Courtney Force Scores Victory #100 for Women in the NHRA

Courtney Force made herstory over the weekend in Topeka, Kansas, as she collected the 100th professional win by a woman in the NHRA. Not only was it the 100th win for women, but it was Courtney’s fourth victory in only her third year of Funny Car competition. She had made history the day before when qualified #1 in the Funny Car class, while her older sister, Brittany Force, qualified #1in the Top Fuel category. Brittany made it all the way to the semifinals, but Courtney was the Force sister who wound up with the Wally in her hands. She flew past Cruz Pedregon in the finals with a 4.148 at 306.46 MPH to get the win. Not only did Courtney walk away with the Wally for the race win, she received a commemorative “100 Wins for Women” Wally as well. In winning fashion, Courtney took a selfie in the Winner’s Circle with her Wallys and crew guys in the picture. This is John Force Racing’s sixth victory in Funny Car so far this season. 

100 professional wins for women is a huge deal. The NHRA has shown more gender diversity than any other form of professional motorsport in the world. For comparison, Formula One hasn’t had a female competitor on the grid since 1992, and no female has ever won an F1 race. The 2014 IndyCar season has seen Pippa Mann finish 24th in this year’s Indy 500, but Danica Patrick remains the only woman to have ever won an IndyCar race. NASCAR has two women competing in two of their major series, Danica Patrick and Jennifer Jo Cobb. However, a woman has yet two win a NASCAR race. NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’s track record with women over the association’s sixty three year history is simply remarkable. Other racing series should take notes, because the world of motorsports needs more prominent, winning female figures. 

Congratulations on your fourth win, Courtney! Thank you for capturing victory #100 by women! 

-Dallas Hollins 

www.InsidePitRow.blogspot.com

Find us on Twitter & Instagram: @InsidePitRow

Check out a list all of the professional wins made by women in the NHRA: 

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140525/nhra/140529859

Picture Credit: NHRA/ National Dragster

The Diversity of the NHRA

 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 

www.InsidePitRow.blogspot.com 

Find us on Twitter & Instagram: @InsidePitRow

Erica Enders-Stevens Returns Home to Texas

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas is just one day away. Guess which Texan is leading the points in Pro Stock? Houston native, Erica Enders-Stevens. Erica currently has a forty two point lead in the Pro Stock category. So far, she has had great success this year with double-up wins in Las Vegas at the K&N Horsepower Challenge and SummitRacing.com Nationals. Along with two runner-up finishes in Gainesville, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.  

Enders-Stevens announced at the end of the 2013 season, that she would make the switch from Cagnazzi Racing to Elite Motorsports for the 2014 season. So far, we are seeing the upside of the move. Erica first made history in July of 2012, when she became the first woman to win an NHRA Pro Stock event. So far, she has collected seven Wallys. Making her the third most-winning female in NHRA history, right behind Angelle Sampey and Shirley Muldowney. 

This weekend’s event in Texas will be the sixth race in a twenty four race season. Translation: Anything can happen. However, Erica is a proven winner who has a fast car and great team behind her. Might we see the first female NHRA Pro Stock World Champion this year? I would like to think that we will, but only time will tell. Let's see if the hometown girl can bring home another Wally this weekend. Good luck, Erica! 

-Dallas Hollins

www.InsidePitRow.blogspot.com

find us on twitter & instagram: @insidepitrow