With 2007 drawing to a close, AskPatty.com looks back at the season that was, to identify the best moments for women in motorsports.
Among the best moments this year, was the story of NHRA racer Peggy Lwellyan. After a six year hiatus from the NHRA, Peggy came back this season and qualified for every race, won her first NHRA Wally, and was the only female to make the final four in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship. Sadly, she is without a racing team next season to continue her leaps in the sport.
“The 2007 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle season was an incredible year for me and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the great fans of NHRA for their support,” Llellyan says. “From the sidelines to the staging lanes to the finish line you have been loyal in supporting me. Your phone calls, emails and comments have been a tremendous source of encouragement to me. I wish I could thank each and everyone of you. I am humbled that so many of you have taken the time to express your support and have offered your best wishes as I advance my career forward.
“Stayed tuned, because my fans will be one of the first to know about my plans.”
In September of 2007, Ashley Force was voted the winner of the first annual "Hottest Athlete" poll on AOL Sports. Ashley beat out quarterback hunk Tom Brady, and fellow female driver Danica Patrick for the honor. To cap off her year, Force became engaged to longtime boyfriend, Danny Hood.
Force continued her tradition of remaking holiday classics for the Force Racing Christmas party this year, among her productions was "The Bi-Polar Express," a takeoff on Dickens'; "A Christmas Carol" in which her father was cast as Ebenezer Scrooge.
Danica Patrick celebrated one of her best seasons in the IRL. For the 2007 season as a whole, Patrick scored her first three career podium finishes to finish with 4 top 5's and 11 top 10's while leading 17 laps on the season. She also scored her career best championship points finish of 7th with 424 points.
Deborah Renshaw shedded her pit suit to help inspire tweens in 2007. Decked out in her racing gear Wednesday, Deborah Renshaw encouraged Bowling Green Christian Academy students to be anything they want to be.
“You want to be a nurse, you can be a nurse. You want to be a firefighter, you can be a firefighter,” she said. “The reason I’m here is to let you know you can be anything you want to be.”
Renshaw’s racing career has taken her across the country, and she’s appeared on TV shows like “Live! with Regis and Kelly” and CNN Live.
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.
K&N Racing signed a sponsorship deal to assure that Sarah Whitmore and Tarah Geiger would have money and places to race in 2008. Geiger and Whitmore made headlines during the 2004 season, competing in the Women's Motocross Association (WMA). Geiger won the 2004 Loretta Lynn National Championship, taking the title from Whitmore who was 1999, 2000 and 2003 Champion.
Racing is an important part of K&N's product development program. Consumers benefit from the ability to purchase filters that use the same proven technology trusted by race teams.
"Not only are these two young ladies very talented racers, they each have a proven track record and are both great ambassadors for our sport," commented K&N's Powersports Brand Manager, John Jump. "K&N is very excited to have our New MX Stream High Flow air filters and race proven K&N Performance Gold Oil Filters in their bikes and we are definitely looking forward to building a successful partnership with the BluestarrMX.com Team."
Kudos to the NHRA for being the only professional motorsports organization to make real inroads for women. Over 192 women have competed in NHRA sanctioned events over the last two years. There active diversity program is one of the few that work in the motorsports community. For 2008, only one women has a full time ride in the IRL, and no women will compete in NASCAR’s platinum series, the Sprint Cup for 2008, or in its sister program, the Busch Series.
by Linda Przygodski
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com
ask, askpatty, askpatty.com, car advice for women, automotive advice for women, Female Friendly Dealer, new car buying, used car buying, expert advice, auto, car selling, car buying, car repair, advice for woman, car, car safety, auto advice, car advice, car tips, car selling buying repair and automotive advice for women, carblabber, NASCAR, blog, blogger, blogHer, female race car driver, vehicles, woman, women, marketing to women, carsmagazine, SEMA, car care, car care council, waai.com, women's automotive, Deborah Renshaw, Lauren fix, car coach, car loan, car loans, auto loan, auto loans, get financing, auto finance, auto financing, financing, car financing, financed, financial, car buyer, women car buyers, female friendly dealer, female friendly dealers, female friendly, woman friendly, woman buy cars, woman car buyer, family car, online loan, online loans, finance online, credit application, credit app, credit rating, credit score, new car, used car, myautoloan, jody devere, peter martin, greg thibodeau, ceo, president, pre-approval, loan pre-approval, apply for credit, apply, application, finance, car dealer, auto dealer, car dealerships, auto dealers, online, secure loan, loan process, loan processing, new car loans, used car loans, lease, car lease, refinance, refinancing, private party loan, lease buy-out, expert women, car advice, car tips, car salesman, deborah renshaw, NASCAR, automotive industry, motorsports, female race car driver, loyalty, car care, women's automotive association, car reviews, dream car, car buyer, buy car, buy cars, Don Reid Ford, Germain Honda, Habberstad Kia, Infiniti of Tampa, Kendall Toyota, McCafferty Ford, Mercedes Benz Annapolis, Mike Dorian Ford, Palm Beach Motor Cars, Renshaw Automotive, Saab of Baltimore, Scranton Motors, Security Dodge, Smith South Plains, Star Toyota, Universal Hyundai, Universal Nissan, Penske Toyota, Roger Penske, Crown Cars, Courtesy Chevrolet, Boardwalk Auto, Crown Acura, Crown Audi, Crown Jaguar, Crown Euro Cars, Crown Honda, Crown Nissan, Crown Pontiac, Crown Kia, Capital Volvo, Crown Euro Dublin, Crown Chrysler Jeep Kia, Crown Ford, Quality Ford, Schaefer & Strohminger, Cherry Hill Imports, Stamford Volvo, Volkswagen of Ft Meyers, Ferman Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Plant City, Buff Whelan Chevrolet, Coggin, Acura, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Chevrolet, Ford, General Motors, GM, Land Rover, Saab, Jaguar, Volvo, Mazda, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Mercury, Lincoln, Mitsubishi, Smart, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lotus, Porsche, Audi, VOW, Volkswagen, woman friendly, marketing to women, car tips, car dealer, car dealership, repair rip off, Florida car dealer, New York car dealer, Texas car dealer, California car dealer, Michigan car dealer, California car dealer, Pennsylvania car dealer, Connecticut car dealer, Baltimore car dealer, New Jersey car Dealer, Michigan Car Dealer, Pennsylvania Car Dealer, Ohio Car Dealer, Arizona Car Dealer, South Carolina Car Dealer, Kentucky Car Dealer, Chicago Car Dealer, Oregon Car Dealer, Washington Car Dealer, Indiana Car Dealer, Minnesota Car Dealer, Georgia Car Dealer, Atlanta Car Dealer, Maryland car dealer, New Jersey car dealer, Dallas Car Dealer, Texas car dealer, Atlanta car dealer, Detroit car dealer, Kia, HUMMER, Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Jeep, Acura, BMW, Suzuki, Land Rover, Chevrolet, Dodge, Saab, Hyundai, Lexus, Chrysler, Nissan, Mercury, Porsche, Cadillac, Pontiac, Saturn, GMC, Lincoln, Volvo, Subaru, Jaguar, Scion, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Buick, Ford, Infiniti, MINI, Mitsubishi, Audi, female friendly dealer, autotrader.com, MyCarPage, ACE, technician , mechanic, Maddox Smye, Arkona, AOL Autos, Second Life, Motorati, Avatar, SIM, UnitedSpinal.org, UnitedSpinal.org Motorsports, SCI, Spinal cord injury, Auto Geek, DivineCaroline.com, Divine Caroline, Northwood University, dealership training, dealer training, Yummy Mummy Club, Mommytalk.com, Classymommy.com, Parentdish.com, Girl Scouts, Menopause musical, Me Magazine, Kid Safe, CarMD, coolmompicks.com, Dallas Child, CompleteAuto.com, Fabulously40.com, Hot Moms Club, SheKnows.com, chickadvisor.com, inchicks.com, blogher.org, Jory des Jardins, Lisa Stone, Elisa Camahort, Jody DeVere, UAG, Sonic Automotive, Asbury Auto Group, Ralph Paglia, Tony Molla, Troy Clarke, David Kain, Kain Automotive, Internet sales, internet manager, Rebecca Maddox, Deborah Renshaw, female NASCAR driver, Auto Trader, AutoExtra.com, Coggin, Web 2.0, New York Times, iVillage, iVillage.com, yummymummy.com, marketing to women, selling to women, female friendly, female-friendly, 50 expert women, expert women, automotive women, social network, Lyn St James, lsj.com, Annette Sykora, NADA, Car Care Council, carcare.org, find your dream car, dream car, car review, NHTSA.org, female friendly certified, compare cars, side by side comparison, car reviews, Motor Trend Radio, TypePad, Six Apart, podcast, Video News, Machinima, Patty Streeter, Pontiac Motorati Island, Motoratilife.com, LaCarguy.com, be car care aware, Operation Kid Safe, Financialfashionhouse.com, Skills USA, Skillsusa.org, ASE Certified, Automotive engineer, careers for women, automotive careers for women, women in automotive, women on wheels, driving woman, driving women, Family Car, Secondlife.com, Metaverse Messenger, M2, Forbes, AOL, Yahoo, Google, MSN, Netscape, Digg, reddit, Mashable, Mashup, FAQ, FAQ's, Hybrid, Gas prices, fuel economy, E85, alternative fuel, aftermarket, aftermarket accessories, pink car accessories, blogging women, PRIMEDIA, Daytona & Friends, ADP, OnWheelsInc.com, Motorsports, Craftsman Truck Series, Busch Series, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, Stock car racing, Motorplex, Nashville, truckseries.com, that's racing, start your engines, check engine light, internet car sales, internet car buyer, aunt, sister, mom, mother, girl, lady, female, feminism, wife, female university student, university students, divorced women, divorcee, new driver, teen driver, experienced driver, car driver, motoring, Kate Thorp, car-buy-her, shedrives, young woman, old woman, retired women, boomer women, over 50 women, car buying women, car driving women, women car drivers, women drive cars, women drivers, NHRA, Peggy Llwellyan, Danica Patrick, Ashley Force, Deborah Renshaw, Tarah Geiger, Sarah Whitmore, NASCAR
Facebook
Flickr
LinkedIn
MySpace
RSS Feed
Twitter
Youtube
Among the best moments this year, was the story of NHRA racer Peggy Lwellyan. After a six year hiatus from the NHRA, Peggy came back this season and qualified for every race, won her first NHRA Wally, and was the only female to make the final four in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship. Sadly, she is without a racing team next season to continue her leaps in the sport. 
In September of 2007, Ashley Force was voted the winner of the first annual "Hottest Athlete" poll on AOL Sports. Ashley beat out quarterback hunk Tom Brady, and fellow female driver Danica Patrick for the honor. To cap off her year, Force became engaged to longtime boyfriend, Danny Hood.
Danica Patrick celebrated one of her best seasons in the IRL. For the 2007 season as a whole, Patrick scored her first three career podium finishes to finish with 4 top 5's and 11 top 10's while leading 17 laps on the season. She also scored her career best championship points finish of 7th with 424 points.
K&N Racing signed a sponsorship deal to assure that Sarah Whitmore and Tarah Geiger would have money and places to race in 2008. Geiger and Whitmore made headlines during the 2004 season, competing in the Women's Motocross Association (WMA). Geiger won the 2004 Loretta Lynn National Championship, taking the title from Whitmore who was 1999, 2000 and 2003 Champion. 
Kudos to the NHRA for being the only professional motorsports organization to make real inroads for women. Over 192 women have competed in NHRA sanctioned events over the last two years. There active diversity program is one of the few that work in the motorsports community. For 2008, only one women has a full time ride in the IRL, and no women will compete in NASCAR’s platinum series, the Sprint Cup for 2008, or in its sister program, the Busch Series. 
by Linda Przygodski
Comments