safety gear on. Gear depends on which classes [of car] are running. Some require gloves, helmets, 5-point harnesses. Others require fire suits; tops and bottoms. Some vehicles require arm restraints, or window nets, or HANS devices [Head And Neck Support]...."
How does she remember all of the rules?
She laughed, "Well, to be totally honest with you, in the wintertime when the Rule Book comes out, (around the first of the year, before [race teams start] testing and tuning in the middle of January) I sit in the bathroom and read a chapter at a time."
The Safety Safari also prepares the track for an NHRA event. A good starting line launch is key to a good drag race, and racing tires are slick, with little grip of their own. Robin and her crew make a sticky track ahead of time with glue-like adhesive and the "tire dragging machine."
"Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Racing?" "Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Productions Racing?"
Maybe someday we'll see those names in a NASCAR garage, if more women decide to get involved in the business side of racing. There are already a few owners; Teresa Earnhardt at DEI, Beth Ann Morgenthau at BAM Racing and DeLana Harvick at Kevin Harvick, Inc. are the most prominent.
The Driving Woman spent a few minutes recently at Texas Motor Speedway with another owner; Lori Morgan, co-owner of the Gaffney, South Carolina-based JD Motorsports team that currently races in the Nationwide (formerly Busch) series.
Unlike many in the sport who grew up with their families at the track, Lori is relatively new to stock car racing.
"I was a farm girl from northeastern Ohio -- Rootstown," she said. "I'd never been to a NASCAR race, didn't really know what it was all about, had no idea what they did. I was an engineer for Eaton Corporation, a hydraulic engineer, and then a warehouse manager with U.S. Foods and PFG. My kids are all raised and married, I've got six grandchildren; was ready to retire, and then I met Johnny [Davis, the other JD Motorsports owner.]"
Now Lori is immersed in the daily details of running the RaceGirl Chevrolet team that features Johnny's son Kertus Davis as the driver.
"I work in the office, I keep all the books, I do all the accounting, set up the travel arrangements for everybody," she said. "I'm more of a Mom figure. If they need something, they come to me....for advice, or if they're hungry, it's 'what's Lori cooking?'"
It may not be as splashy and glamorous as the top-tier Sprint Cup, but Lori likes the homier atmosphere in the smaller-scale Nationwide race series.
"I really feel that this garage is more of a family, and I don't know if we'll ever go to that [Sprint] Cup level," she said. "We like it here; there are good people on this side....this seems that it's still got a little bit of the old-time racing. Johnny was a crew chief [for some of the earlier drivers] so we're old-school, and it seems like the old school is still here, and that's what makes racing fun; no matter the sweat and pressures and worries, these people are like family."
What does it take to race -- not drive, but race -- 1,300 miles through hostile Mexican dessert -- dust storms, broken car parts and all? And what if you were just your average, everyday female automotive journalist -- not an experienced off-roader -- trying to make that trek? Jackie Liu will tell you, in her aptly named article about the Baja 1000, No Sleep 'Til Cabo.
Liu drove a Mitsibishi Montero with some other folks, trying to keep up with DXR Racing's Dan Fresh, who was in a Mitsubishi Raider...
It's been one heck of a year for Funny Car driver Ashley Force.
There was her family's "Driving Force" TV show on A&E, her January decision to drive the 300 mph, nitromethane-powered beasts called Funny Cars, the tragic death in March of racing teammate Eric Medlen and finally, her selection by poll in early September as AOL's "Hottest Athlete" (complete with an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.)
Ms. Force took a few minutes last week during the NHRA Fall Nationals to speak with The Driving Woman about her busy racing life.
Q: Did you ever think that this year would be as crazy as it has been for you?
A: "Definitely not! We've made it through this year; next year and the following year will seem so easy. I think it made us a stronger team together -- I've definitely bonded with my team. We're so close now, and I think it was because of a lot of those things. With everything that's happened it definitely made us a close team....and that makes for having a better car, because when you're all working together and happy with each other and motivating each other, then you're just going to do better."
Q. Do you ever get any resentment from your team for all this "rock star" stuff? I mean, Jay Leno, wow....
A. "From my team, not at all, and I've been really lucky. I know I've heard stories from other teams and drivers and the struggles they have sometimes, because really, we get all the glory. When we do badly, we get all that side of it, too. You know, we're only in the car a total of a few minutes a day. We have a lot of other stuff we do, but the guys are out there, pouring sweat, from 6 in the morning till 10 at night, not with their families, on the road, working so hard, and then you're the one that gets all the attention [as a driver.] That's why you'll hear a lot of drivers, we want to talk about our team. Lately, NHRA [and TV programs like NHRA Race Day on ESPN2] have been giving a lot more attention to the crew guys because they play such a big role."
"I have a young group of [team] guys, they're so excited, they've never said one even minor negative thing to me, ever. Anything that I mess up on, if I have a horrible light [the signal to start a drag race] they're the ones who say, 'That's all right, we'll get 'em next time.' I've been hearing that all the guys are staying next year, and that's not always common when you get a brand-new team....we'll be so good to go, because we're already in synch....it gives me more confidence and in return, I do better."
Drag racing seems to have a new "Cha-Cha" in town: Funny Car driver Ashley Force.
Never mind Ms. Force's very impressive rookie year in the NHRA as a member of her father's legendary John Force Racing team; the really important buzz is that this week, she beat Indy Racing League driver Danica Patrick to reach the finals of the AOL Hottest Women Athletes online contest.
Yep, we've come a long way down the drag strip, baby...
TrackCouture first made marks in NASCAR land introducing apparel for women in 2004. Now the Memphis-based company is outfitting motorsports fans in-the-making. Along with baby tees, the company makes tees for babies. With catchy slogans like "I'm Tired" your baby will stop 'em in their tracks. These pieces join the lineup that consists of women's and girls' t-shirts with sparkly NASCAR logos, and other track-inspired phrases like my personal favorite, "Burnouts, Backflips, Fence Climbing and Victory Lane." You don't even have to be a race fan to wear the "Race Royalty" tank top.
Force = Mass x Acceleration. It all comes down to physics. Let's start with the bare bolts at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea, Michigan, which is also the city where I was born three-and-some decades ago. Automotive technology is put to the test in its experimental phase at the Proving Grounds. (Full disclosure - my dad worked at those proving grounds, and we attended family picnics there when I was a kid.) A lot has changed since the 1970s and the fuel crises, but in some ways we're still discussing the same issues -- how to go fast and smooth and use less gas. This is an engineer's eternal question. Without spilling embargo beans, announcements drifted in this direction for a program aptly titled "What's New." It's ironic how technology changes everything, but nothing when it comes down to the basic goals of the automobile. Journalists could test out these principles making loops around the track in the existing Chrysler vehicle lineup.
Force = Mass x Acceleration. This principle became crystal clear for me the next day attending an NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey. The last race I witnessed was in Milan, Michigan sometime in the early 1980s. A lot has changed then in the Top Fuel and Funny Car brackets, with cars flying at speeds of 325 miles per hour. Its also exciting to see a woman like 24-year old Ashley Force making the Top Ten in her souped-up Ford Mustang. I saw her speed down the track at 321mph, the youngest and the only woman in her race. I stood behind the cars as they took off, unleashing G-force in an explosive reaction. Too bad high school physics couldn't be taught at the race track.
My Pumas are stopping traffic. Foot traffic, car traffic, even bike traffic at Joy Ride, the fly Manhattan art show inspired by the bicycle, featuring the work of Swoon, Shepherd Fairey and Phil Frost design. Cam-phones are snapping my feet kicking up pavement.
When I saw them in the Manhattan window –I had to have them -- birthday cake blue and high-top fly...
Have you ever wanted to be a motorsports mucky-muck? Maybe a team owner?
Here's your chance....
Erica Enders is the only woman currently competing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing Pro Stock class (although there are 6 other women competing in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle.)
The Enders family is living their long-time dream; to own their team and the cars that they drive. The problem is money.
Drag racing is an expensive sport -- no surprise when a driver roaring down the quarter mile essentially uses up the car's engine in addition to the fuel burned. Erica Enders Racing has many corporate sponsors, including Mopar, Lucas Oil and even the Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurant chain in Houston, but the chase for supporting cash is never-ending. When I spoke with dad Gregg Enders during the NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, he said that this is some of the hardest work he's ever done...
He told NASCAR engineer Alba Colon that she wouldn't last a year in the business because she is a woman.
But Alba, determined to prove him wrong, has stuck it out and has been in the biz now for 11 years.
It wasn't easy to overcome the good-ole-boy mentality (or lack thereof). But she is now the program manager for General Motors and their 21 NASCAR Nextel Cup teams...
It had to happen. Mattel's Barbie® , ever the trend-follower, now wears the NASCAR® logo. In celebration of the Daytona 500 on February 18th, Mattel released the Dale Earnhardt, Jr.® NASCAR Barbie Doll and Jeff Gordon® NASCAR Barbie Doll. Both are limited edition and cost $34.95...
At the GXP event I attended in Phoenix, I had a chance to chat with Grand American racer Milka Duno (at right); and what an inspiring experience it was. At just 34, she not only is a successful racecar driver but she holds four master's degrees (three of which she got simultaneously), is a naval engineer and does motivational speaking at schools.
How does someone accomplish all this and be the best at everything when there aren't enough hours in the day? Easy; Milka doesn't see obstacles and she knows no boundaries...
On September 25th I wrote that BMW's Performance Driving School is going on the road, taking its program across the nation so driving enthusiasts can sample BMW's race-inspired M-series vehicles while learning important driving skills. I took the program myself yesterday at the California Speedway (think NASCAR). No, we didn't get to lap the oval, but were still treated to plenty of thrills...
Ford's been getting pretty banged up by the media lately, but I think it's a pretty good corporate citizen. For one thing, it's doing a lot of safety research. But I also like its support of women in Ford Racing and its tie-in to the Komen Foundation. They've raised millions for the cause...
Laleh Seddigh, an Iranian racecar driver, really has an uphill battle, as described by Italian news service ADN Kronos International (AKI). Not only does she have to wear a full scarf and long coat over her racing uniform, but when she won a race last year, state television "did not show the new champion eleveted above men on the podium."
Seddigh races in Formula Three in Bahrain and competes in rallies in Iran, because that's the only category where women are allowed...
We love it when automakers recognize the power of the purse. Now all terrain vehicle manufacturers are getting into the game, as well. Recognizing that a full one-third of its young riders are girls, Polaris, one of the world's largest ATV manufacturers, is launching "Pink Power" limited-edition models of their Predator 50, Predator 90 and Phoenix 200 ATVs. The models have all the same popular features as their non-pink counterparts, including electric start, automatic transmission, reverse and parental controls...
Lake Motorsports has started a NASCAR team and is committing to choosing a female driver. Who that female driver will be has yet to be announced.
They've created a program where anyone can sponsor their team by purchasing a sponsor tile for $25 which will appear on the car and on their Web site. Each tile is 1" x 1" and gives you a chance to vote on the final selection of the female driver...
Risk averse. By nature, people who are inclined to give racing a shot are not that. Inevitably, even if they have fear or don't really dwell on the possibility, engaging in risky business is part of the attraction. While that might seem nonsense to the anti-racer who prefers the slow lane, what is compelling about racing is that part of the culture is learning how to get back in the proverbial saddle. Talk to a racecar driver who races midget cars, Stephanie Mockler, who nonchalantly describes crashing.
It all comes down to being willing to take a risk...
The rain poured outside, but that didn't stop several hundred attendees to packing in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to attend the fourth annual Women in the Winner's Circle luncheon, benefiting the Lyn St. James Foundation. If anyone doubts the fervor that women drivers and their supporters have for their sport, they need only to hear a few words spoken by St. James or one of her contemporaries...
Bright and early Thursday morning, we discover the momentum behind the Driving Force, A & E's new hit reality television series, starring NHRA Legend John Force and his racing family -- his wife Laurie and three competitive daughters -- all cutting their chops as race car drivers. Drag racing might conjure up images of Grease Lightening and Rizzo waving the starting flags, but in actuality this is the world's largest motorsport, governed by the National Hot Rod Association. Ford Motor Company provides the hardware for teams like Force Racing that rely on a number of sponsors to operate, and in return, the crews tinker with technology to create the fastest vehicles possible, which eventually into commercial products.
The eldest daughter and 2005 top ten finisher Ashley Force and Eric Medlen (last week's big NHRA funny car winner at Sonoma) greet us for a full tour of the racecar shop -- likeable to a training center for Olympians. Here is one of the Force programs two secret laboratories, where race cars are produced for drivers like Force to drive upwards of 275 miles per hour. The main headquarters are in California, but the Indy multi-million dollar complex plays an increasing role in the expanding enterprise.
While racing is both sport and business, to hear Force folks tell it, it's like a family with equal members, which is why the television show rooted in reality works. Eric's father John Medlen is the his longtime crew chief. With Force providing the larger umbrella operation, it's a family living under the guise of a business, framed by a frank father who doles out his thoughts to his young adult daughters, growing pains included. With a candor that has capitivated a cross section of race fans and reality TV fans, the Force show has found its niche, extending taping beyond four initial episodes. They started filming in January at races and in typcial teen angst situations - like pre-prom interrogation. While being trailed by a camera crew can sometimes be strangely invasive for the Forces, Ashley seems to be taking it in stride, with a gracious manner and calm, collected dispostion (Makes sense for a woman who battles G-Force for a living.)
A great driver is a person who has a balance between analytic and guts," Ford Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Anne Stevens shares with young USAC drivers Alison Macleod and Stephanie Mockler moments before they take to the track at the steamy Anderson Speedway, about 40 minutes outside of Indianapolis. Dazzling spectators with their passing prowess in their respective heats, both prove Stevens assertions to be true in the Midget midwest regional race, days before the NASCAR race referred to as Brickyard, where the young women hope to one day battle with the bigshots. In the midget cars, which clock in at 375 horsepower weighing 900 pounds, the women fared well in the evening races, passing cars left and right over the span of 30 laps. They race cars with the same chassis, but different engines, so they do not compete against each other, but instead leave a host of competitors with stalwart display of fierce skills. It's over all too quick -- Macleod was making her way up to the front of the pack when she spun out. Mockler executed flawlessly, moving dangerously near the winner's circle.
There are a lot of reasons to pay attention to motorsports when drivers like Macleod and Mockler are poised behind the wheel. Though still teenagers, these young women have learned skills while developing their craft that most of us are still searching for well into adulthood -- like how to go after a dream, work with a team and handle pressure. Ford's top guns in racing chose them for the prestigious program both for their driving technique and their smarts. The Clorox/Ford Racing Women' Drive Development Program is not for the novice racer. These ladies earned their spots, an undeniable fact when they are in action.
On Friday the major motion picture Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby hits the box offices. If you're not a Will Ferrell fan or not interested in a slice of Americana about the good ole' boys of stockcar racing, perhaps you'll be home flipping channels. You may pause on the Speed Channel where you'll see trucks zipping by on the screen at the Powerstroke Diesel 200. If you look closely you might see two names that stand out from the pack. Erin Crocker and Kelly Sutton are first rate drivers in order to compete in the class leading NASCAR CraftsmenTruck race held at the O'Reilly Raceway Park. They happen to be among the only women visible on NASCAR frontlines.
I just love it when men deny the obvious, like the fact that women can compete with male racecar drivers. So enjoyed reading Jennifer Gustavson's article in today's Salt Lake City Weekly. In it, she quotes an anonymous post from an online forum:
“'A woman could never be a consistently competitive racecar driver.' The argument went that women lack the 'greater male stamina, strength and raw-bones agression' to be successful...
At least 40% of NASCAR fans are women. Ford, sensing an opportunity, is determined to back female racers from different series until one of them wins the NASCAR Nextel Cup.
"It is Ford's intent that when the first woman wins a NASCAR Nextel Cup race and drives into Victory Lane, she'll be driving a Ford," said Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology.
Clorox and ST Motorsports joined Ford to develop the Ford Female Driver Development Program (FFDD), the first time a corporate sponsor and manufacturer have worked together to develop young, diverse talent...
Ever since Joanne posted about "The Drive" a few months ago, I have been anticipating my next trip to Vegas so that I could try it out. I had never driven anything offroad before so I was really looking forward to putting a HUMMER H2 through it's paces. And, as fast as I endeavor to drive every day, I was anxious to hit a real track in a real performance car.
As women start to exercise their considerable power in the car-buying and maintenance arena, more women-oriented auto Web sites are popping up to serve them. Here's a new one we like: AskPatty.com. Billed as "a safe place for women to get advice on car purchases, maintenance and other automotive related topics," users can -- literally -- ask Patty questions through an interactive blog. Responses typically come the same day, and selected questions will be addressed by a panel of women automotive experts for the benefit of all the readers...
Another male race car driver puts his foot firmly in his mouth.
Richard Petty, NASCAR's winningest driver speaks out against women in motorsports. He says it's not a sport for women and their lack of success proves it.
There may not be any women in the top tiers of NASCAR at the moment, but IRL driver Danica Patrick is about to start in her second Indy500...
