Since the 1970s, several women have reached the highest ranks of single-seater competition in the USA, in Indycar and its descendants, the Indy Racing League and Champ Car. The best-known, including Danica Patrick, Lyn St. James, Katherine Legge, Cheryl Glass, Hanna Zellers and Janet Guthrie, have their own profiles.
Below are some short profiles of some of the lesser-known female faces on the US open-wheel scene.
Mishael Abbott – IRL Infiniti Pro Series driver in 2005 and 2006, after several years of Formula Mazda and a successful karting career. Her best Pro Series finish was eighth at Miami, in 2005, after qualifying fourth. After her sponsorship ran out, she turned to National-level motorsport. She raced a Formula Atlantic car in SCCA events in 2007 and 2008, with good results. Her best finish in 2008 was second, and she was rarely out of the top ten. In 2008, she also substituted for her father in some Formula Mazda races. The previous year, she also raced sportscars in the revived IMSA series. At the end of 2008, she had to pull out of motorsport, due to serious health problems.
Annette Blenkarn – drove in Indy Lights and Fran-Am in 2004 after many years in karts and Midget cars. She does not appear to have raced single-seaters after that, but has done some more karting, with success. She later ran her own graphics company in the automotive industry, and now runs a business consultancy.
Veronica McCann - signed up for the IRL Pro Series in 2006. Her only race result was an eleventh at Chicago. Despite testing a Champ Car and a Formula BMW, she was not able to compete any further. Since then, she has returned to Sprintcar racing in her native Australia, where she was very successful as a junior, winning a number of regional championships. She also competed as a senior between 2002 and 2005.
Sarah McCune - scored one pole position in the Infiniti Pro Series in 2005, although she retired from the race itself, at Chicagoland. She previously raced in Midgets and Sprintcars in the States, winning many regional championships as a junior and senior. After her Infiniti experience, she set her sights on a NASCAR drive and has done several tests. However, problems with funding have kept her out of the major series.
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