Does NASCAR have female drivers?
There have been more than 120 female NASCAR drivers throughout the history of the sport.
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NASCAR 2023 Richmond Cup race (Credits: NASCAR.Com)
Most categories of motorsports are generally male-dominated. The same fact applies to NASCAR. A look at the grid line-up will show that nearly all names belong to men. But what about women? There have been more than 124 female NASCAR drivers who raced all across the popular tiers of the series.
NASCAR is known as a male-dominated sport. However, there are plenty of women who race in the series. It has more women representation than Formula 1 or similar Premier racing championships. No female drivers are participating in the highest level of NASCAR, the Cup Series, currently. But, they participate in the Xfinity, Truck, and ARCA Menards series.
It is not easy for women to compete in NASCAR. Compared to men, the exposure and sponsorships women get are much less. It is great that men and women compete in sports, but there is inequality. It circles back to funding. Natalie Decker, an Xfinity Series driver, stated it was difficult to gain respect and be trusted in the sport. It is difficult for women when they are new and also because of their gender. They have little funding and not a lot of seat time. Despite all the hindrances, women have gone on to make their mark in NASCAR.
The last female driver to race in the NASCAR Cup Series was Danica Patrick the IndyCar race winner and the Cup race pole winner is a trailblazer of the sport. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished Female drivers of all time. Since Patrick’s retirement, the most prominent Woman driver from all three national series is Haile Deggan, who drives in the NASCAR Truck Series with ThorSports.
Here is a list Top 5 Female NASCAR racers of all time.
While it’s hard to overlook all the hard work and fight against discrimination while choosing a top 5 from the 124 drivers in sports history, some accomplishments of female drivers are legendary. Many on this list underachieved because they never got the car they deserved and were competitive. Few who were able to get in such rides, at least for a limited amount of time, made NASCAR history.
1. Sara Christian
Sara Williams Christian was the first woman driver in the history of NASCAR. She took part in the Cup Series and ran seven races over two years. Her best finish in 1949 was 13th. Christian’s first NASCAR Cup Series race was at Charlotte Speedway.
And her last race was in 1950 at the Hamburg Speedway. She has two top-ten finishes. Sara Christian won the 1949 Unites States Drivers Association Woman Driver of the Year award. In 2004, she was inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame.
2. Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of American motorsports. Patrick’s first NASCAR Cup Series race was the 2012 Daytona 500. She ran 191 races over 7 years and has 7 top ten finishes and 1 pole. Her best finish was 24th in 2014 and 2015.
Patrick’s last Cup Series race was the 2018 Daytona 500. She is well accomplished in the Xfinity Series as well. Patrick has 7 top tens and one pole. She ran 61 races over five years in this series. She was the most successful in the Indycar Series. Patrick has 1 win, 7 podium finishes, and 3 poles and ran 116 races over 8 years.
3. Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify and participate in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 in 1977. She also holds the record as the first woman to lead a lap in the NASCAR Winston-Cup Series. Guthrie ran 33 Cup Series races over 3 years.
She has five top-ten finishes. In 1980, she received the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame award. Guthrie was awarded the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Automotive Hall of Fame in 2006 and 2019, respectively.
4. Shawna Robinson
Shawna Robinson competed in all three of the NASCAR’s touring series. She is one of the 16 women to compete in the Cup Series and one of the three women to race in the Daytona 500.
Robinson ran 8 races over 2 years in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the Xfinity Series, she ran 61 races over 7 years and got a pole and a top ten finish. As for the Camping World Truck Series, she ran 3 races over 1 year.
5. Tammy Jo Kirk
Tammy Jo Kirk was the first woman to race in the Craftsman Truck Series. The 60-year-old had run 15 races over 1 year. In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, she ran 32 races over two years. Her best finish was 20th place in 1997. Kirk became the second woman to win a NASCAR touring series event in 1994, the Snowball Derby. The first woman to win was Shawna Robinson. Kirk has not driven in NASCAR since 2003.
As it stands, women have participated in NASCAR. This is a good look for the sport. It has more diversity compared to Formula 1. Funding and sponsorships are the most important thing to get into NASCAR and keep a seat. Women like Danica Patrick paved the way for the other female drivers to dream of racing in the Cup Series. It makes it easy when someone has already achieved something. It makes it possible. This is promising for the other female talents who want to get into the sport.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)