Born To Win April 26, 2007

Some people are just born to win. And one of these people is definitely Sarah Fisher.

Sarah Fisher was born in Columbus, Ohio on October 4, 1980. At an early age, she has already developed an interest in racing. 

Sarah started racing quarter midgets and go-karts when she was five until she was a teenager. She won the 1991, 93 & 94 World Karting Association Grand National Championships, the 1993 Circleville Points Championship and the 1994 WKA Grand National Championship.

Sarah is just 26 years old but she has already competed in five Indianapolis 500’s within the IRL IndyCar Series and drove in the Drive for Diversity program, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for the Bill McAnally Racing/Richard Childress Racing Development Program in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series in 2005. On January 30, 2007, she was signed to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to return to the IRL IndyCar Series, where she first started and eventually became one of Indycar’s most famous personalities.

Sarah was voted the IRL IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for three straight years from 2001-2003 and was also voted the most popular driver in the NASCAR Grand National Divison, West Series in 2005.

IN 1999, she was the youngest person ever to pass the Indy Racing League Rookie Test. In 2000, Sarah again brought the world in admiration when she became the youngest person to lead laps during an IRL IndyCar event and the youngest woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish in that event at Kentucky Speedway. In 2001, she garnered a second-place finish at the IRL’s inaugural race at Homestead Miami Speedway the best result ever by a woman in Indy-style racing.

To enumerate all of Sarah’s achievements in this blog entry would be a painfully long one due to her numerous honors. Aside from her achievemnets on the track, she also excels in her education. Proof of that is her graduating seventh in her class with honors and a 4.178 grade point average from Teays High School in 1999. She now attends college on a part-time basis pursuing business undergraduate degree in marketing.

Now that’s what we call a true WINNER!!
 

When The Going Gets Tough, She Still Gets Going April 25, 2007

When she’s in a very tough situation, she usually finds reasons to go on. That’s what she’s famous for. Katherine Legge made history when she became the first female driver to run full-time in Cham Car World Series since Lyn St. James at Michigan in 1995. She is also the first female to lead a Champ Car race with 12 laps at Milwaukee. Her sixth place finish at Milwaukee set a new Series high for a female driver (her eighth in Long Beach and Cleveland give her the three best finishes) surpassing a ninth place finish by Janet Guthrie at the 1978 Indianapolis 500.

Katherine was born on July 12, 1980 in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. In her early racing years, she used to compete in numerous karting series, winning the 1996 Scottish Open Championship.

Among her numerous achievements include being the first female to win a major open-wheel race in the United States at her big debut in her rookie season in the Atlantic Championship Series and finishing third in  the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Standings.

Katherine has been involved in a couple accidents in the race track. But she still remains going and going for the win. And that’s so special about her. That’s what makes her a pride for all women.
 

Liz Halliday: Woman Racer and Equestrian April 24, 2007

Liz Halliday ia another proof of women’s greatness in the racing world. She has two sporting careers in which she is both successful. She is an international motor racing driver who competes in sportscar and GT endurance racing and at the same time, she is also an international equestrian in Three-day eventing.

She was born in California but she is currently based in Survey England. Now at 27, she has earned a lot of honor in her chosen careers.

In her first season of international sportscar racing at ‘prototype’ level in 2005, she claimed 3 impressive class wins in the LMP2 category, finished 4th in class in the final drivers’ standings, won the Dailysportscar.com Rookie of the Year Award, and helped co-driver Clint Field lift the LMP2 drivers’ title.

For 2006 Liz still remained loyal with the Intersport Racing team with whom she shared her success with in 2005. They started the new season with a blast by an astounding class win and 2nd overall behind the mighty factory Audi squad in the highly-prestigious Sebring 12 Hours.

2006 has so far been a a very fruitful season for Liz who, after 7 of 10 rounds of the American Le Mans Series currently lies 2nd in the championship with an unbroken run of podium finishes including 3 wins, one 2nd and three 3rds.
In fact, so successful has her season been that up until the most recent race, she and her co-driver Clint Field had held the championship lead, ahead of the mighty Porshe factory team with their two RS Spyders run by the illustrious Penske squad. Liz’s most recnet wins in the series have also confirmed her as the Winningest Female Driver ever in the history of the ALMS.

Yes, it’s another victory for women racers.
 

The New Girl In NASCAR April 21, 2007

In most race car movies, a woman is usually behind the scene. Either she is the driver’s golddigging wife or the loving and supportive girlfriend.

But in real life, it is not always the case. Sure, the racing world is supposed to be ruled by men. But I’m happy to say that more and more women are gaining the spotlight they deserve. One latest addition to these women is Michelle Theriault. She is the latest girl in the world of NASCAR.  And she is set to become a NASCAR champion.

Theriault competed for Seven yearsin Quarter Midgets and this gained her more than 200 wins in 13 states. Five times she was a runner up in the Quarter Midgets of America National Championship.

Michelle became the first female competitor to qualify for the season ending National Championship at the USAR Hooters ProCup Series in 2004. Although, she was also the only female competitor in the series, she never doubted herself.

During the 2004 season, she accepted an invitation from Ford Racing to participate in its Driver Development program in 2004. The comprehensive program evaluated and nurtured driver skills both on and off track.

Michelle’s big break in Nascar came in 2005 when she made her NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series debut at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore. Not only that, she also qualified for the USAR Hooters ProCup Series National Championship for the second consecutive season.

The best part is, she is not only a kick-ass racer but she is also an excellent honor student. In fact, she graduated from Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia with a 4.0 GPA.

Talent, brains and beauty – these are the greatest weapons of a woman.

Women are responsible drivers April 20, 2007

I still wonder why people have to be cruel to women drivers sometimes. When ther’e a car causing heavy traffic, they would usually say “maybe it’s a woman driver” or if the driver is not assertive enough on the road, they would most probably say “i’m sure it’s a woman driving that thing.”  When it comes to parkinga and something goes wrong, a woman is often the suspect. WHY?!

I admit that women are often more involved in road accidents but then again, the results of these accidents are far less severe than accidents wherein men are involved.

I also admit that ladies can not be as aggressive as men when it comes to driving but this is mainly because we have a better sense of responsibility and safety that comes with our role as women in the society.  I totally condone dicrimination against women drivers like me!

And to prove my point, I have some information that may enlighten minds of people out there.

a.) According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), women are better drivers than men. (Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2001)

b.) According to Brian O’Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, women are less likely to be driving at night, to be driving impaired by alcohol, to be doing other things that are precursors to rollovers. It’s statistically provable and very gender-specific. (USA Today, 2001)

 c.) Women make more trips to perform household-sustaining activities such as shopping and family errands to a greater extent than men. (McGuckin & Murakami, 1999)

d.) 89 percent of women say being well organized in their car helps them keep their eyes on the road

So there, maybe because women generally have more concerns than men, like getting  the kids safely  to school and other family errands, our being extra careful on the road is justified.  So don’t judge us just because we’re women.  Sometimes try your best not to be blinded by misconceptions on women drivers.

First Woman Racer. Yeah, She’s Definitely Got It! April 19, 2007

Before I introduce to yu the different women drivers and enthusiasts around the world, it is just important to first introduce to you the woman who started it all.

Janet Guthrie, before becoming the first woman ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, was a pilot and flight instructor, an aerospace engineer, a technical editor, and a public representative for some of the country’s major corporations. She had 13 years of experience on sports car road-racing circuits, building and maintaining her own race cars, before being invited to test a car for Indianapolis.

She was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on March 7, 1938.  Her family moved to Miami, Florida when she was three. She attended Miss Harris’ Florida School for Girls for all but one of her elementary through high-school years, then graduated from the University of Michigan in 1960 with a B.Sc. in physics. She joined Republic Aviation in Farmingdale, New York, as a research and development engineer, working on programs that were precursors to Project Apollo. In 1964, she applied for the first Scientist-Astronaut program, and got through the first round of eliminations. She treasures a letter from astronaut Deke Slayton, a memento of that attempt.

Meanwhile, she had purchased a Jaguar XK 120 coupe, and began competing in gymkhanas, field trials and hill climbs. This led to the purchase of a Jaguar XK 140 for competition in Sports Car Club of America races. Her career in physics slowly yielded to the allure of sports car racing, and by 1972 she was involved in racing on a full-time basis.  Along the way, she posted two class victories in the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Her big break at the top level of the sport came in 1976, when long-time team owner and car builder Rolla Vollstedt invited her to test a car for the Indianapolis 500. That year, she also became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Winston Cup superspeedway stock car race. In 1977, she became the first woman to qualify for and compete in the Indianapolis 500; she was also first woman and Top Rookie at the Daytona 500 in the same year. She finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500 in 1978.

Janet Guthrie’s helmet and driver’s suit are in the Smithsonian Institution, and she was one of the first athletes named to the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Today, Janet Guthrie still serves as a strong inspiration to all the many women in the world of racing. Now who says women can’t do it?

(Soure of Biography: www.janetguthrie.com)

Hello world! April 19, 2007

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