Women of Nascar: Re: Female Race Car Drivers

» Tom - Re: Female Race Car Drivers

In response to message posted by racergirl:

Hi Racegirl,

There have been quite a few female NASCAR race drivers over the years beginning with Ethel flock back in the 1950's. Of late, the most prominent have been Shawna Robinson and Debbie Renshaw. Robinson had a major Cup ride a couple of years ago in the No. 49 BAM Racing's Dodge, but didn't make it. Believe it or not, there's a lot of chauvinism out there on a race track. Anytime there was a chance to do it, Shawna got slammed into the wall. All a driver has to do is to get underneath of someone and lose control, forcing the outside car into the wall. There have been some drivers that have intentionally drove into a corner too hard and got underneath another driver's car and used them as a pick to keep going as they bounced off of the outside car putting it into the wall. Then they are usually able to keep on going as the other car slows them down enough to make it through the corner, gaining positions. Shawna Robinson was the "pick" on more than one occasion mainly because she was a female in a man's world.

The latest female tragedy was Debbie Renshaw, an up and coming race driver that was soon to reach big time star status in Cup racing. NASCAR President Mike Helton even indorsed her moving into the big time after she was put down at the Nashville Fairgrounds track. It seems that she beat a bunch of good old boys and they challenged her with a formal complaint, which cost her more than she could handle. As it turned out, the one that challenged her lost, but the damage to her was done. Mike Helton still backed her and she moved into NASCAR. While testing a Busch Series car in preparation for a race at Charlotte, she didn't slow her car down during a caution and hit a disabled car on the track, instantly killing its driver, Eric Martin. The wreck also broke her right ankle in several places, putting her out of commission for months. There was a maddening controversy surrounding the wreck, and eventually, the owner that had contracted her to race his Busch Series car pulled the plug on her. He used the excuse of her debilitating injuries for dropping her, but most folks feel that he caved under the pressure of public opinion over her killing of Eric Martin. Read about the situation and the article from a link in This Discussion .

-- posted by Tom