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Women have
competed in NASCAR as early as 1949 when the sanctioning body
began fielding its Strictly Stock Series. Unfortunately, most
have never been given an even footed opportunity to compete with
their male counterparts. Hindered with under-funded operations
and in many cases harassed by competitors, the ladies have made
the best with what they have been given. Here is a brief history
of the women who have competed in the NASCAR ranks.
Sara
Christian
Sara
Christian from Atlanta, Georgia competed in the 1949 NASCAR
Strictly Stock series, running 6 of the season's 8 events. At
Langhorne, Pennsylvania in September, she finished 6th. Race
winner Curtis Turner invited her to join him in victory lane.
Her best finish of the year was a 5th place at Heidelberg
Raceway at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Christian completed the
season 13th in the series points.
In 1950,
NASCAR renamed the Strictly Stock Division the Grand National
Division. Christian made 1 start in the 19-event schedule at
Heidelberg Raceway where she finished 14th.
Louise
Smith
Louise
Smith was born on July 31, 1916. She was from Greenville, South
Carolina. Smith began competing in the NASCAR Strictly Stock
Division in 1949 running on the beach at Daytona, at Occoneechee
Speedway at Hillsboro, North Carolina, and at Langhorne,
Pennsylvania driving her Smith Auto Parts No.94 Ford. Her best
finish of the year was a 16th place finish at Langhorne.
In 1950,
Smith competed in 5 of the NASCAR Grand National Division's 19
events driving her No.94 Smith Auto Parts Ford and her No.94
Leslie Motors Nash. Her best showing for the year were a pair of
19th place finishes at Dayton, Ohio and Hillsboro, North
Carolina.
In 1951,
Smith competed in 3 of the 34 events in the Grand National
Division driving an Oldsmobile. Her best finish for the year was
a 24th at Langhorne after losing an engine.
Ethel
Mobley
Ethel
Mobley of Atlanta was born on March 8, 1920. She competed in 2
of the 8 NASCAR Strictly Stock Division events in 1949 driving
the No.91 and
92
Cadillac. Her best finish was an 11th place showing on the beach
at Daytona.
Mobley
died June 26, 1980.
Ann
Bunselmeyer
Ann
Bunselmeyer of Elmsford, New York competed in one NASCAR Grand
National Division event in 1950. She drove a Packard to an 18th
place finish at Vernon Fairgrounds in Vernon, New York.
Ann
Chester
Ann
Chester of Buffalo, New York competed in two NASCAR Grand
National Division events in 1950 driving the No.72 Plymouth. She
finished 22nd at Vernon Fairgrounds in New York and 21st at
Hamburg Speedway in New York.
Sandy
Lynch
Sandy
Lynch of Jacksonville, Florida was born on May 24, 1922. She
competed in two NASCAR Grand National Division events in 1951
driving her
No.97 Ford
in the Southern 500 at Darlington where she finished 66th of 82
cars, and she drove her No.97 Plymouth at Central City Speedway
at Macon, Georgia where she finished 16th.
Marian
Pagan
Marian
Pagan of Lynwood, California drove her No.52 Plymouth in one
NASCAR Grand National Division event in 1954 finishing 18th at
Oakland Stadium in Oakland, California.
Fifi Scott
In 1955,
Fifi Scott of West Sacramento, California competed in two NASCAR
Grand National Division events. She drove her Hudson to a 23rd
place finish at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix and a
13th place finish at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.
Goldie
Parsons
In 1965,
Goldie Parsons of Clemmons, North Carolina drove Buck Baker's
No.89 Oldsmobile in the Tidewater 300 at Dog Track Speedway,
Moyock, North Carolina where she finished 14th.
Christine
Beckers
In 1977,
Christine Beckers of Brussels, Belgium drove Junie Donlavey's
No.93 Ford in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona and finished 37th.
Janet
Guthrie
Janet
Guthrie was born on March 7, 1938 in Iowa City, Iowa. He family
moved to Miami, Florida when she was three years old. At age 17,
she obtained her pilots license. She graduated from Miss Harris'
Florida School for Girls and then from University of Michigan in
1960 with a Bachelors of Science in Physics. Guthrie then worked
for six years as a research and development engineer for an
aviation company. During that time she was one of four women to
qualify for the scientist-astronaut program of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She was
disqualified from the program when the requirement for
participants to hold a doctorate degree was established.
She began
racing in the Sports Car Club of America campaigning a Jaguar XK
140 from 1963 thru 1967. By 1972, she was involved in racing on
a full-time basis. From 1973 thru 1975, she campaigned her own
Toyota Celica B Sedan in 51 races. In 1973, she was crowned the
North Atlantic Road Racing Champion.
In 1976,
long-time team owner Rolla Vollstedt invited her to test a car
for the Indianapolis 500. She passed her rookie test but failed
to qualify for the event. Guthrie also made her NASCAR Winston
Cup Series debut in 1976 at the World 600 at Charlotte driving
the Lynda Ferreri owned No.68 NAPA / Regal Ride Chevrolet. She
finished the event in 15th position. She made 4 more starts that
year with sponsorship from Kelly Temporary Services.
In 1977,
Guthrie made 19 Winston Cup starts. She recorded a 6th place
finish at Bristol in the Volunteer 400 and charted 4 top-10
finishes. In May of 1977, Guthrie became the first woman to
qualify for and compete in the Indianapolis 500. A mechanical
failure put her out of the Indy 500 early in the going on lap
27.
In 1978,
she made 7 starts in the Winston Cup Series recording a 10th
place finish in the Atlanta 500. In the Indy Cars, Guthrie
finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500 while driving with a
broken wrist. In 1979, she again qualified for and competed in
the Indianapolis 500 but failed to finish after suffering a
mechanical failure.
In 1980,
Guthrie made two starts in the Winston Cup Series. She finished
11th in the Daytona 500 driving Rod Osterlund's No.82 Texaco
Star Chevrolet. She drove Alfred McClure's No.57 North American
Dealer Group Ford at Pocono but lost an engine on lap 134.
In 1985
and 1986, she drove for the Peugeot factory team in the SCCA
USEC and IMSA Firehawk Series.
Lella
Lombardi
Lella
Lombardi drove Charles Dean's No.05 Bearfinder Chevrolet in the
1977 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. A mechanical failure dropped
her out of the event on lap 103 relegating her to a 31st place
finish.
Robin
McCall
Robin
McCall from San Antonio, Texas was born on January 20, 1964.
McCall drove J.D. Stacy's No.5 Buick in the Gabriel 400 and the
Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan. Her best showing was a 29th
place finish.
Patty
Moise
Born
December 29, 1960 in Jacksonville, Florida, Patty Moise grew up
with a father who was a road racer. After getting her drivers
license at the age of 16, she began racing road course races
with the IMSA series.
In 1986,
Moise entered her first NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race.
In 1987,
she became the first woman to lead a Busch Series race at Road
Atlanta. In 1988, she became the first woman to win a Busch
qualifying race at Talladega. She also earned two consecutive
pole positions in ARCA events at Daytona in 1989 and 1990.
Between
1987 and 1989, she made 5 starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup
Series. In 1990, she married fellow Busch Series driver, Elton
Sawyer.
The same
year, she broke the one lap closed course speed record at
Talladega with a lap of 217.498 mph on Jan. 23, 1990. In 1995
she set a speed record for qualifying at Atlanta.
1998 was
her last season in the Busch Series. She competed in 19 events,
driving the Fords of Michael and Buffy Waltrip. Moise closed her
career as a racecar driver when she was unable to secure
sponsorship for the 1999 season.
"Until
there are more of us, I think sponsors still look at us as
something different," Moise said. "And you have to realize that
it's just more than driving a car. With these companies, you
better understand how to accomplish what their marketing needs
are. I've only been me. In any other workplace dominated by men,
whether you're a driver or a vice president in a corporation,
there are always going to be some men who cause you problems.
The more women that enter this sport, the better -- so we don't
live life under the magnifying glass."
In 12
years on the Busch Series circuit, she started 133 races, and
had 4 top-10 finishes.
Shawna
Robinson
Shawna
Robinson began racing snowmobiles. Then, at the age of 19, she
began racing diesel trucks in the Great American Truck Racing
tour where she competed from 1980-1988. In 1988, she made her
NASCAR debut in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series finishing
third in the Florida 200 at Daytona. She won the
Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series event at New Asheville Speedway
becoming the first female to ever win a NASCAR Touring event. To
cap off her rookie season, she won the Rookie of the Year title
and Most Popular Driver. In 1989, she was voted Most Popular
Driver for the second year in a row. From 1988-1989, she started
all 30 races in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series. She scored 3
wins, and 21 top-10s.
In 1991,
she made the move to the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series. In
1992, she started 7 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races. Her best
finish being a 24th at Daytona. In 1994 she won the pole for the
Busch Series event at Atlanta setting a new track record of
174.330 mph and the same year she had her Busch Series career
best finish with a 10th.
After
taking a few years off from racing, Shawna returned to
motorsports in 2000 competing in the ARCA/RE-Max Series driving
for Michael Kranefuss.
She ended
the season points championship in the top ten.
She
started 3 more events in the Busch Series in 2001. Her highest
finish was a 19th place finish at Talladega. She started 1
Winston Cup event in 2001, finishing 34th and 7 events in 2002,
her highest finish being 16th at Texas. She started 3 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series events in 2003, her highest finish being
18th at Texas.
Deborah
Renshaw
Deborah
Renshaw was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky on October 28, 1976.
Renshaw
grew up tagging along with her father who was an owner of a race
team. Renshaw began taking lap times, setting tire pressures,
and learning the intricacies of race car suspension.
In 1997,
Renshaw earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business with an
Associate's Degree in Automotive Marketing from Northwood
University in Michigan. Renshaw began driving asphalt late model
stock cars on the local tracks around her home. In 1999, Renshaw
competed at Highland Rim Speedway in Tennessee. She finished 5th
in the points and finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year
standings. In 2000, Renshaw continued to compete at Highland Rim
and also began competing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series
asphalt late model stock cars at Nashville Speedway and
Riverview Speedway in Tennessee. In 2001, Renshaw focused her
attention on the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at Nashville and
Riverview Speedways. She made 27 starts and recorded 1 pole and
3 top-10s.
In 2002,
Renshaw made her debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series driving Bob
Schact's No.75 Ford. On July 13, 2002, Renshaw experienced the
height of gender discrimination at the hands of her fellow
competitors at Nashville Fairgrounds. Driver, Mark Day, who was
reported to have made a series of disparaging remarks over the
season referring to women race car drivers fielded a second car
for the evening with driver Scottie Smothers who received his
competition license the same day. Day instructed Smothers to
finish one position behind Renshaw so that he could protest her
car. Day approached other teams to raise the $3,600 to file a
protest against Renshaw's car and the car of her teammate
following the event. Renshaw and Day had been involved in an
on-track racing incident earlier in the season. That incident
coupled with Day's despise for females in racing seemed to be
his total motivation for the covert plan. Renshaw finished the
event in 6th place, Day's hired gun, Smothers did as instructed
and finished behind Renshaw after completing only 7 laps of the
75-lap event.
Smothers
then filed protest on Renshaw's car and put up the money raised
by Day. To the surprise of Renshaw and her crew, her car was
found to be illegal by Nashville USA track officials who cited a
one sixth-thousandth of an inch discrepancy in an engine
cylinder head after conducting a 3 hour inspection. ''It wasn't
anything that would give Deborah's car the least bit of an
advantage,'' Nashville USA Speedway president Dennis Grau said.
''It was about as technical as you could get. Still, a rule is a
rule.'' He went on to say the highly orchestrated protest was
''legal but unethical.''
Renshaw
forfeited her sixth-place finish, the prize money, about $500,
and championship points. The car of Renshaw's teammate Chevy
White also was protested, but it passed inspection. Day admitted
he organized the protest fund, ''but I didn't twist anybody's
arm to donate. Everybody contributed because they wanted to.''
Day said ''almost all'' of the 16 drivers in the division
contributed, but refused to disclose the names of the
participants. Smothers admitted that his sole purpose in the
event was to be able to file a protest against Renshaw's car.
When reporters asked about the ethics of the plan, Smother
replied, ¡°I don't think it's fair for Mark and other drivers to
have to finish behind a car that's illegal.''
In October
2002 during a practice session for the ARCA Series event at
Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, Renshaw was involved in a
violent crash. ARCA driver, Eric Martin, spun in oil and backed
his No.2 Chevrolet into the turn 4 wall. He radioed his team and
told them he was ok. Driver Shelby Howard also spun in the oil
narrowly missing Martin's car resting against the wall.
Renshaw's car several second later hit Martin's broadside on the
driver's side door. Martin was killed by injuries suffered in
the impact. Renshaw was taken to the University Hospital in
Charlotte where she required orthopedic surgery. Speculation was
that Renshaw's spotter, who was positioned on top of the team's
transporter in the infield, was unable to see Martin's car as it
was out of view to the teams in the infield as the infield care
center blocked their view of where the car was sitting.
Renshaw
was able to recuperate from her injuries and return to compete
with the ARCA Series in 2003 posting 3 top-10s.
In 2004,
Renshaw made her NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut making 14
starts and recording a season best 15th place finish at
Martinsville.
Bobby
Hamilton selected Renshaw to pilot his No.8 Dodge 1500 in the
Truck Series for 2005. Renshaw made 24 starts in the 25-event
2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule. He highest place
finish was a 12th in the MBNA RacePoints 200 at Dover.
Kelly
Sutton
Kelly
Renee Sutton was born Sept. 24, 1971 in Crownsville, Maryland.
Her racing career began at age 10 racing go-karts. In February
1988, at the age of 16, Sutton was diagnosed with
Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Initial symptoms of
tingling and numbness on her right side, combined with
overwhelming fatigue were just the first indications something
was wrong.
When the
symptoms temporarily subsided, her family bought mini-stock car
and put Kelly behind the wheel. From 1992-1994, she competed in
the Mini-stock division at Old Dominion Speedway. She received
the Sportsmanship Award and the Hard Charger Award in 1992. She
was name the Most Popular Driver in 1992, 1993, and 1994. She
received the Metropolitan Auto Racing Fan Club of Maryland,
Delaware, and Virginia Award 1994.
One week
before making her planned debut in the NASCAR Goody¡¯s Dash
Series 1995 season opener at Daytona, Sutton was involved in a
car wreck while driving to her parent¡¯s home. Skidding on the
ice and striking a tree, Sutton suffered a collapsed lung,
broken ribs, a dislocated hip and shoulder, and she went into
shock. The injuries triggered a severe relapse of her MS.
In1997,
Her MS once again became dormant and she began racing with the
Allison Legacy Pennsylvania Series where she was awarded the Won
Most Popular Driver Award and she also raced in the Allison
National Legacy Series.
In 1998,
Sutton began competing in the PARTS Pro Truck Series. That year,
she discovered that a drug called Copaxone was keeping her MS
symptoms in check. The manufacturer of the drug, Teva
Pharmaceuticals agreed to sponsor her in the NASCAR Goody¡¯s
Dash Series.
In 2000
Sutton began competing in the NASCAR Goody¡¯s Dash Series
driving the No.02 Team COPAXONE Pontiac Sunbird. She entered two
races and recorded her best finish of 16th. In 2001, she
competed in six races and scored a 10th place finish. In 2002,
she competed in 14 races Goody¡¯s Dash events. She finished 12th
in overall points, finished third in the Rookie of the Year
points and was voted Most Popular Driver.
In 2003,
Sutton entered four events in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
driving the No.02 Team COPAXONE Chevrolet. Her highest finish of
the year was a 19th at Homestead-Miami. In 2004, Sutton and her
No.02 Team COPAXONE Chevrolet made 19 starts in the Truck Series
25 event season. Her highest finish was a 20th place finish at
Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Ohio.
In 2005,
Sutton competed in 16 of the season's 25 NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series events. He best finish of the year was a 15th in the
Quaker Steak and Lube 200 at Lowe's Motors Speedway in
Charlotte.
Erin
Crocker
Erin
Crocker was born March 23, 1981 in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
Crocker began racing quarter midgets at age 7 in the Custom
Quarter Midget Club in Thompson, Connecticut and the Silver City
Quarter Midget Club in Meriden, Connecticut. She was named
Quarter Midgets of America's Most Improved Novice by the end of
the year. In 1993, the Quarter Midgets of America named her
Northeast Regional Driver of the Year, and she was crowned the
Northeast Regional Champion. In 1994, she won the Northeast
Regional Championship and was again named Northeast Regional
Driver of the Year. In 1995, for the third year in a row, she
won the Northeast Regional Championship and was named Northeast
Regional Driver of the Year. In 1996, she won her fourth
Northeast Regional Championship.
In 1997,
Crocker moved from Quarter Midgets to Winged Mini Sprints. She
was named the division's Rookie of the Year at Whip City
Speedway at Westfield, MA. She won her first feature in the
division the same year becoming the youngest feature winner and
the first female feature winner.
In 1999,
Crocker moved to full-size sprint cars racing with the Eastern
Limited Sprint Car Association and was named Rookie of the year.
In 2000, Crocker ran 4 races with the PRO Truck Tour. In 2001,
Crocker joined the Empire Super Sprints.
In 2002,
she received the Empire Super Sprints Outstanding New-Comer
Award, and the F.O.A.R. Score Women in Racing Award. She won 5
sprint car feature events in a 360 sprint car. She received the
360 Wild Card award from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
and the team received the 360 Team of the Year award.
In 2003,
Crocker attempted to run the USAC Silver Crown Series before
moving to the 410 sprint cars while continuing to compete in the
360 sprint cars. She won the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
410 Rookie of the Year title and was received both the 360 and
the 410 ¡°Wild Card¡± awards from the National Sprint Car Hall
of Fame. She became the first woman to qualify for the Knoxville
Nationals and was named the 2003 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of
the Year. In May 2003, Crocker graduated from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York with a Bachelor of
Science, Industrial and Management Engineering degree.
In 2004,
Crocker competed in both the World of Outlaws Series and the
World Series Sprint cars. On December 8, 2004, Ray Evernham,
owner of Evernham Motorsports, announced he had signed Crocker
for 2005. Partnered with NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Kasey
Kahne, Evernham announced they would field cars for Crocker in
USAC Silver Crown Series, three ARCA Series events, and three
NASCAR Busch Series events.
Crocker
made 4 Busch Series starts in 2005 driving for Evernham
Motorsports and for Fritz/Bradshaw. She made 2 starts in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driving for Bobby Hamilton. She
made 6 ARCA RE/Max starts in 2005 recording a 2nd place finish
at Kentucky Speedway, 3rd at Pocono Raceway, 3rd at Nashville
Superspeedway, 4th at Talladega Superspeedway, 7th at Michigan
Int'l Speedway and 12th at Nashville Superspeedway. All told
Crocker recorded 4 top-5 and 5 top-10 finishes in the ARCA
Series during 2005.
Sarah
Fisher
Sarah
Fisher was born October 4, 1980 in Commercial Point, Ohio.
Fisher grew up attending short tracks races with her father who
competed in sprint car racing. At 5 years old, Fisher began
competing in quarter midgets. In 1988, She moved to go-kart
racing. In 1991, Fisher won the World Karting Association Grand
National Championship. In 1993, she won the World Karting
Association Grand National Championship for a second time and
the 1993 Circleville Points Championship. In 1994, she won her
third World Karting Association Grand National Championship and
the 1994 World Karting Association Grand National Championship.
In 1995,
at the age of 15, Fisher began competing in Winged Outlaw
Sprints and was named Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the
Year. In 1996, Fisher competed in All-Star Sprint car events and
in local 410 sprint races. In 1997, Fisher was nominated for
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Rookie of the Year and competed
in a limited amount of World of Outlaw sprint car events. In
1998, Fisher competed in the World of Outlaws sprint car series
and in the All-Star sprint series.
Fisher
graduated seventh in her class with honors and a 4.178 grade
point average from Teays High School in 1999. She made her debut
in the Indy Racing League as an 18-year-old in 1999 after
competing in ARCA, NAMARS and USAC sanctioned events.
She scored
her best IRL finish, a second in the 2001 season opener at
Homestead. She recorded her first pole in 2002 at Kentucky
Speedway. Lack of financial support left Fisher to run only
partial schedules in 2002 and 2003 and left her completely out
of IRL competition in 2004.
In 2005,
Richard Childress Racing announced that the 24 year-old Fisher
would race the No.20 BMR/RCR Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the NASCAR
Grand National West and an RCR Chevrolet in two NASCAR Busch
Series events.
Fisher
recorded four top-ten finishes in her first full season in the
NASCAR West Series in 2005 finishing 12th in the chase for the
NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series title. |
