Female Pioneers Search for Equal Ground in Auto Racing

 

On the day Danica Patrick claimed her historic victory at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan last month, Kristin Bumbera was half a world away. Bumbera was running at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, just south of Austin. She finished 11th in the Allstate Texas Thunder 150 Race, part of the Camping World West series. She was the only woman running. She’s used to that.

Decades after Shirley Muldowney knocked down the gender barrier at the top levels of drag racing, success by women in motor sports is still largely hit or miss. But those who have followed the pioneers are now giving rise to more young drivers, and that next generation will one day be Patrick’s legacy and that of today’s other female racers.
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Race Car Driver, Sarah Fisher, Shares Her Day at Work in New Book

Race Car Driver, Sarah Fisher, Shares Her Day at Work in New Book, “Water Cooler Diaries”

A new book of tell-all “day diaries”reveals what a day on the job is really like for women with glam careers to underlings with bosses from hell

Indianapolis, IN (February 28, 2008) – Sarah Fisher, IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 race car driver, is featured as a “day diarist,” in the acclaimed new book, Water Cooler Diaries: Women across America Share Their Day at Work (Da Capo Lifelong Press, pub. date: March 1, 2008). Fisher’s day diary is showcased along with 35 other entries from both regular and notable contributors, including model and actress Angie Everhart, celebrity chef Sara Moulton, blogger Heather Cocks and SnakeBabe, a.k.a. Maria Gara, billed the world’s sexiest magician.

Sarah’s day diary offers a great first-person perspective into the realities of being a world-class athlete and competitor in what is perceived as a man’s sport, says series creator and editor Joni B. Cole, who selected Fisher’s entry to feature in the book, and interviewed her as part of the project. Sarah is an inspiration, Cole adds. She’s not one to rest on her laurels. She makes opportunities happen through hard work and perseverance, as well as talent. And she’s just plain likeable, Cole offers with a laugh. You can see just from this intimate glimpse into one day in her life why her fans love her, and why women and girls see her as a role model.

Water Cooler Diaries evolved from a national pitch for 500 women across the country and from all walks of life to chronicle a single day in their lives March 27, 2007. The 35 full-length stories, offer glimpses of job highs and lows from every field and income bracket struggling in their own ways. Fisher’s day on the job was captured while completing her first test on a professional road course at Sebring International Raceway where she was testing for the then upcoming Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. In early reviews, Publisher’s Weekly calls the book, both fascinating and eye-opening. Booklist writes, Skimming through this collection is not a good idea. There are sentences that will make readers stop, laugh, tear up, nod, and otherwise savor common and out-of-the-ordinary experiences.

Being a part of this national book project was really neat for me, added Fisher, 27. I wrote in a diary as a kid and keep a notebook of my happenings for ESPN.com during the racing season. But with this project, it felt really personal and I felt comfortable sharing a bit more of what I was feeling. I was at Sebring in a road course car, something I wasn’t familiar with at all. In life, things change and evolve and we constantly have new challenges to concur and I think this book gives a nice snapshot into the many lives of working women. I’ll be interested to read about the other featured diarists and the obstacles that we might have shared.

In March, Water Cooler Diaries will share shelf space in the bookstores with the first two volumes of the series: This Day in the Life, Diaries from Women across America (2006); and This Day: Diaries from American Women (2004). In a starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote about This Day in the Life, There is not one piece in this compilation that is not captivating. People magazine concurred, The ensemble resonates with drama, humor and pathos. This is one unremarkable day you’ll wish could go on forever.

Fisher takes new path to racing again

HOMESTEAD — Lyn St. James nailed it. “I have 23 young female drivers coming to Indianapolis for driver development, from the ages of about 11 to 20, and I know they are going be asking me about Sports Illustrated or about Danica (Patrick) and they’re asking me, ‘Do I have to do this (pose for SI’s Swimsuit Issue) to get (noticed)?’ ” she said Wednesday.”I said, ‘No. What you have to find out at a very early age is who you are and be authentic.’ “St. James, as accomplished as any woman who ever raced, earning creed in open-wheel and sports cars, was in Homestead lending support to IndyCar Series driver Sarah Fisher, who launched Sarah Fisher Racing. And no gathering of racers these days, male or female, can exist for very long without the subject of Patrick’s Swimsuit Issue exposure and her overall approach to marketing herself that included edgy photos in FHM magazine in 2003 being broached.

That’s life. Any driver, male or female, who chooses to use his or her body as a marketing tool, is going to experience their motives being subjected to public cross-examination. And that Patrick, who is undoubtedly attractive but also winless in her three IndyCar seasons, is beginning to draw comparisons to Anna Kournikova, who never won a tennis singles title but graced many pages in magazines in various stages of undress.

But just because Patrick wants to market herself as a woman and a racer doesn’t mean everyone has to, St. James said.

She then drew a parallel with Janet Guthrie, a pioneering racer who competed in open-wheel, NASCAR and sports cars, and was the first woman to race in the Daytona and Indianapolis 500s, both in 1977.

“Janet and I are as different as night and day,” St. James said. “She’s smart, very analytical, and I’m very spontaneous. … We’ve got to allow that same difference to exist with all the women coming up.”

And that difference was obvious around Fisher’s announcement, even though Patrick, suffering from the flu, did not make a public appearance.

Fisher debuted in IndyCar in 1999 after a successful career in go-karts, the bare-knuckle environment of sprints and the World of Outlaws. And despite becoming the first woman in North America to start on the pole in a major-league Indy car race (Kentucky, 2002) and placing second at Homestead (2001), she never landed a ride in top-flight equipment and struggled. She made only three series starts from 2004-06 before running full time in 2007 for second-tier Dreyer&Reinbold Racing.

Patrick also came up through karts and paid her dues in the European Formula circuits before running in the Toyota Atlantic Series. That stint led to her first IndyCar Series ride, with Rahal Letterman Racing, in 2005. Patrick got her current ride with Andretti Green last season.

While Patrick’s path was smoothed by her parents being able to support her financially early in her career, there’s no doubt she belongs where she is. But then again, Fisher can also drive. It’s just that she has decided to go out on her own, figuring it was the best way for her to get herself back behind the wheel and in a position to excel.

Guthrie put it all into perspective. “Sarah didn’t have that kind of background,” she said of Patrick’s formative racing years. “But she’s got her feet on the ground, she’s got that passion and I’m really, really hopeful that this will work out well for her.”

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Sarah Fisher Plans Own Indycar Team

Feb 28, 2008

Indianapolis, IN – Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR) announced today the formation of an IndyCar Series team that will compete in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 along with select events on the 2008 IndyCar Series schedule with a full-time debut planned for 2009. Sarah Fisher will wheel the No. 67 Honda powered Dallara. Fisher made the announcement at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the IndyCar Series spring training sessions, alongside fellow female pioneers, Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James.

After reviewing a handful of options for the 2008 racing season, starting my own team was the best opportunity for the partners we had moving forward and really is the next step for me and my career, says Fisher, President of SFR. This is something we strategically prepared to take on by consulting many different people in the motorsport realm—we didn‘t wake up one day and decide we were going to start a race team. Everyone we spoke with was very positive and felt if we could get it put together, it would be an amazing feat. It‘s hasn‘t been an overnight accomplishment, but it was certainly the next step for me and Andy [O‘Gara], my husband, as a couple. For my age and what we want to do in the future, this was our next step. The 27-year-old Fisher, who was awarded the 2001, 2002 and 2003 IndyCar Series ‘Most Popular Driver’ award and the 2005 NASCAR West Regional Series ‘Most Popular Driver’ award, continues on in the newly unified IndyCar Series with 67 IndyCar Series races under her belt. During her IndyCar Series career thus far, Fisher became the youngest women to race in the Indianapolis 500, became the first woman to capture the pole position and is the fastest female qualifier for the Indianapolis 500, in the 91 year history of the event.

As a driver, you don‘t have as many responsibilities as a team owner, continued Fisher. With more responsibility comes added pressure and as Billie Jean King once said, ‘pressure is a privilege’. It‘s interesting to take on a different project and be able to have our own direction and responsibility. We have surrounded ourselves with the right people that believe in us and this vision. It‘s fulfilling to guide the people you believe in. Being the driver for the team is something that is only appropriate as that is what started all of this. I‘ve always been a woman driver but being a female owner of a business is a big step. The only difference I can really think of is that in my company, the toilet seat will be left down. Guthrie broke the gender barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in 1976, St. James followed in 1996 and Fisher took the torch in 2000.

In 2008 Fisher continues Guthrie‘s pioneering vision by taking a team ownership role in addition to her driving duties. For Janet, being the first female owner/driver at the Indy 500 only gives me more motivation and confidence, says Fisher, who lists Guthrie as one of her heroes. Back in 1976 when she owned her team, she wasn‘t even allowed to use the restroom in the paddock. To follow in her shoes is really inspiring and if she could do it back then, we should be able to do it in 2008. Some of Fisher‘s biggest fans made the trip to Miami to help break the news, Guthrie and St. James.It is the greatest good news that Sarah has been able to form her own team, said Guthrie, who first met Fisher in May of 2002 at the IMS. She is an extremely talented driver, and this new opportunity is just the break that she has needed. Having run my own team at the Indianapolis 500 in 1978, when I scored my best finish there, I know what a huge and difficult challenge it is, and I‘m sure that she will be up to it. Sarah has the talent and the ferocious desire that is necessary for success, and this is her best opportunity yet. “I met Sarah when she attended our driver development program in 1996 and it was evident that she was a future star, said St. James, who last competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 2000. She was intense, committed, and determined to win then and those qualities have only deepened with her maturity. Racing requires many elements to be successful, and having a team of people around you who are completely committed to your success is one of the most important. Even though the competition in the IndyCar Series is fierce I think with Sarah’s experience and now her own team she will have the ability to shine like never before.”

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