When you think of professional motorsports series, you generally think of Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR, and NHRA. Of course there are many, many other professional motorsports series out there. The four mentioned are just amongst the most popular. Out of the four, there is no professional racing series as gender diverse as the National Hot Rod Association.
NHRA has had more success with women in its series than any other. Over the span of the association’s sixty-three year history, there have been 100 wins in the four professional classes by the women of the sport. Angelle Sampey, Shirley Muldowney, and Erica Enders-Stevens lead the way with the most wins. So far this season Erica Enders-Stevens, Alexis Dejoria, and most recently, Courtney Force, have collected five wins. Eight women have already competed in the four professional categories of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in 2014, not to mention the dozens that compete in the sportsman ranks. Only eight races into a twenty-four event season, this looks to be a very promising year for the ladies.
Danica Patrick and Jennifer Jo Cobb are the only women competing in any of the three major NASCAR series. There have yet to be any female winners in NASCAR. In IndyCar, Pippa Mann is the only woman that has competed so far this year, but so far has only raced in one event, the Indy 500. The first and only win by a woman in IndyCar came six years ago, by Danica Patrick at the Indy Japan 300. Formula One hasn’t had a woman compete in its series since Giovanna Amati’s three race stint in 1992. However Susie Wolff is currently a reserve driver for Williams Martini Racing, and Simona De Silvestro is an affiliate driver for the Suaber F1 Team. There have only been five female racecar drivers in Formula One, but none have captured a win or stood on the podium.
It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly the NHRA has had so much success with their racecar drivers that happen to be female. It’s hard to pinpoint why other racing series haven’t had as much success with women. One day, we will have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion that is a woman. One day, we will have a female Formula One World Champion. The way NHRA Pro Stock points leader, Erica Enders-Stevens’s season is going so far, we might just see the first female World Champion in that class at the end of the year. It’s all simply a matter of time. Before you know it, all forms of motorsports will have much more diversity in every aspect.
-Dallas Hollins
Find us on Twitter & Instagram: @InsidePitRow
No comments:
Post a Comment