I grew up in racing. See page 24 of your latest SportsCar for a picture
of me after nearly two years of involvement.
The only racing women I knew of, besides some famous people like Shirley
Muldowney, Janet Guthrie, and Lyn St. James, were autocrossers. Sure, my
mom roadraced for a spell before I was born. That's the only one I knew
of who was also a real person.
So, I'm sure you can imagine that this child of racing didn't get
exposed much to women race car drivers, besides autocrossers, and even
they ran with an "L" on the car. It had never occurred to me, even with
all the racing we saw on the tube, that a becoming a race car driver
would be a worthwhile dream for me.
In my mid-teens, I went to a race at Laguna Seca with my dad. I watched
this woman named Nancy James nearly win her S2000 class (or was it
DSR?). She and this other guy were duking it out for first. I was there
in the pits, a perfect view for watching her enter that straight-a-way
there, her foot to the floor, shifting rapidly, gently pulling away from
the field. I'm sad to report her car broke, so she didn't win that day,
but it didn't matter. I had myself my first real hero.
Several years later, she actually competed at our Solo II Nationals in B
Mod Ladies driving Dan Cole's red car, some strange concoction of a
shortened Formula Atlantic or something. She was learning the car AT
Nationals, so she didn't fair as well as hoped, but still, I admired her
for even trying. And how she made me blush when she said, "Katie, you
really drove the hell out of that Lotus" (I won DML that year).
So, I named my Rx-7 "Nancy" after her.
Well, how come I had to be a child of racing, and the daughter of the
editor of "the Wheel" to be exposed to this. How many other women have
this?
Look around. I have no statistic, but I'd bet that most (and I could be
wrong) women who race are children, girlfriends, spouses of race car
drivers. That's the way most women get exposed, unlike men, who for some
reason feel RELATED to Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi,
blah blah blah. Just turn on the tv, and wow, look at all those brothers
you have.
It's not like you can turn on the tube and see a field of women race car
drivers. And it may be more common now, but I assure you those women
have paid their dues big time. If not, why else would Lyn St. James feel
compelled to start this series? It took St. James YEARS before she could
land a decent sponsorship deal to drive an Indy car made within the last
year. As GH Sharp pointed out, once she did get the sponsorship, she won
Rookie of the Year honors and finished in the Top 10. After how many
years of racing?
If women were treated equally, we wouldn't need the Women's Global GT
Series. Get it?
I am tired of some of you men acting like victims here. No one's telling
you you can't go out and be a race car driver. But I can tell you that
there have been people in MY life who told me I can't. I remember this
one close, dear friend of the family telling me, "Katie, you'll NEVER be
as good as you father, honey." She really pitied me for even trying. She
said that there was some sort of percentile, and if women could fit
within that range, then they were doing well.
Even Shirley Muldowney said, long ago, that women couldn't be successful
in racing, besides drag racing, because they lack the upper body
strength. My father told me she said that, and I think he was trying to
help me, in his fatherly way, so I wouldn't be discouraged later down
the line.
When people whom you look up to tell you this, and you've never heard
otherwise, you believe it. You don't try so hard.
Now I know they're full of it. I finally learned this in my late
twenties. Some women never learn it at all. One thing that helps,
though, is seeing women succeed. When Shauna Marinus walked across that
podium, I felt like I was right there with her, and I think most of us
felt the same way. I wonder how many women are going to run Open this
year?
So, here we have this six race series. Six whole races at $6000 a pop.
Maybe it's $10,000. I don't have that kind of money laying around, do
you? I don't even care! There's going to be six whole races with the
world's fastest (or richest:)) women drivers competing in some really
well set-up cars. I can't wait to see what happens!
Little girls might see this, and they'll be better equipped to dismiss
all the BS. Or better yet, grown women might see this and say to
themselves, "What the heck was I thinking?"
This is a series to help jumpstart women's racing careers. It's a
stepping stone, like Skip Barber, Jim Russell, Bondurant, whatever. It's
just the beginning. Considering the fact that women STILL are a minority
in racing, I really don't see what some of you men are complaining
about.
Maybe if you were more confident in your own driving, you'd lose this
chip on your shoulder. Or better yet, maybe if you were more confident
in yourselves as HUMANS, you wouldn't be so bitter. You know, nobody
gives you your independence. You have to just grab it. Many of us are
thankful for Lyn St. James for giving us a better reach.
Please don't argue with me about this. I'm ignoring everything from now
on.
Katie
Katie Kelly
Technical Publications
SPSS Bay Area
(510)412-2812
mailto:katiek@spss.com
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Guilt slows your metabolism.
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