Women in Motorsports Blog Carnival November 1, 2007

Today, seven women race regularly in the NHRA's top classes. But Peggy Llewellyn’s success in the sport is viewed as another barrier broken because she is the first African-American woman to win.

"It just brings to the forefront what you're able to accomplish," she said. "Man, woman, black or white — if you have goals and dreams and you are blessed with an opportunity, use it in a positive way, and you can be an inspiration for others."

Indianapolis Motor Speedway track manager Dan Edwards through Los Angeles Artist Ingrid Calame was nuts when she asked him to trace skid marks at the track.
“The request was pretty unusual,” said Edwards.

Then he researched Ms. Calame’s boldly colored compositions, derived from stains and graffiti that she traces from city streets and sidewalks. And he realized that the racetrack “was like a canvas,” he said in a phone interview. “There were stories that went with every tire mark, every gouge.”


Al Hanna, President of Hanna Motorsports Jets, announces an opportunity for young woman with a goal of a career in professional drag racing to become the next driver of the famous BIC Lighter “Queen of Diamonds” 300 MPH Jet Dragster.

“Yes, the time is here. It’s time to crown a new queen”, stated Al Hanna. “This is an exciting opportunity for the right young lady.”

Over the next month, Hanna Motorsports will be in contact with major track owners and promoters, as well as series producers, to ask for recommendations to fill this seat. To request an application, interested parties can contact Hanna Motorsports at 860-745-1870, via fax at 860-253-9830, or via e-mail alracer@aol.com.


Racer Erin Crocker will participate in the Baja 1000 November 11 through 16th. The 1,296.39-mile adventure down Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. This year’s historic 40th anniversary odyssey of the world’s longest non-stop and most famous desert race will be a grueling and memorable 1,296-39 mile adventure down Mexico’s mysterious Baja California peninsula starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Sur.

The season-finale of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series will feature nearly 450 entries from 41 U.S. States and 15 countries. From weekend warriors to Hollywood actors and producers, the famous and not-so-famous will compete in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. Among the entries are 22 class winners from last year’s race .



Daughter of NASCAR driver Ed Berrier, Jennifer is one of six students in a motorports management degree program at Winston-Salem State University.

"I never realized everything else that goes on in racing," she said. "It's a really big business. Basically, I'm studying the stuff you don't see when you're at the race. And believe me, there's a lot going on."

Ashley Force drove her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang into the record books by becoming the first female Funny Car driver to reach a final round, all but cementing her status as the 2007 winner of the Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award that identifies the NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year. Force reached the milestone in just the 20th start of her career.

“I know a lot of people talk about me being a gal and reaching these milestones but I would not have made it to the final round without the eight guys on my crew and the hard work of (co-crew chiefs) Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglas. We want to win races for our sponsors and our teams. Today was tough because Robert (Hight, brother-in-law and Countdown to One contender), got knocked out early but we all pulled together behind our Castrol GTX Ford Mustang,” said Force.

Alison Quick was working the garages at Iowa Speedway, hoping for a "chance encounter" with someone like Richard Childress. If there were such a thing as looking like a typical racer, Alison wouldn't fit the mold.

She's barely over 5 feet tall and tips the scales at just 100 pounds. Inside the car-before she puts on her helmet-she looks like someone's kid sister trying to keep out of the way of the crew. Belt her in and have her hit the ignition switch, and she becomes a Midwest dirt track star making the move to pavement in the ASA's Late Model Series.

AskPatty.com is a 2007 proud sponsor of the NASCAR No. 112 AskPatty.com Chevrolet driven by the highest ranked professional female race car driver Deborah Renshaw. Check out Deborah’s website at www.deborahrenshaw.com.

by Linda Przygodski
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com