Ana Beatriz "Bia" Figueiredo

As “Ana Beatriz”, Brazilian driver Ana Beatriz Caselato Gomes de Figueiredo began racing in the Indy Racing League for the Dreyer & Reinbold team in 2010. Initially, she drove in the São Paulo and Indianapolis rounds. She was thirteenth in Brazil, and retired from the Indy 500, after becoming involved in a serious accident to her team-mate, Mike Conway. However, since the crash happened on the last lap, she was still classified 21st. Later, she entered the Chicagoland and Homestead races, but retired from both.

Prior to this, she had mostly raced in South America, using the name Bia Figueiredo. Her American adventure began when she competed in Indy Lights in 2008. She was third in the championship, with one win at Nashville and five more podium places. This won her the Tony Renna Award, and a strong following.

The next year, she stayed in Indy Lights, still with the Sam Schmidt Motorsport team. She managed another win, at Iowa, and a third at Kentucky, alongside a string of other top five places. She was eighth this time, after missing the last round due to a lack of finances, and sitting out one race earlier in the season after a car-destroying accident.

Her South American racing experience began in 2003, when she entered her first Formula Renault championship in Brazil. It was here that she began working with the Césario team. She was a decent eleventh in her first season, with three podium places. In addition to this, she was voted Rookie of the Year.

In 2004, she combined Formula Renault with a few outings in Sudam Formula 3. A more experienced Bia visited the top three on nine occasions, and finished the Formula Renault season in fifth. On the F3 side, she did not disgrace herself, and was runner-up in the Light class.

Her first win came in 2005, in Formula Renault. It was one of three she achieved that year, alongside twelve podium places. This gave her third overall in a competitive championship. It was now time to move on to higher things.

In 2006, still driving for Césario, she was fifth overall in Sudam Formula Three, with four second places and one third. It was a good full debut season.

Between then and her move to the States, she was linked with an A1 GP drive for her native Brazil, although she never actually drove the car in anger. Her quiet 2007 season included some A1 GP testing, and this was continued in 2009.

In 2011, she was retained by Dreyer & Reinbold for almost the whole Indy season. She was not one of the fastest on the grid, and had a best finish of eleventh, at Toronto, but she generally avoided the spectacular accidents with which she had become associated. Sadly, she did not finish her home race at São Paulo, but she got to the end of the Indy 500, in 21st position. She was 21st in the championship.


In 2012, she raced again in Indycars. Andretti Racing offered her a part-season, which consisted of São Paulo and Indianapolis. She was 20th in São Paulo and 23rd in the Indy 500.

Driving for Dale Coyne's team in 2013, she had a bigger racing schedule, seven races this time, in the first half of the season. The first two ended in DNFs. These were followed by fourteenth at Long Beach, her best result. Unfortuantely, she did not finish at São Paulo either, although she came back at the Indianapolis 500 and was 15th, from 29th on the grid. Her other races, later on, at Milwaukee and Iowa, gave her a 19th and another DNF. She was 29th overall.  

There was no Indy racing for her in 2014. She moved back to Brazil, and got herself a deal to race in Stock Car, with the Pro GP team. Her car was a Chevrolet Sonic. This was a tough year for Ana Beatriz, who had not driven a saloon or stock car before. The rest of the grid was very impressive, including former Formula One drivers, Rubens Barrichello, Ricardo Zonta and Luciano Burti. Ana's finishing record was quite good, but she did not break into the top ten, having a best finish of eleventh, at Gioânia. Mostly, she managed to get into the lower reaches of the top twenty. She was 32nd overall, five places below her Pro GP team-mate, Rafael Suzuki. 

A second season in Stock Car in 2015 gave her a first top ten finish, a tenth place at Curitiba. Her season was affected by a high rate of non-finishes, and she was 32nd overall. Her car was a Peugeot 408. She also drove a Toyota Corolla in one round of the Copa de Marcas, at Interlagos, and was thirteenth. 

She raced the Peugeot again in the 2016 Stock Car series, and overcame some of her difficulties from 2015. Her finishing result was much improved, and she achieved her first top ten finish, a sixth place at Tarumã. This was one of two; she was tenth later in the season, at Curvelo, and was 25th in the championship.

She endured a terrible start to her 2017 Stock Car season, failing to finish her first five races. Her Chevrolet Cruze was off the pace and her best finish was another sixth, at Santa Cruz. She was 29th in the championship.

She also did three races in the Porsche GT3 Cup in Brazil.

Unfortunately, 2018 also began with a series of DNFs at Sao Paulo and Curitiba. Her best result was sixth at Campo Grande, but she had too many non-finishes to challenge for honours.

At the start of 2019, she joined up with Christina Nielsen, Katherine Legge and Simona de Silvestro to race an Acura NSX for MSR/Jackie Heinricher Racing at the Daytona 24 Hours. They were 12th in the GTD class after the car was damaged. Bia joined the team again at Sebring, Road Atlanta, Road America, Watkins Glen and Mosport, earning a best finish of fourth in class at the Glen. She was due to join her 2019 colleagues for the 2020 Daytona 24 Hours, but had to drop out due to pregnancy.

Mid-2020, her husband and father-in-law were arrested for embezzling money from a Brazilian government department. Bia was not directly implicated herself but she kept a low profile, aided by her impending motherhood.

Despite this, she made a couple of appearances in 2021. She joined Christina Nielsen and Katherine Legge for the Sebring 12 Hours, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 for Earl Bamber's team. They were fifth in the GTD class. Later in the year, she had a guest spot in the Porsche Endurance Series at Interlagos. She finished twelfth.

Most of 2022 was spent in South American TCR championship, driving for two different teams in an Audi RS3 and a Honda Civic. She was 17th in the championship after being a regular top ten finisher. Her best finish was a seventh place at Goiania. 

In December, she made a guest apperance in the Porsche Carrera Cup Endurance series, finishing 19th at Interlagos. This was good preparation for the Mil Milhas do Brazil in January 2023, where she drove a Sigma protoype with Sergio Jimenez and Beto Monteiro. They were 31st overall. 

She then announced that she would be racing trucks for the rest of the year in the Copa Truck. This proved a good move and she was third in the Super class, tied on points with Evandro Camargo who took second place only after dropped scores. Both won twice during the year.

Bia was also voted president of Brazil's women's motorsport association.

She continued to race trucks in 2024 and ended the year champion of Copa Truck, in the Super Truck Elite class. 

(Image from http://lucyvanderblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010_08_01_archive.html)

Women in the Indianapolis 500

(L-R: Milka Duno, Sarah Fisher, Lyn St.James, Billie Jean King, Danica Patrick)

The first running of the Indianapolis 500, at the Brickyard circuit, happened in 1911. However, it remained a firmly male-only bastion until the 1970s. It was not until the start of the decade that women were permitted into the pitlane as journalists or team staff, partly due to the persistence of women journalists such as Denise McCluggage.

Although female drivers had made specially-sanctioned promotional appearances at the Brickyard as early as 1935, it was not until 1976 that they were allowed to participate in its blue riband event. Janet Guthrie was the first woman driver to pass her rookie test.

In more recent history, the Indianapolis 500 has been one of the few elite motorsport events routinely entered by multiple women racers. Simona de Silvestro was run by Paretta Motorsport in 2021; the team is owned by Beth Paretta and has a majority female crew. Paretta is the first female-run team to enter. 

Below is a list of all the appearances by female drivers in the Indy 500.

1976

Janet Guthrie (Coyote-Foyt) - DNQ

1977

Janet Guthrie (Lightning-Offenhauser) - 29th

1978

Janet Guthrie (Wildcat-DGS) - 9th

1979

Janet Guthrie (Lola-Cosworth) - 34th

1980

Janet Guthrie (Lightning-Cosworth) - DNQ

1982
Desiré Wilson (Eagle-Cosworth) - DNQ (withdrawn)

1983
Desiré Wilson (March 82C-Cosworth) - DNQ

1992

Lyn St. James (Lola-Chevrolet) - 11th

1993

Lyn St.James (Lola-Cosworth) - 25th

1994

Lyn St.James (Lola-Cosworth) - 19th

1995

Lyn St.James (Lola-Cosworth) - 32nd

1996

Lyn St.James (Lola-Cosworth) - 14th

1997

Lyn St. James (Dallara-Infiniti) - 13th

1998

Lyn St. James (G Force-Infiniti) - DNQ

1999

Lyn St. James (G Force-Oldsmobile) - DNQ

2000

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Oldsmobile) - 31st

Lyn St. James (G Force-Oldsmobile) - 32nd

2001

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Oldsmobile) - 31st

2002

Sarah Fisher (G Force-Infiniti) - 24th

2003

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Chevrolet) - 31st

2004

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Toyota) - 21st

2005

Danica Patrick (Panoz-Honda) - 4th

2006

Danica Patrick (Panoz-Honda) - 8th

2007

Danica Patrick (Dallara-Honda) - 8th

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Honda) - 18th

Milka Duno (Dallara-Honda) - 31st

2008

Milka Duno (Dallara-Honda) - 19th

Danica Patrick (Dallara-Honda) - 22nd

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Honda) - 30th

2009

Danica Patrick (Dallara-Honda) - 3rd

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Honda) - 17th

Milka Duno (Dallara-Honda) - 20th

2010

Danica Patrick (Dallara-Honda) - 6th

Simona de Silvestro (Dallara-Honda) - 14th

Ana Beatriz (Dallara-Honda) - 21st

Sarah Fisher (Dallara-Honda) - 26th

Milka Duno (Dallara-Honda) - DNQ

2011
Danica Patrick - 10th
Pippa Mann - 20th
Ana Beatriz - 21st
Simona de Silvestro - DNF
(all Dallara-Honda)

2012
Katherine Legge (Dallara-Chevrolet) - 22nd
Ana Beatriz (Dallara-Chevrolet) - 23rd
Simona de Silvestro (Dallara-Lotus) - DNF

2013
Ana Beatriz (Honda) - 15th
Simona de Silvestro (Chevrolet) - 17th
Katherine Legge (Honda) - 26th
Pippa Mann (Honda) - 30th/DNF

2014
Pippa Mann (Dallara) - 24th

2015
Simona de Silvestro (Honda) - 19th
Pippa Mann (Honda) - 22nd

2016
Pippa Mann (Honda) - 18th

2017
Pippa Mann (Honda) - 17th

2018
Pippa Mann (Honda) - DNQ

2019
Pippa Mann (Chevrolet) - 16th

2021

Simona de Silvestro (Chevrolet) - DNF

2023

Katherine Legge (Honda) - DNF

2024

Katherine Legge (Honda) - DNF

(Image from www.motorsport.com)

The women of NASCAR

Tammy Jo Kirk and crew

Female drivers have been a feature of NASCAR and its associated series since 1949. A few pioneering drivers achieved success early on, but the NASCAR route has proved a challenging one for most of the women who have tried it. Below are short profiles of some of the ladies of NASCAR. Sara Christian, Louise Smith, Shawna Robinson, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Kat Teasdale, Diane Teel, Deborah Renshaw, Robin McCall, Hila Paulson Sweet and Patty Moise have their own profiles. Drivers who started their careers after 2000 can be found here. Although it is not part of the NASCAR family, the ARCA stock car series is included here, due to its similarity of machinery and venues.

Sherry Blakley - attempted to qualify for the Charlotte 250 round of the NASCAR Busch Series in 1994, but did not make the grid. Prior to this, she started 29 Goody’s Dash series races between 1991 and 1994, with a best championship finish of eighth in 1993, with two top-five finishes. She had been racing Late Models since at least 1988. During her career she was always adept at finding sponsorship, including Ramses condoms in 1994. Their publicity campaign involved promoting safe sex and giving out condoms at races and it was banned by NASCAR. Sherry retired a couple of years later and worked in a car dealership. She died in 2011, aged 48.

Ann Chester - one of NASCAR’s early female drivers, who took part in two Grand National races in 1950. She drove a Plymouth at the Vernon and Hamburg rounds, but did not finish either of them. The Plymouth’s engine failed at Vernon, and she crashed out of the Hamburg race. The Hamburg event was special, in that it was one of a handful of times that three women have raced in a top-level NASCAR event.

Tammy Jo Kirk - took part in NASCAR Craftsman Truck and regional events in the 1990s. She first came to prominence when she won the 1994 Snowball Derby in Florida, a NASCAR All Pro Series race. By 1996, she had moved up to the Busch Series, and won two pole positions. She was seventh overall. In 1997 and 1998, she drove in Craftsman Trucks, with a best finish of eleventh at Portland in 1997. Her sponsorship ended at the end of 1998, and she did not race again in NASCAR until 2003, when she returned to the Busch Series for Jay Robinson Racing. Her best finish was 21st, and she was not retained for the 2004 season. As well as NASCAR, she took part in some sportscar races, most notably the 1994 Daytona 24 Hours. She was 34th in a Porsche 911 with David Murry, Angelo Cilli and Anthony Lazzaro. Initially, she raced motorcycles on short tracks.

Teri MacDonald (Cadieux) - raced in a number of NASCAR and associated series between 1998 and 2005. During this time, she had part-seasons in ARCA and Craftsman Trucks, plus a single full season in CASCAR in 2001. Her best year in Trucks was 2002, with four races. Her CASCAR season yielded two top-ten finishes. In between, she drove in various ASA events, with rather a lot of non-finishes, but one top-twenty finish. Previously, she was involved in long-circuit racing in the USA and Canada, achieving some success at National level and earning awards as the highest-ranked woman driver in Canada. She retired in 2006 after the birth of her son, and now works in various motorsport-related fields.

Ethel Flock Mobley - early NASCAR racer and contemporary of Sara Christian. She began racing cars in “Powderpuff Derby” events for women drivers in the late 1940s. Her career began in earnest in 1949, when she entered and finished two NASCAR races, with a best finish of eleventh. In the other race, at Langhorn, she could only manage 44th. In addition to this, she took part in approximately 100 other races in the early 1950s, usually in the NASCAR Modified category. Her local track was the Atlanta Speedway, built by her brother, Bob Flock, and she normally competed there. She died in 1984.

Christi Passmore - has raced on and off in the ARCA series since 2002. In 2003 and 2004, she undertook major campaigns in this series, finishing eighth both times, driving a Ford. In 2004, she scored her only podium finish. In 2005, she only did thirteen races, which was not enough to mount any sort of challenge, and this dropped to one guest appearance in 2006. After that, she returned to ASCS events. This was how she began her career in 1998, based around the Knoxville track and its 410 Sprint series. She does not appear to have raced since 2010.

Arlene Pittman - started racing stock cars in 1985, aged fifteen. She worked her way up the local racing ladder, winning a championship in 1999. She started taking her racing more seriously after that, and began racing trucks in 2000. In 2002, she competed in both Truck races and the car-based NASCAR Goody’s Dash series. She was fifteenth in Goody’s Dash, out of 68 drivers. She retired from racing in 2003 after a serious accident during a Goody’s Dash event, although she did attempt to return, entering one more race after her crash. Now, she manages her own track and works extensively in motorsport PR.

FiFi Scott - took part in two Winston Cup races in 1955, at Phoenix and Tucson. She went out with a puncture before half-distance in the first race, but was classified in thirteenth place in the second. Her car was a Hudson, which she had previously used in Late Model races in 1954 and 1955, on the East Coast. Her best finish was twelfth, in the 1955 Walnut Creek race, driving a self-entered car.

Kelly Sutton – raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series between 2003 and 2007, following a long career in club stock car racing and the NASCAR Goody’s Dash series, which included overall race wins at junior and senior level. Her first Truck season only consisted of four races, with a best finish of 19^th, at Homestead. In 2004, she expanded her programme to 19 races, and broke into the top twenty once, at Mansfield. This season was marred by accidents and mechanical problems. 2005 was a better year, with three top-twenty finishes, including a fifteenth place at Charlotte. Despite a shorter season in 2006, with fewer good finishes, she still managed to lead her first lap, at Kansas, although she crashed out later. In her final year of Trucks, she only took part in three races, and was 20^th at Milwaukee. Since then, she has not raced. Throughout her career, she has raced for her family team, Sutton Racing. She is notable for being the only NASCAR driver who competed actively with MS.

Bonnie West - possibly the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned Late Model race in 1975. She won a feature race at Langley Speedway, Virginia in June. She was the biggest female rival to Diane Teel and the two squared up in a match race together at Langley in 1977. Both were regulars at Langley, although they often competed in different divisions. Bonnie’s career ended abruptly in 1977 when she was convicted of car theft, alongside her husband, and jailed for five years.

Martha Wideman - raced stock cars in the USA in the 1970s. She competed in one round of the USAC Stock Car Series in 1976, finishing 20th at Texas World Speedway in a 1974 Dodge Charger. She was meant to race at Mid-America Raceways the following month, but did not start. She had been driving in short-oval stock car races on her own account since 1972, having been active for some years previously racing her husband’s car under his license, as women were not allowed and the “powder puff derby” events for women no longer challenged her. IMCA allowed her to race and she did eventually earn a NASCAR license, although she never took part in a NASCAR race.   

(Image copyright Fox News)

Open Wheel Racing in the USA

Arlene Hiss

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.

(Image copyright Marc Sproule)

Shawna Robinson

Shawna as a BAM driver

As soon as she was old enough to drive, Shawna Robinson was racing. To begin with it was snowmobiles, then she moved on to trucks at the age of 19. From 1983 to 1988, she competed in the Great American Truck Racing Tour, winning a few major events, including the 1984 Milwaukee race, and the 1987 Big Rig 100.

She graduated to stock car competition in 1988, and instantly made an impression, coming third in her first Goody's Dash race at Daytona. Later in the year, she captured her first win at New Ashville. Her efforts earned her both the Rookie of the Year and Most Popular Driver awards.

In 1989 she completed another full season in the Goody's Dash championship. Her biggest achievement this year was winning a pole position at South Carolina, the first woman to do so. Her second pole was at Myrtle Beach, where she converted it into a win. She was the Most Popular Driver again at the end of the year.

After three wins and 21 top-tens in the Dash series, Shawna was intent on progressing further up the NASCAR ladder. She started a few Busch Series races in 1990, with this aim. Her high point this year was qualifying second for the Florida 200 at Daytona.

The following season, she was signed by Huffman Racing, to drive the Sparky's Racing Buick. It was a four-race deal and Shawna used it to gain more experience of the Busch tracks. Her best finish was in her first race, at Orange County. She was 15th.

Her 1992 schedule expanded to fourteen races, and her overall placings were getting better. Her best finishes were a pair of eleventh places. She was second in the Rookie standings and learning fast. Her first full Busch Grand National season followed in 1993, driving for the Polaroid team, after a couple of races with them in 1992. She was 23rd overall, and now a professional driver. Her best finish was twelfth, at Indianapolis.

1994 was the year that her Busch career really took off. She took her first outside pole in February, at the South Carolina Goodwrench 200. A month later she earned her first outright Busch pole position at Atlanta, which was also a new track record of 174.33 mph. Sadly, she crashed in both races and ended up far down the order. At the other end of the race, she managed her first top-ten in the category at Watkins Glen.

A switch of teams in 1995 meant limited finances, so 1995 was another part-season for Shawna. She drove a Ford Thunderbird for CPR Motorsports in a few Busch races before taking a long sabbatical for the birth of her two children. Before retiring, she attempted to qualify for the NASCAR Daytona 500, its blue riband event, but failed.

Five years later, Shawna, now 36, returned to the track. She opted out of the NASCAR family this time, preferring to race in the ARCA stock-car championship. She proved quickly that she had lost none of her touch, recording top-ten finishes in nearly half of her starts and ending the season in sixth. This was the first time a female driver had finished this high on the ARCA leaderboard, and the first time a woman had tackled a full calendar. Her best finish was second, and she scored one pole position at Michigan. She also led a race at Toledo, the first female driver to do so.

Having reacquainted herself with the inside of a racing car, it was back to NASCAR in 2001. She got herself a ride with Michael Waltrip Racing for three events, and finished one, coming 19th at Talladega. Unfortunately, she crashed out of the other two. Later in the season she made another attack on the Winston Cup, aided by team boss Michael Kranefuss and sponsorship money from Tropicana. Of the four races for which she was named as a driver, she got to the startline of one, at Michigan. Following a spin, she was 36th overall.

Having lost her Tropicana backing, Shawna was picked up by BAM Racing, a small Winston Cup team run by Beth Ann Morgenthau. Shawna was scheduled to take part in 24 Winston Cup races, and finished her first race, at Daytona, in 24th. However, things went downhill from there, and the Iowa driver often found herself being substituted for her team-mate, or running on experimental and unsuitable car setups. She lasted seven races with the team, during which she scored no notable points, before being released.

Vowing to carry on, Shawna put the BAM debacle behind her and tried her hand at the Craftsman Truck series, supported by Mike Starr. In a newsworthy move, her team hired an all-female pit crew for her first race at Texas. It was a move that almost paid off; Shawna was 18th overall at the end of the race, after a mistimed pitstop put her down the field. She had been running much higher than that previously. The other two races she took part in ended in engine failures.

After her funds dried up, she went back to running her own interior design business during 2004. She has among her client list several Winston Cup drivers and team managers, and is highly-regarded in this field.

Shawna attempted a comeback in 2005, driving a Keith Coleman Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Busch Series. She was retained by the team for six races, finishing five of them, but with no success.

She has not been active in motorsport since then and her official website has been taken down. Shawna now works as an interior designer. In 2014, it was announced that she had breast cancer, which happily went into remission at the end of 2015.

(Image from http://www.justcustomz.com/)

Sarah Fisher

Columbus-born Sarah Fisher was one of the Indy Racing League's best-known drivers in 2001-3, winning the Most Popular Driver title for three years in a row.

Her parents were both involved in the dirt oval racing scene, and their enthusiasm rubbed off on their young daughter. She started competitive motorsport in 1986, at the tender age of five. Her first car was a quarter-midget, and she raced it for three seasons on indoor tracks. She was on the pace very quickly and won a number of races, as well as a track record.

When Sarah was eight she switched to kart-based competition, first on dirt ovals. She sometimes raced at the same meetings as her father, and they usually travelled together.

After making a huge amount of progress in karting, Sarah was ready for the national championships at eleven. Her parents did not push her into higher competition; in fact they had tried to encourage her into other sports and hobbies, with limited success. Her determination paid off handsomely though, as she won the Grand National Karting Championship on her first attempt. The crown would stay with her for another three seasons. In 2004, she also did some endurance karting on some of America's major racing circuits, such as Elkhart Lake.

After learning a good deal from karting, Sarah hit the road with her father and took to sprintcar racing. She moved rapidly through the junior ranks in the World of Outlaws series, winning a Rookie of the Year award in 1995 and an outright championship in 1997. In 1998, she moved in to asphalt racing and took part in three separate championships, winning five major races, and even working on the car herself when her father was injured and unable to perform necessary repairs.

Sarah had always set her racing sights high, and her goal was the Indy 500. She got her chance to prove herself in the big arena in 1999, in the Indy Racing League with Walker Racing. At the time, she was the youngest person to pass the Rookie Test, which she managed with ease, despite her lack of single-seater experience. Her first race, the only one she entered that season, was at Texas Motor Speedway. She started from seventeenth on the grid, but retired on lap 66 with a timing chain failure.

The young Ohio resident was retained by team boss Derrick Walker for 2000. Her programme was expanded to eight races, including the Indy 500. Here, she qualified her Dallara-Aurora in nineteenth, but retired after an accident on lap 71. This came two laps after Lyn St James had crashed out. They were the youngest and oldest drivers on track respectively, and this was (then) the only time in Indy history that two woman drivers had entered the race.

After a string of lower-midfield results, Sarah really made a name for herself at Kentucky, towards the end of the season. She came third overall and was pounced on by the media, both mainstream and motorsport. She had also attracted attention when she tested a McLaren F1 car at the US Grand Prix, the first time a woman had driven a current F1 machine in public for nine years.

The deal with Walker Racing continued into 2001. This time it was for a whole IRL season. After a shaky start at Phoenix, where she retired, Sarah was on the pace. Her second place at Miami was the best of the year, and a female record which stood for several years. Atlanta, the next race, saw her come eleventh, from 18th on the grid. Her second Indy 500 was not a success, ending in retirement, but later in the season she fared better, finishing tenth at Pike's Peak and qualifying in second at Richmond. She ended the year nineteenth overall.

Despite being one of the IRL's most popular drivers, Sarah was struggling to find sponsorship. Walker Racing was not a wealthy team, and could not afford to employ her in 2002 without the extra sponsor's cash. At the start of the year, things looked bleak, but she eventually got a ten-race deal with Dreyer & Reinbold, another small team. Again she started her campaign well, this time with a fourth place at Nazareth. Her second race was the Indy 500, and she surprised many onlookers by qualifying in ninth. However, she was plagued with mechanical troubles and only finished 24th.

Her other best positions were an eleventh at Fort Worth and a pair of eighths at Brooklyn and Sparta, where she also earned her first IRL pole. She was 18th in the final standings.

Dreyer & Reinbold kept the 23-year-old engineering student on for 2003, offering her a full IRL calendar this time. However, this year would not be as successful as the last. Her best result was eighth at Phoenix and her best qualifying place was second at Richmond, although she only came 19th in the race itself. The Indy 500 was pretty much a disaster; Sarah qualified in 24th and later retired. The lack of testing really showed in the number of non-finishes she recorded, and despite winning the "Most Popular Driver" award for the third year running, the press were now turning against her. The amount of bile and vitriol she endured in the following seasons was quite excessive, but she remained strong and usually ignored her critics.

Again, finances let Sarah down in 2004. She was dropped by Dreyer & Reinbold and only competed in one event, the Indy 500, in a one-race deal with Kelley Racing. She was not especially competitive and somewhat out of practice, qualifying in 19th and finishing two places down, in 21st.

No more drives materialised in 2004, and 2005 was shaping up to be the same, when Sarah decided to switch to stock cars. She signed up with the famous Richard Childress team for the Busch Series Grand National Division, a feeder series for the Nextel Cup. At this time, she had one eye on developing a career in Nascar. Driving a Chevrolet, she entered twelve races and acquitted herself well, earning a best finish of sixth at Thunder Hill Raceway. She was also seventh at Mesa Marin.

Despite showing some promise in the Chevy, she decided not to pursue the NASCAR route, and spent the early part of 2006 concentrating on her studies, having switched to Marketing. However, the chance came up to drive in the IRL again, close to the end of the season. Dreyer & Reinbold re-signed Sarah for two races, and she jumped at the chance to renew her acquaintance with the ovals. She also had a female rival now in Danica Patrick, who was still creating a media storm and therefore deflected some of the attention from Sarah, which was probably a good thing. At Kentucky, scene of her previous triumphs, she was twelfth. She was 16th at Chicago in her other race.

Sarah made her full-time return to Indycars in 2007, after Dreyer & Reinbold retained her services. Although the car was reliable enough to get to the end of all but three races, it was not really on the pace, although Sarah herself showed flashes of “what could be”. She finished in the top ten twice mid-season, coming tenth at Fort Worth and seventh at Newton. Mostly, she ran near the back of the field, although she got further forward at Kansas and Chicago, where she finished twelfth. Her return to Indianapolis was solid but somewhat disappointing: she was 18th, after qualifying 21st.

Dreyer & Reinbold released Sarah at the end of the season. After years of struggling for budget, she got together some money to go it alone, launching her Fisher Racing team. On the track, 2008 was another forgettable year. She only made the Indycar start three times, beginning at the Indy 500. She retired close to the end after qualifying 22nd. Much later in the season, she was fifteenth at Sparta and did not finish at Chicagoland.

Fisher Racing remained a going concern for 2009. At the beginning of the season, Sarah entered five Indy races. She joined the series at the Kansas round, and was thirteenth out of 16 finishers. The next event was the Indy 500, which was more slightly positive for her than previously. She qualified 21st and made it to the end of the race in 17th, in front of Mike Conway. She did not attend the Milwaukee meeting, but was 17th out of 24 at Fort Worth. A gap followed, then she was twelfth at Sparta, her best finish of the season. This drive saw her improving ten places on her grid position. After another break, she was fourteenth at Chicagoland.

Fisher Racing also took delivery of a second car in 2009, which meant that Sarah was able to test more fully, with less danger of destroying her race car. This was meant to go some way to making up for her lack of seat time in the past few seasons.

She returned for another part-season in 2010, still with her own team. Out of seven races, she managed four finishes: 17th at Kansas, 15th at Texas and Chicagoland, and 22nd at Homestead-Miami. Although she just qualified for the Indianapolis 500, she did not finish.

With other female IRL racers on the scene, a lot of the media pressure placed on Sarah as a lone woman in the IRL was deflected. Still, she decided to retire at the end of 2010, in order to concentrate on other projects. She continued as the owner-manager of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, running one car in the IRL in 2012. She also gave birth to a daughter in October 2011.

The team remained a going concern in 2013, and had a best Indycar finish of second, with Josef Newgarden, and a second car, driven by Lucas Luhr. This arrangement continued in 2014 and 2015, with new sponsors coming on board. However, Sarah relinquished her joint ownership of the team at the beginning of 2016, after the loss of a major sponsor.

Her latest venture is a new karting track.

(Image source unknown)

Sara Senske

Daughter of a racer, Sara Senske started young. She began karting at seven, won her first race at eight and her first championship at nine. During her seven years in karts, she won the prestigious IKF Gold Cup three times, and won or scored well in several other state and club championships.

After her illustrious karting career, she was signed by the Lyn St James Driver Development Program, where she honed her racecraft and media nous further in 1994 and 1995. At the age of eighteen, in 1996, she enrolled at the famous Skip Barber racing school, in order to move up to cars. In that year's Skip Barber Western racing series, she won one race and collected five podium finishes. She ended the year as the school's Most Improved Driver.

The following season she stepped up to the popular Star Formula Mazda single-seater series for the last six races. Having learnt the car, she came back the next year for a full season and ended it eighth. Eighth was her final position in 1999 too, after a string of top-ten placings, some podium finishes and two fastest laps, at Irwindale and Pike's Peak. That year she also tried sportscar racing in the Women's Global GT Series. She won once, from pole, at Portland, and came fourth in the championship.

For 2000, Sara decided she had learnt enough from Formula Mazda. Showing her typical self-discipline and determination which she attributes to her Christian faith, she put together funds for a ride in the Barber Dodge Pro Series with Lynx Racing. She had been running with the team for a while and it was a logical step. Her first year was not spectacular, with one top-ten place to her name, but she was a steady and reliable finisher. The following year, her confidence and experience grew and she was rewarded with more top ten positions. starting with a sixth at Lime Rock. Her biggest achievement was at Chicago, where she was second behind Nicolas Rondet, having kept by him for the whole race. That was the first time a woman had mounted the podium in the Pro Series, and Sara joked later about the lack of "podium guys" laid on for her.

At first, Lynx Racing were keen to capitalise on her success with a move into the Toyota Atlantic series, the next step towards CART or the IRL. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, Sara was passed over by the team in favour of someone else. She tested for a few other teams, and tried out for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in a Dodge, but nothing came of it. This must have been a big blow, especially as she gave up her university studies to focus on her racing.

Sara still had ambitions of reaching CART or the Indy Racing League, and kept her hand in by driving the official Pace Car at CART events. She also drove in the 2001 Toyota Pro/Celebrity race as a Pro.

She has now retired from motorsport, and works as a mental health counsellor.

(Image from www.thunval.com)

Rhonda Trammell

In 2003 Rhonda was unable to race at the level she thought herself capable of, so launched a singing career. Her album was quite warmly received and is still available.

Rhonda has been writing music and poetry for a long time, but she has also been in motorsport for over twenty years. As Rhonda Gutsue, she began karting in 1983 at the age of eighteen, encouraged by her then-boyfriend. Compared to some, she was a late starter, but five years later she won the International Superkart Championship. This was followed by two years at the very top of the karting ladder, as none other than World Karting Champion.

She continued in karts in 1991, and scored two World Championship wins. She also enrolled at the famous Skip Barber Racing School and finished in the top ten of its Formula Ford Series in her first year of car racing.

For the next two years, Rhonda tried several junior formulae across America. She raced extensively in Barber Saab (as Rhonda Regnier), and won her first race in Formula Russell. Keen to progress, she passed her Indy Lights Rookie Test in 1992, but lacked the funds to go further. 

The story remained the same for another five years, with Rhonda racing part seasons in the junior series, picking up a growing collection of good finishes along the way. She had a decent run in the Zerex Saab series in 1992, finishing ninth at Elkhart Lake.

In 1998 she tried her hand at saloon car racing in the higher-profile PPG Chrysler Neon Celebrity Challenge. She won one race, at Minneapolis. This brought some welcome sponsorship opportunities and she was finally able to progress into the Barber Dodge Pro Series, the first step on the ladder to CART racing. She entered two races in 1999 and six in 2000.

2001 brought Rhonda's first full year in Barber Dodge, driving a Reynard single-seater. Her results were not spectacular, but she proved herself capable of finishing races and defending her track position at this level. She also contested that year’s Toyota Grand Prix of Detroit, and was fifth in a pro-celebrity race.

Klein Tools continued to sponsor her for the 2002 season, and some good results started to appear. She finished in the top ten in the first race of the season and was one of the top twelve finishers four times. Her performances were comparable with that year's champion John Fogarty the previous year. In order to learn the tracks better, she also kept her hand in lower down the US motorsports ladder, and won a Skip Barber Race Series event at the classic Sebring road course.

Rhonda planned to graduate to Toyota Atlantic in 2003, and tested with Lynx Racing at Buttonwillow, but the funds were not forthcoming and her plans were shelved. She had resigned as one of the PPG CART pace car team's elite female drivers in order to concentrate on her racing. Toyota Atlantic's loss was country-flavoured guitar pop music's gain.

For several years, Rhonda stated that she intended to return to motorsport once she had raised enough sponsorship. However, she is now described as “retired”.

(Image from www.thunval.com)

Patty Moise

Patty with her Buick

One of the First Ladies of NASCAR, Patty has several "firsts" under her belt. At Road Atlanta, in her first NASCAR Busch Series attempt in 1986, she became the first woman to lead a Busch Series race. This came shortly after she won a qualifying race, another female first in NASCAR. She took part in 133 Busch Series races during her twelve years of NASCAR competition, 24 of which were in 1990.

Daughter of a racer, Patty started competing in 1981. First she raced sportscars like her father, and drove in IMSA. Her first entry was in 1981, when she was listed as a driver with her father in the Daytona 24 Hours. They did not get to drive. In 1983, she entered two races. She did not finish the Sebring 12 Hours in a Camaro, but was thirteenth in the Paul Revere event at Daytona. Her co-driver was Tommy Riggins, and the car was a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. In 1984, she drove a Chevrolet Camaro with Tom Ciccone at Watkins Glen. They were 27th. In 1985, she was ninth in the Sebring 12 Hours, using a Pontiac Firebird, with Les Delano and Andy Petery. She had been set to drive in the Daytona 24 Hours with Juan Manuel Fangio Jr and Robert Johnson in an Osella, but they were prevented from starting. In 1986, she and Delano were 12th at Sebring, driving a Chevrolet Camaro with Jeremy Nightingale.

Not long afterwards, she moved into the oval stock car scene. She quickly progressed through the junior series and actually made five Winston Cup starts between 1987 and 1989. However, it was in the second-ranking Busch Series that she really shone. Her results were mixed over the nine years she raced; her best finish was seventh at Talladega. This superspeedway was the scene of several of Patty's triumphs. In 1988 she qualified on pole for a Busch race, the first woman to do so. Two years later she broke the lap record there, with a brilliant 217.488 mph run. She also broke the qualifying record at Atlanta in 1995.

Her first Busch season was 1986. She qualified third for her first race at Road Atlanta, but could only manage 30th in the race itself. Her second race, at Carolina, panned out similarly. She led the race at one point, but dropped down to 34th by the end.

In 1987, her programme expanded to twelve events. She was driving a Buick. Half of her races ended in DNFs, but she also managed two top-ten finishes. Her first Winston Cup start at Watkins Glen gave her a 34th, after a crash.

1988 was not as positive. Out of eleven starts, she failed to make the top ten once. Her second and third Cup runs yielded a best of 34th. She did not really improve the following year, with a best Cup finish of 33rd and a best Busch finish of 16th.

In 1990, she made a decent attempt at the Busch championship, but could not convert the experience to hard results. She did not make the top ten once. After 1991 and her marriage to Elton Sawyer, she scaled down her racing commitments considerably. Mostly, her racing was confined to guest appearances, with a best finish of fourteenth, at Watkins Glen, in 1992.

In 1995, her career picked up again after a seventh place at Talladega. She and Elton ran their own team in 1996, and Patty entered 18 races. Sadly, she was only 37th in the final points tally. Another race in 1997 led to a heavy crash.

Patty last raced in 1998, at Bristol, where she finished in the top ten. She now concentrates on horse-riding. As well as her records on the racetrack, she is only the second Winston Cup driver to hold a university degree.

(Image from http://stockcar.racersreunion.com/group/pattymoisefans)

Milka Duno

Perhaps the last person on Earth you'd expect to be one of the world's foremost lady racers would be a Venezuelan intellectual. However, with her five master's degrees and impressive sportscar pedigree, Milka Duno is probably just that. She became the first woman to race an LM900 sports protoype in 2002, while she was plying her trade in the American Le Mans Series with Dick Barbour Racing. She and her team-mates struggled somewhat with their new Panoz-Mugen, but the results started to appear, their best being a fifth place. Towards the end of the season the team disbanded, and Milka secured a seat in the British Chamberlain squad next to Christian Vann.

In 2001, she fared better in the smaller, more familiar LMP675 Reynard-Judd in which she and John Graham scored several class wins and outright top ten and five places against LMP900 machinery. They finished the season as vice-champions. Unfortunately, Le Mans itself has not proved fruitful for Milka. She retired in 2001 and 2002 with engine trouble, after relatively promising starts.

She began her career in Venezuela in 1996, racing in the Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Cup. She was second in her domestic GT championship in 1997. The ALMS Womens' Global GT series followed for three years. Although Milka never won a race, she finished in the top five each year and scored several podium places. She was hired by Dick Barbour Racing in 2001.

As well as sports car racing, she spent a couple of years developing a career in single-seaters. A few outings in Barber Dodge and other junior formulas in the States helped the Venezuelan to claim a seat with Vergani Racing for the Nissan World Series Light Division, in 2001. Milka improved steadily, and came twelfth in the 2003 standings. Her best finishes were fifth and sixth, at Vallelunga and Eurospeedway Lausitz respectively. She also raced in the last few rounds of the Formula Nissan World Series in 2002, where cornering speeds are almost as fast as Formula One. Although she was a steady finisher, she was not really challenging for the top spots. She called a temporary halt to her single-seater activities after 2003.

Latina women are not normally associated with motor racing and Milka Duno is proud to be breaking the mould. She contested the Grand-Am sportscar series in the US in 2004, driving a Pontiac-engined Crawford prototype, in which she scored a fantastic win with Andy Wallace in the second race of the season at Miami. When the championship returned to Homestead later in the year, she won again. Added to this impressive tally was a second place at mid-Ohio and a third in Virginia.

She also raced in the ALMS again, having put together a deal with the Taurus-Lola team to race alongside Brit Justin Wilson. They were placed in the top ten of the 2004 Sebring 12 Hours before mechanical woes put them down to 22nd. At the season-ending Petit Le Mans race, they were sixth overall and first LMP2 car.

The Grand-Am series and CITGO Racing became Milka's home in 2004. The Crawford-Pontiac is the most successful car of her career, carrying her to three outright wins. The third outright victory came at the Mont Tremblant 6 Hours in Canada in 2005. On her return to the Virginia circuit she also finished in the runner-up spot again in 2005.

After a couple of indifferent Daytona 24 Hour races, Milka finally made her mark in 2006. Assisted by Scotsmen Marino and Dario Franchitti and Irishman Kevin McGarrity, she drove the Crawford to eighth overall, her best finish at the Daytona classic and a record for a woman driver.

The rest of 2006 was not a vintage year for the Venezuelan driver and her team. The first couple of races of the year led to indifferent results, and an error by an official dropped Milka and Marino Franchitti from top-ten to 17th, at Long Beach. Their luck improved at Virginia, their first time out in their new car, a Riley-Pontiac prototype. Even with a small accident, the duo were eleventh. Milka's best results were a pair of sevenths at Monterey and Sonoma. Her co-drivers were Olivier Beretta and Patrick Carpentier respectively. The Riley was quick and its drivers were able to hold good places, but a series of accidents and technical failures did not allow them to capitalise on their form and cost them wins.

During the off-season, Milka was linked to a drive in Champ Car. She tested for Cahill Racing but did not join the series. Later, an announcement was made that she would be taking part in a limited programme of IRL races for Samax Racing. This came as a surprise to many.

2007 started very brightly indeed for Milka. She beat her own best finish for a woman at the Daytona 24 Hours, coming a brilliant second in the CITGO Pontiac-Riley. Her team-mates were Patrick Carpentier, Ryan Dalziel and Darren Manning. The winners were Scott Pruett, Salvador Duran and former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya. She and Patrick Carpentier were less successful in Mexico, and were eleventh, but they were back on the pace in fourth at Homestead. Sadly, she decided to abandon the season here, and was replaced by various other drivers.

Her first season in the IRL was more of a baptism of fire. She entered seven races, including the Indy 500, and finished three, with a best finish of eleventh at Fort Worth. Concerns were raised by various people about Milka’s lack of speed, and she was even considered a safety hazard by some. However, officials gave her the benefit of the doubt in her rookie year, and allowed her to carry on.

In 2008, she drove for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, for eleven events this time. Her finishing record improved, but her overall results did not. Her best one was a single fourteenth place at Joliet. She managed her first Indy 500 finish in 19th, ahead of Bruno Junqueira. Her final position on the leaderboard was 25th and the knives were now really out for her, from a number of surprising sources. An unseemly ongoing row with Danica Patrick only made things worse for her. Away from the IRL, she was listed as a driver for Samax for the Daytona 24 Hours, but did not drive.

Her services were retained by Dreyer & Reinbold for another part-season in 2009, sharing the car with Darren Manning and Tomas Scheckter. She finished again at Indy, in 20th this time, and got to the end of most of her races. The allegations of substandard driving skills continued, although she was not punished.

Despite disappointing results and a worsening media profile, Dreyer & Reinbold took on Milka for her first full season in the IRL in 2010. She did not manage a single top-twenty finish until the Joliet Chicagoland race, when she was nineteenth, and did not qualify for the Indy 500. A series of accidents and incidents led to Milka being placed "on probation" with the IRL until the end of the season. Unless her lap times and track etiquette improved significantly, she faced being thrown out of the championship. The allegations made related to her slow pace, unorthodox racing lines and unwillingness to move over for faster cars.

Milka and her comrades were a force to be reckoned with in the Rolex Grand-Am series, with three wins, six podiums, nine top fives and seventeen top ten finishes. It is hard to understand why she was so keen to give up sportscar success for the dubious honour of being a pay-driver in the IRL. It is a shame that her continued, and mostly justified, negative press from the ovals has now eclipsed her closed-wheel achievements, which were considerable.

2010 was her last season of single-seater racing. Taking her CITGO sponsorship, she made a move towards stock cars. She had one run in an ARCA event at Daytona, driving a Toyota for Stringer Motorsports. A large, multi-car accident put her out on the sixth lap.

For 2011, she put together a deal with Sheltra Motorsports to run a Dodge in ARCA. Pre-season testing went very well, with Milka among the top ten entrants in speed tests. In the early part of the season, she showed good pace in qualifying, and started in second place at Toledo. However, she had a tendency to get involved in accidents, not always of her own creation, and had a best finish of fifteenth at Toledo, despite crashing during practice and having to use her spare car.

She had to sit out seven races mid-season after the Sheltra team pulled out, although they regrouped for the the eleventh round at Iowa. This led to a DNF. She did not better her fifteenth place for the rest of the season, although she managed to stay on the track to the end for all of them. She was eighteenth overall in the championship.

2012 began as more of the same. This season, the Sheltra car was a Chevrolet. Milka was among the fastest drivers during tests, but for the first five, this did not translate to race results. There was a marked improvement after the team took a break from ARCA, and in July, Milka earned her first top-ten finish, at New Jersey. For the next seven races in which she took part, she stayed inside the top twenty, with only one DNF at Kansas. She was 18th overall in the championship.

She continued in ARCA in 2013, this time for the Venturini team, in a Toyota. This year, she actually started to show some speed in a stock car, particularly in qualifying. Her first ARCA event, at Daytona, had her second on the grid. However, she finished 28th. At Talladega, she achieved a pole position, but did not finish. In between, she had an eighth-place finish at Salem, a new personal best. She managed another top-ten finish at Winchester, a tenth place, and a series of other top-twenty places. After 21 races, she was seventh overall, thanks to a new consistency in her driving, and a reduction in her DNF ratio.

In 2014, she moved from ARCA to NASCAR competition. Her first race was in the Eastern division of the K&N Pro Series. She was 20th at Dover, in a Toyota. Later, in a Toyota again, she made two starts in the Nationwide Series, finishing one of them in 34th. The track was Homestead, a circuit she had raced well on in sportscars. She was driving for RAB Racing and the NEMCO-Jay Robinson team. Her last race of the season was a debut outing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, for MAKE Motorsports. She was 25th at Talladega.

She does not appear to have raced since 2014, in common with many other Venezuelan drivers who lost their state-backed funding due to political issues.

(Image from http://laradiodelsur.com.ve/)

Lyn St. James

One of the USA's most recognised speedqueens, Lyn St James was born in 1947. She took part in her first races in 1972, at the age of twenty-five. Although she is best known for her exploits at the Indianapolis 500, it was sportscar racing she initially gravitated towards. Single-seaters came much later, after considerable success in closed-wheel competition. She was a regular in IMSA events for the entirety of the 1980s and proved herself a capable driver, with a series of class wins in big races. She also finished in the top ten on numerous occasions, driving as part of a team or on her own.

Her first IMSA entry was the Sebring 12 Hours in 1977, although her team went out before she got to drive. The following season, driving for the same Autodyne team in a Corvette, she was 17th, with Luis Sereix and Phil Currin. She also drove in an IMSA race at Daytona, but did not finish. She repeated her 17th place at Sebring in 1979, driving a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 with Bonnie Henn and Janet Guthrie. At the Paul Revere Daytona event, she and John Carusso took the Autodyne Corvette to eighth, fourth GTO.

In 1980, she was 17th yet again, but at the Daytona 24 Hours with a different team. She, Mark Welch and Tom Winters drove a Trinity Racing Mazda RX-7. Lyn’s results were not always brilliant; later in the season, at Sebring, she and Ralph Kent-Cooke could only limp home to 49th in a Porsche 935. She changed teams yet again for the 1983 season, competing for Nimrod Racing in their Aston Martin. She was 44th at Daytona and did not start at Miami, but was fifth at Sebring, with Drake Olson and Reggie Smith. An accident put her out at Road Atlanta. She transferred to a Mercury Capri for the Daytona finale, but could only manage 37th.

In 1984, she drove an Argo JM16 Ford. After a couple of non-starts, she and Jim Trueman were twelfth at Road Atlanta and 39th at Charlotte. Driving solo, Lyn was tenth at Laguna Seca and Sears Point, and did not finish at Road America. With Herm Johnson, she was eighth at Watkins Glen. With yet another co-driver, Howdy Holmes, she was a lowly 21st at Michigan, but a career-best third at the second Watkins Glen event. Back with Trueman, she steered the somewhat unreliable Argo to seventh.

Still with the Argo, she had a poor start to 1985. During the Daytona 24 Hours, the car's gearbox went after only 54 laps. She and Eric Lang were 28th at Miami, and she was 25th at Road Atlanta with Brent O’Neill. A switch to a Roush-run Mustang was more profitable; she and Bruce Jenner were ninth at Riverside, 17th at Charlotte, and third at Mid-Ohio. A solo Lyn was 16th at Laguna Seca and 30th at Portland, but fifth at Sears Point and ninth at Watkins Glen. With Bill Elliot, she was fourth at Watkins Glen. Driving a Mustang Probe at Sears Point, she only managed 17th. A high point of this season was her class win in the Roush car with John Jones. They were eleventh at Road America. They repeated the class win, with a ninth overall, at the Daytona finale. Another high point was her lone-driver second place at Columbus.

The 1986 season began at Miami, with Lyn back in a Mustang Probe, this time for Zakspeed, with Pete Halsmer. They were eighth. The same duo were 15th at Road Atlanta, and a faltering 42nd at Riverside. Paired with Tom Gloy in the same car, Lyn was fifth at Portland, although Sears Point only gave them a 16th, and the finale a disappointing 33rd. Driving with Bobby Rahal, she was 27th and not classified at Columbus.

Back in the Roush team for 1987’s Daytona 24 Hours, Lyn, along with Tom Gloy, Bill Elliot and Scott Pruett, was seventh, and first in the GTO class. The rest of the season was steady rather than stellar. She drove alone for the greater proportion of it. Her best finish was sixth at Summit Point. She was also seventh at West Palm Beach, and came eighth four times. Her team attempts, including Sebring, were less successful.

1988 saw a much-reduced IMSA programme for Lyn, who was still with the Roush operation. At Daytona, she retired late on. Her team-mates were Mark Martin, Deborah Gregg and Pete Halsmer, and the car was a Lincoln-Mercury Capri. At Sebring, Lyn and Deborah did much better, finishing eighth and second in class. The car this time was a Mercury Merkur XR4Ti, a Ford-based GT car. These were her only outings of the year.

1989 started poorly. After an accident to the Tom Milner Ford Mustand Probe, Lyn was unable to start at the Daytona 24 Hours. This was her only entry into an IMSA event that season.

1990 was a much shortened season too, but it led to a far better result. Lyn, Robby Gordon and Calvin Fish were fifth and first in the GTO class in their Roush Lincoln Mercury Cougar XR7, from a lowly 25th on the grid. Later, at Sebring, the same driver trio were sixth, and won their class once more, again from a long way down the grid. The same year, Lyn, driving solo, scored five top-ten finishes in Trans-Am.

She also raced in Europe on occasion, and entered the Le Mans 24 Hours twice. The first time was in 1989, in a Spice SE89C Ford, which lasted fifteen hours before breaking down. Her team-mates were Ray Bellm and Gordon Spice. The second time was as part of an all-girl team with Cathy Muller and Desiré Wilson, in an updated Spice SE90C Ford. She did not fare any better this time as the team crashed out early on.

For 1992 Lyn took her considerable racing experience to the ovals of her homeland. She took to single-seaters fairly easily, and passed her Indy rookie test straight away. She also qualified her Lola Chevrolet first time round at the fabled Brickyard. From a lowly 27th on the grid, Lyn made her way up to eleventh overall at the end of the race. This single battling performance netted her the Indy Rookie of the Year award. She remains its only female recipient.

Switching cars for the to a Lola Ford for the 1993 race, Lyn qualified again, in 21st. She retired with gearbox trouble. The 500 had not been her only race that year; she had entered six Indycar rounds and finished three. She was thirteenth at Phoenix, seventeenth at Long Beach and twentieth at Portland. She retired at Cleveland and Michigan and did not qualify for one race in Detroit.

1994 was a limited year in many ways, with Lyn only making a "guest appearance" at the Indy 500, after failing to secure more seat time. However, she certainly made her mark in her one race, qualifying a career-best sixth, the highest-ever for a female driver at the time and a good grid position for a relatively inexperienced oval driver. The race itself did not live up to its early promise, and she was nineteenth at the end of it. It was a similar story at the next Indy 500, where Lyn broke the womens' closed-circuit record in qualifying (at 225.722 mph), but crashed out of the race proper at the first corner.

In both 1995 and 1996 she managed to compete in some other races too. She was 20th at Milwaukee, and retired at Michigan, in 1995. As well as the 1996 Indy 500, where she dropped out while in fourteenth position, she drove at Phoenix and Orlando. The Orlando race gave her her best finish of her career - eighth.

By 1998, the best part of Lyn's career had probably passed. She returned to Indy and gave a reasonable early performance in the race, but retired whilst running in thirteenth. By now, she was more involved in motorsport promotion and administration than in actual racing. She was pivotal in setting up the ambitious but short-lived Womens' Global GT Series which ran alongside the American Le Mans series, and founded her own scholarship fund for female drivers, the Kara Hendrick scholarship. Kara Hendrick had been a promising karter who died in an accident.

She did not qualify for the 500 in 1998 or 1999, but scraped on to the grid for the 2000 race. This time she had the distinction of being the oldest driver ever to take part, at fifty-three. The 2000 Indy was also so far unique in that two women started the race that year - Lyn and Sarah Fisher. Lyn's participation came to an end on lap 69 when she crashed her G-Force Aurora. This heralded the end of her professional driving career and effectively handed the reins to Fisher as the "First Lady" of Indianapolis.

Lyn continues to work tirelessly to promote female participation in motorsport and has become an outspoken ally of women racers everywhere. She still races historics on occasion at events like the Goodwood Revival, where she drove a Galaxie 500 touring car with Desiré Wilson.

Although Lyn was not the first, nor the most successful woman in Indy racing, she was definitely the best-known for a long time and has used her profile to do a great deal of good.

She was one of the judges for the initial driver selections of the W Series in 2019.

(Image from www.caranddriver.com)

Katherine Legge

Katherine with her Formula E car (Image from rallystar.net)

After a stratospheric rise, Katherine's racing career seemed to have hit a rut a few years ago. Now, she is well on her way to motor racing stardom.

After an excellent karting apprenticeship, which saw her win club championships and the Scottish Open championship, Katherine began racing cars at nineteen. Her first forays into full-size competition were some rounds of the MGF Cup in 1999. After so many podium finishes in national karting, it was not surprising that she recorded five top-five positions. However, she wasn't really into sportscar racing, and longed for a single-seater drive.

She got her wish the following year in the Avon Junior Formula Ford Championship. She made steady progress, and also made history, as the first woman driver to start a Formula Ford race from pole in the UK.

After Kimi Raikkonen jumped straight from Formula Renault to Formula One, that series had become the place to be. Katherine's goal was to reach F1, so she too followed that route. Her finances for 2001 bought her a drive with Falcon Motorsports in the Formula Renault Winter Series, alongside James Rossiter. She must have impressed a few onlookers, because top-level team Fortec offered her a seat in their team for 2002.

In only the third race of the 2002 season Katherine made even more history by grabbing another pole position. Unfortunately, nerves kicked in and her start was not great, resulting in a coming-together with Danny Watts and an excursion off-track. However, her efforts were recognised by the British Racing Drivers' Club who made her one of their "Rising Stars" that year. Sadly, the injection of cash and encouragement this gave her career could not sustain her for a whole season with a top-line team, and she was replaced mid-term.

After a quiet period, Katherine reappeared in 2003 for some Formula Three races with Malaysian-run SYR Racing. Her best finish was sixteenth, which was no disgrace considering she had less experience than most of the field, and no money for testing. At Rockingham, she made the cover of Motorsport News for all the wrong reasons. She survived a terrifying mid-air multiple roll after misjudging the Rockingham infield course's much-criticised last chicane. The accident, in which Katherine was thankfully not hurt, was a big factor in British F3's decision to drop Rockingham from its schedule.

Her main activity for 2004 was to have been a racing instructor for the ill-judged Formula Woman female-only novice racing series. Following disputes with its management over the dubious selection procedure and media involvement, she distanced herself from the debacle. The publicity generated may well have raised her some much-needed funds to kick-start her own racing career. She raced in some US Formula Renault V6 races and come sixth at the Toronto street course, her first ever street race. This was not a one-off and she came tenth in the championship, despite only running for a part-season. her best overall finish was fifth, at Trois-Rivieres.

Katherine's trip to America really kick-started her career, and in 2005 she moved another rung up the US racing ladder, to the Toyota Atlantic series. She surprised many by winning her first Atlantic outing, at Long Beach. This was a female first for the Atlantic series, and US single-seater racing in general; Katherine Legge was now big news. She did not stop there either, posting two more wins, back to back, at Edmonton and San José, later in the season. After three wins and eight top-five placings, she was third in the championship.

During the 2005-2006 off-season she was much sought-after. She became the first woman since Giovanna Amati in 1992 to drive a Formula One car in anger, when she tested a Minardi at Vallelunga. Unfortunately, the world's press were present when she crashed into a tyre wall, and this did not go unreported. However, she did not let this hold her back in any way and went on to test an A1 GP car and a Rocketsports Champ Car shortly afterwards. After a further two Champ Car tests, it was announced that Katherine would drive for PKW Racing, whose owner had sponsored her during her Toyota Atlantic year.

Katherine then became the first woman to complete a season of Champ Car racing. There are also very few Brits who have managed this either. Her first race at Long Beach gave her a promising eight place, and she even made history by leading the race for a while. In her first year, she had a best finish of sixth at Milwaukee, against such opponents as Justin Wilson, Cristiano da Matta and Sébastian Bourdais. She scored two more top-ten positions at Cleveland and Denver, and was sixteenth overall at the end of the year. She admitted to struggling in qualifying, and this held her back somewhat. An unintended media highlight of her season was a spectacular crash at Road America in September, which she was lucky to walk away from with only bruised legs.

In the off-season, Katherine moved teams to the Coyne operation. Again, she started the season brightly, with a sixth place at Las Vegas, and a tenth at Long Beach. However, after that, her season started to go wrong, with a string of three retirements. She was eleventh at Mont Tremblant, but then suffered a further four DNFs. The twp European rounds at Zolder and Assen gave her an eleventh and twelfth place, but they were her last finishes of the year. She was fifteenth overall.

As well as Champ Car, Katherine drove in her first Daytona 24 Hours in 2007. She was 25th in a Riley-Pontiac MkXI, alongside George Robinson, Paul Dallenbach and Wally Dallenbach Jr.

After this disappointing season, she was on the move once more, back to Europe this time. She had been signed up by the TME Audi team for the DTM, after the demise of Champ Car and the narrowing of Stateside single-seater opportunities it caused. This was despite Katherine once stating in an interview that she was no longer interested in closed-wheel competition. Her car was a 2006-spec Audi A4. It was a difficult year, partly caused by the old car, and partly by inexperience. Her best result was a fifteenth place at the Norisring, and she did not score any points all season. Her team-mate Christjian Albers, did not fare much better.

However, someone at the Abt Sportsline team saw some promise in Katherine’s performances, and they offered her a contract for 2009. Abt is one of the Audi factory teams, and her team-mates were Martin Tomczyk, Tom Kristensen and Mattias Ekstrom. Her debut race, at Hockenheim, was a baptism of fire, and she survived a mistake in qualifying and contact with Ralf Schumacher and Susie Stoddart to finish twelfth. At Lausitz, she only managed ten laps before retiring, which was a disappointment. She recorded another twelfth at the Norisring, despite posting the fastest lap. She had stalled on the grid after qualifying eighth. At Zandvoort, she did not finish again, after more collisions with Stoddart and Schumacher. She was also fined for misdemeanours in qualifying.

The rest of the season did not get any better. In six races, she finished twice, fifteenth at Brands Hatch and sixteenth at Dijon. She ended the season with no championship points.

Although she was not retained by Abt Sportsline, Katherine negotiated a new deal with Team Rosberg for the 2010 DTM. Her car was an Audi A4. Although her finishing record improved - two non-finishes and one non-start at Valencia (due to illness) - her race results did not, and she mostly ranged between fourteenth and sixteenth all season.

At the end of 2010, she did not renew her DTM contract, for reasons never openly discussed. After becoming disillusioned with touring cars, she took a year on the sidelines in 2011, plotting a return to single-seaters. This eventually did happen, in the form of a deal with Dragon Racing for the Indy Racing League in the USA, driving a Lotus-engined Dallara. Her team-mate was ex-Formula One driver, and experienced Indy racer, Sébastien Bourdais. In 2012, she did ten races for the team, in an interrupted season. For the first four rounds, the team used a Lotus engine, which proved to be troublesome and uncompetitive. Katherine's best result was a 18th place, at Long Beach.

After Dragon abandoned the Lotus engine, they did not have sufficient funds to purchase sufficient Chevrolet equipment to run both Katherine and Sébastien. Therefore, Sebastien took part in the road courses, and Katherine in the oval races. She was 22nd at Indianapolis, after starting from 30th, then finished three of her last five races. Her best result was ninth, at Auto Club Speedway, from seventh on the grid. She was 26th overall in the championship. Sébastien Bourdais was one place above her.

Her deal with Dragon was set to carry on in 2013, but internal problems, and major issues with her own sponsor, led to her contract being terminated, despite legal action. Fairly quickly, she picked up a deal with the DeltaWing team, to race in the American Le Mans Series. She and Andy Meyrick were seventh in the LMP1 class, despite only finishing one race, Road America, where they were third. The car was very new and unreliable.

Katherine with the DeltaWing Coupe (Image from www.katherinelegge.com)

Driving for Starworks Motorsport, Katherine was also tenth in a Grand-Am event at Road Atlanta. Mid-season, Schmidt-Peterson gave her a one-race deal for the Indy 500. She was 26th, from 33rd on the grid.

In 2014, she carried on racing the DeltaWing in the United Sports Car Championship. The car was still horrendously unreliable, and it took until August, and the ninth round of the series, for Katherine to get it to the finish. She managed two finishes, at Road America and Road Atlanta, with a best finish of fourth in the Prototype class, at Road Atlanta.

Mid-season, she was announced as one of the drivers for the Formula E electric single-seater championship, driving for the Amlin Aguri team. She did not finish the first race, at Beijing, and was 16th in the second, at Putrajaya. Before the third race, she announced that she was pulling out of the event, although she claimed she would be "back soon", indicating that she has not left the championship.

For 2015, she remained on the DeltaWing team. Reliability for the experimental car was finally improving, although she still only finished four of her nine races in the United Sportscar Championship. Her best Prototype class finish was sixth, at Road America. Her best overall race finish was ninth, achieved at Mosport, with Memo Rojas.

The first three rounds of the 2016 WeatherTech Sportscar (IMSA) Championship ended in more DNFs for Katherine and her DeltaWing team-mates. Katherine, as the main driver, was tenth in the Prototype drivers' standings, with a best finish of fifth in class, achieved at Laguna Seca, Belle Isle and Circuit of the Americas. At the end of the season, she stepped down to a testing role with the team, and joined Michael Shank's sportscar team to race in the 2017 IMSA series.

During 2016, Katherine was also named as the driver for Grace Autosport, an all-female team created for the Indy 500. Unfortunately, the team was unable to acquire a suitable, competitive car, and did not attempt to qualify.

Her season with Michael Shank's team was a good one. She drove an Acura NSX GT3 with Andy Lally as her regular team-mate. The two had worked together for some time. Katherine hit form mid-season and scored two consecutive class wins at Belle Isle and Watkins Glen. A second place at Mosport followed them. Later in the season, she was second again at Laguna Seca. She and Andy Lally were sixth in the GTD class.

A second season with Michael Shank's team proved another good move. Katherine was the team's regular driver for IMSA, assisted by others including Alvaro Parente and AJ Allmendinger. She picked up two GTD class wins at Laguna Seca and Belle Isle, plus five additional podium spots, on her way to second in GTD.

She made her NASCAR debut at Mid-Ohio in August, running as high as third in the Xfinity race before retiring with engine trouble. She finished three more races and had a best finish of fourteenth at Elkhart Lake.

At the end of the season, her attention turned again to electric racing. She was announced as a driver for the Letterman-Rahal team in the Jaguar i-Pace eTrophy series for Jaguar's electric offering. She also tested a Mahindra Formula E car as part of the in-season test day at Ad Diriyah.

Katherine's season in the eTrophy yielded one win at Mexico City, a second place in Hong Kong and another third place in New York. She was the first female winner of a professional electric race and was fifth in the championship.

Back in a sportscar, she raced for two different all-female teams. Her IMSA season was broken up with a run in the LMP3 class of the Asian Le Mans Series, driving a Ligier JS P3 for Keiko Ihara's R24 team. Her co-drivers were Michelle Gatting and Margot Laffite and they were eighth at Sepang.

In IMSA, she was the lead driver for the Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3. The team was run by Jackie Heinricher, who had intended to drive herself but was injured. They raced in the GTD class and had a mixed bag of results, often resulting from issues with the car, usually towards the end of a race, rather than a lack of speed. Katherine's usual team-mates were Christina Nielsen, herself an IMSA class champion, and Bia Figuereido. They were joined by Simona de Silvestro and Alice Powell on occasion. The team's best finish was fourth in class at Watkins Glen. Katherine was ninth in the GTD drivers' standings.

In 2020, she was meant to ne part of another all-female team for IMSA. Katherine and Christina Nielsen were set be joined by Bia Figueiredo and Tatiana Calderon for the longer races, driving a Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracan. The team was to run as GEAR Racing, but lost its main sponsor and did not enter. Katherine piloted another Grasser Huracan at the Daytona 24 Hours, but did not finish.

Later, she was announced as one of the drivers for the Richard Mille all-female LMP2 team, which would race at Le Mans. However, she broke several bones during a test and had to sit the season out.

She and Christina Nielsen were reunited for the 2021 Daytona 24 Hours, driving a Porsche 911 for Earl Bamber's team. The four-driver squad had problems with the car's splitter overnight and were tenth in class.

Moving from one women's team to another, she did three WEC races for the Iron Dames, driving their Ferrari 488 with Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy, substituting for Michelle Gatting. She drove in the Spa and Bahrain races, earning two eighth and one ninth place in class. Her Iron Dames run included the Paul Ricard round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge, finishing sixth in the Pro-Am class.

Away from the Iron Dames, she continued to race for Earl Bamber's team in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. She was part of a rotating squad which included Christina Nielsen, Bia Figueiredo, Rob Ferriol and Bamber himself. Katherine and Rob Ferriol were ninth in the GTD class and Katherine's best finish was a class fifth at Sebring.

Katherine and Rob Ferriol continued to race together in the IMSA WeatherTech series in 2022, driving a Porsche 911 for Hardpoint Racing. They did most of the IMSA season together, including a class tenth in the Daytona 24 Hours and eighth in the Sebring 12 Hours. Seventh was their best finish, achieved at Long Beach, and they were 16th in the championship.

She joined Sheena Monk, Marc Miller and Mario Farnbacher in the Gradient team for 2023, driving an Acura NSX. They were fourth in class at Daytona, 22nd overall. The team, usually consisting of Katherine and Sheena, were eleventh in class for the championship, with a fifth and sixth place at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock.

It was also a year of solo guest appearances for Katherine. She returned to the Indy 500 for the first time since 2013, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Despite car problems and running out of fuel during testing, she set a new women's course record of 231.070mph. She qualified 30th, but did not finish the race itself after hitting the wall leaving the pits.

She also raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America, driving a Chevrolet for SS-Green Light Racing. Sadly, she only managed nine laps before retiring.

Her season in 2024 was split between Indycar and IMSA. Sponsored by e.l.f. cosmetics, she joined up with Dale Coyne Racing, starting at the Indy 500. She just squeaked onto the grid in 31st place, and her car lasted 22 laps before developing mechanical problems. She did slightly better in her six other races that year. The best of these was at Milwaukee, where she was fifteenth. She was 29th in the championship.

Her time with Gradient Racing in 2024 was limited by her Indycar schedule and she did the first two rounds only. She and her team-mates did not finish the Daytona 24 Hours with an electrical problem, then crashed out at Sebring.