2012 was the first season as a NASCAR-sanctioned series, so the list will be made from 2012 onwards. At Kentucky, Patrick became the first woman to make 100 starts in NASCAR's Cup Series. . Her last races for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series were in the 2005 Emerson Radio 250 (Richmond) and 2008 San Bernardino County 200 (Fontana), respectively. In 19 Cup Series starts in 1977, Guthrie finished in the top 12 a total of 10 times, with a career-best finish of sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway. In 2015, Patrick tied Janet Guthrie for most top ten finishes for a woman with a seventh place finish at Martinsville. an office employee by day and a sports storyteller by night. The following year, Guthrie became the first female racer to qualify for the Daytona 500, where she finished 12th, and the Indianapolis 500. 1986 saw the first woman lead in a Busch Series Race in Patty Moise. Although her NASCAR career was brief, what Sara Christian accomplished has more than stood the test of time. Kim Crosby, born in 1964, is 58 years old talented NASCAR female driver who has won 10 races over three years. "It is very low. In 2001, Robinson would be the first woman to finish a race in the Winston Cup Series since Janet Guthrie in 1980. In 2014, Danica Patrick had three top 10 finishes including 6th place in Atlanta. Though she competed in just seven races over the course of her career, she opened the door to racing for generations of women to come. In 2011, she started driving the No. She made her debut at the Daytona International Speedway. [8], No woman had raced NASCAR in a decade when Janet Guthrie started the 1976 World 600,[9] finishing 15th, ahead of Dale Earnhardt. You have entered an incorrect email address! She made her . After a hiatus to start a family, Shawna Robinson returned to stock car racing in 1999, contesting a full ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series season in 2000 before returning to sporadic NASCAR-sanctioned competition over the following several seasons. It wasn't until 2012, 64 years after NASCAR was founded, that it signed its first female pit crew member, Christmas Abbott. Ethel was among the early female race drivers in the NASCAR scene. Her first race in this series was in the 2010 Kroger 200 (Martinsville) and her last was in the 2020 Vankor 350 (Texas). Buddy Baker (1941-2015) Getty Images / ISC Archives. Tammy Jo Kirk had 37 Top 10 finishes and two poles in the All Pro Series before becoming the first woman to start at the Camping World Truck Series. Named for the type of gasoline her father used in his taxi, Ethel Flock Mobley competed in more than 100 Modified stock car races in her career. She announced to run for the District position on the Cherokee County, Alabama Commission post in 2008. Ann Chester (2 / 1950) [29] Trotter moved up from the West Series to the main ARCA Menards Series, where she would remain in Toyota's driver development program and drive part-time for Venturini Motorsports in the team's No. However, Patrick would finish 38th after a crash. [10] In 1977, Janet Guthrie would become the first woman to lead a Winston Cup Series race under caution, at Ontario Speedway. Larson, who is half-Japanese, later apologized and said, "I wasn't raised that way.". NASCAR Driver Hailee Deegan (Source: Wikimedia). She retired from full-time competition after the 2017 season. 5. Jennifer Jo Cobb. On January 14, 2020, she signed for Bill McAnally Racing in the ARCA Menards Series West. Patty also appeared in 133 races from 1986 to 1998 for Busch Series. She also became the first woman to win the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour race in 2013 (Lucas Oil). However, Patrick would finish 38th after a crash. In 2008 at the Camping World Truck, Jennifer made her debut and had 92 starts in total. Making her Sprint Cup beginning in 1987, the Jacksonville superstar Patty Moise-Sawyer is one of the 16 best female NASCAR drivers in history. Aaron Fike, Jeremy Mayfield, Junior Johnson, and Travis Kvapil all come to mind as racers with less than squeaky clean records. 23", "Jennifer Jo Cobb to make Cup debut at Talladega with Rick Ware Racing UPDATE", "NASCAR still searching for its Danica Patrick Racing", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Janet Guthrie", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Danica Patrick NEWS", "Patrick Follows in the Footsteps of Pioneers", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Erin Crocker", "Canadian driver, model set for Nationwide debut - Aug 17, 2011 - NASCAR.COM", "NASCAR Nationwide Team Charlotte Auto Fair", "Mara Reyes at Driver Database | Motorsport", "Gabi DiCarlo to Make Truck Series Debut at Fontana", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Alli Owens", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Deborah Renshaw", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Michelle Theriault", "Racerchicks.com: Racerchicks Angie Wilson", "NASCAR acquires ARCA, reaffirms commitment to growth | NASCAR.com", "UNOH Grad Following Her Heart into NASCAR", "Nascar Driver Kristin Bumbera Signs With Hamilton Racing", "NASCAR Female Driver Toni Marie McCray To Take On The Boys At The Showdown At Toyota Speedway", "Catalanos Making It A True Family Night at Stafford", "Open Division Championship Season 2012 Final", "Dexwet-df1 Racing with title ambitions in all divisions in 2019", "Racing-Total presents an international lineup", "NWES 2019 ELITE-Club final results after Hockenheim", D-BOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_female_NASCAR_drivers&oldid=1124996170, Articles with dead external links from December 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 December 2022, at 17:19. Patricia Moise-Sawyer, A Former NASCAR Driver (Source: Twitter). In 1950, Louise Smith drove her Nash in three NASCAR Cup races with sponsorship from Greenville, South Carolina, Nash dealership Leslie Motor Co. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images. She was also invited to NASCARs 2019 Drive for Diversity. In 1955, Wood finished third overall in the Class 4 (Unlimited Displacement) category for U.S. Stock Production Passenger Cars. In four of the six races, she finished in the top 15. By Rachel Cormack. Moving forward in her career, after concluding the 2016 NASCAR K&N, she debuted at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. France (Class of 2010), Wood set a female speed record at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway, where she ran a lap of more than 130 mph in a Pontiac. "You . She drove in the first race for the fledgling stock car association on June 19, 1949, on the dirt track at Charlotte Speedway. She made history by being the first female driver to win West Series races in 2018 and 2019. Baker was named one of the 50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers. As of 2023, Tammy is happily retired, makes her living as a motorcycle dealer, and has a net worth of $1.5 million. During . NASCAR Las Vegas betting guide . In 2020, she competed at the ARCAs Daytona. Passed Indianapolis 500 driver's test: May 8, 2005. 25 Toyota Camry.. She was the female driver with the most wins in United States Auto Club (USAC) history with 19. Date of Birth: . During the Camping World Races of 2010, Long was booked to race only three races but ended up racing seven. Best career Indianapolis 500 finish: 3rd in 2009. She's continuing to break barriers in the historically white, male-dominated sport as a tire changer on . She also won the 2010 Snowball Derby. Angela Cope Inside Her Truck (Source: Wikipedia). Since then, only 15 pit crew members have been women, according to . 3. By the end of the year, Daniels would make history again, as part of the first female duo in a NASCAR pit crew. 7. Regardless of having the talent, she had to beg her father to buy her a go-kart when she was nine years old. "I feel like a lot of women drivers tend to hit a plateau at a certain point and we just can't break through to get to that top level of NASCAR," she said. She returned to ARCA in 2021 for Youngs Motorsports on a part-time schedule. Robinson also took home Rookie of the Year and Most Popular Driver honors. She competed in NASCAR's first-ever Cup Series race on June 19, 1949 at Charlotte Speedway. Shane Acedera has been writing online sports articles since 2003 but have been a writer and a blogger since high school. Chevrolet. Similarly, her determination to become a NASCAR racer built up since she was a kid and racing behind the wheels of a go-kart. Known as The Fastest Woman in Racing, Vicki Wood never competed in a Cup Series race, but in the 1950s, she set speed records on Daytona Beach during NASCAR time trials. However, due to the race not having practice and qualifying, NASCAR would not approve Cobb to compete in it with her lack of prior Cup Series experience. "I think it's very difficult to reach your full potential without the proper funding. During college, the Norfolk State women's basketball point guard said she never once thought about NASCAR as a sport, let alone a career. This isnt a rank-based list. Stock Car Racing Driver And Victorias Secret Model, Toni Breidinger (Source: New York Post). [23] In 2014, Patrick became the first woman to race in the 2014 Sprint Unlimited. Patrick would record a major milestone by clinching the pole position in the 2012 DRIVE4COPD 300, being the first female driver to clinch it since Shawna Robinson. While Bobby Norfleet fought discrimination and disinterested sponsors on the track, he enjoyed inspiring his daughter Tia at home in Suffolk, Virginia. In 2017, Brehanna Daniels, an alum of the Drive for Diversity program, became the first Black female over-the-wall tire changer in NASCAR's history. In 2016, Patrick led a career high 30 laps and completed more circuits than all but three other drivers. At the 2013 Daytona 500, Patrick became the first female driver to clinch pole position and lead a green flag lap. She has run 15 races in the Xfinity Series and 32 races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Darius Days Bio: Family, Contracts And Net Shaun Livingston Bio: Injuries, NBA Championships, Net Who Is Aaron Rodgers Wife? [17][21], In 2012, Danica Patrick was voted NASCAR's Most Popular Nationwide Driver, becoming the first woman to receive that award in NASCAR's top three divisions. . Brehanna Daniels says she thinks about how much her life has changed in just five years. While some female NASCAR drivers have transitioned or attempted to transition from open-wheel racing and sports car racing (such as Sarah Fisher, Janet Guthrie, and Danica Patrick), most have climbed the stock-car racing ladder (such as Tammy Jo Kirk, Johanna Long, and Shawna Robinson), beginning to race full-sized stock cars in their teenage years. [3], Six female drivers: Deegan, Kirk, Patrick, Robinson, Mara Reyes, and Brittney Zamora have won poles. Amber Balcaen is a third generation racecar driver from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. "I could not be more proud of what she's accomplished both as an athlete, but she's been amazing with her brand and social media and creating awareness and really getting people excited about the fact that if she can do it, there are other people that can do it," Siegel told ABC News. [32], Formerly Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (195070), Winston Cup Series (19712003), Nextel Cup Series (200407), Sprint Cup Series (200816), and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (201719), Formerly Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (198283), Busch Grand National Series (198494), Busch Grand National Division (19952003), Busch Series (200407), Nationwide Series (200814) and Xfinity Series (2015), Formerly SuperTruck Series by Craftsman (1995), Craftsman Truck Series (19962008), Camping World Truck Series (20092018), and Gander Outdoors Truck Series (2019). The top tier of NASCAR, the cup series, has had 16 Female NASCAR drivers in its history. [5], NASCAR has seen varying levels of participation by female drivers throughout its ranks since the sanctioning body's inception in 1949. Indianapolis 500 career earnings: $2,865,240. She started racing by driving road course races at the age of 16 in the IMSA series. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. This point is hotly contested, to the point where Tia Norfleet has more or less disappeared from the limelight before her NASCAR racing career even started. Sara Christian was the first female driver in NASCAR history. Lella Lombardi (1 / 1977) From 2012-2018, Danica Patrick competed in 191 Cup Series races, posting seven top-10 finishes, including a best of sixth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2014. Wood drove her Chrysler 300 to a two-way average speed on the beach of 125.838 mph.