Women in Motorsports Blog Carnival - Aug. 20

Shirley Muldowney is returning to the race track.

Well, sort of.  On September 6, Bristol Dragway will prepare for the invasion of "Big Daddy," "Cha Cha," "Trouble Maker," "Hit Man" and the "Auburn Weed Killer Special." No, they don't have mafia connections, but they did reign supreme during the age of The Godfather.

The Blast from the Past presented by RAM Motor Company will provide fans a rare opportunity to get up close to drag racing the way it was more than 30 years ago. Classic drag racing machines will be on hand to make exhibition runs and thrill the crowd with their daring passes down the equally-historic Bristol Dragway.

Race fans even may cross paths with Mr. Drag Racing himself, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, who will bring one of his famous "Swamp Rats" for everyone to see.

Not to be outdone by Bid Daddy, Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney also will return to Thunder Valley to relive the glory days of drag racing.

Tiffany Daniels leaves the asphalt this weekend. She has entered the Best In The Desert Series “Vegas to Reno” Off-Road event August 21st – 23rd with Glacier Bear Racing.

The event, billed as the “longest off-road race in the United States,” enters its 12th year in existence and features Cars, Trucks, UTVs, Quads and Motorcycles racing a 457.5 mile course, featuring some of the toughest and most varied terrain in the world.  Over 300 entries are expected, including Tiffany, who will drive Jerry Moskel’s Ford F-250 in her first off-road race.

“The team owner is located in Mooresville (North Carolina).  He contacted me in December about the race,” said Tiffany.  “I didn’t know anything about off-road racing, but he asked me if I would like to drive and, of course, I said yes.  I couldn’t believe this opportunity had just popped up out of the blue. We just went from there to talk about everything from the race event to the truck and what is involved in running in this type of race.”

Rush Racing's Angelle Sampey made it to the final round of an NHRA Pro Motorcycle race for the second consecutive week and is peaking just in time for the upcoming U.S Nationals.

"The team did fantastic," said Angelle. "Everybody worked together so well, everybody did their jobs, everything just worked. I really think that us learning each other and me learning the bike and what it takes to be a championship contending team has come together for us."






Dalton Halden, from Columbia Falls, is one of six female drivers who race at Raceway Park’s high bank super oval track. Driving in the Bandolero division, the 11-year-old speedster is third in the point standings after falling out of the top spot a couple of weeks ago. Her immediate goal is to climb back into first place. Her eventual goal is a bit larger.

“I’m going to be in NASCAR,” Halden said.

Katie Pilsch is a bubbly teenager, but she’s all business when she’s in her racecar. Driving 60 mph only inches away from other cars going the same speed requires such focus. Halden displays a similar level of concentration seemingly beyond her age when she hits a sharp turn at 50 mph, fishtails slightly and maintains control of her car.

“Beating guys is fun,” Pilsch, who goes to Glacier High School, said. “My first year I was shaking until I got on the track. Then I was just thinking about the car in front of me and the car behind me.”

Need a midget?

Please see this note from Brea Lopez: I have my whole Midget racing operation for sale. I would like to move up to late models next season. We are most likely going to finish out the season with a race in Ephrata, Shasta, and South Sound in the next couple of months. I will keep you updated!

I've had a fantastic career in midgets and I've gained an extreme amount of expirence, but my team and I feel it is time to move forward. The late model will give us a chance to do so. With the cost increase and the deflating economy, this will be a better decision for us financially. Also, this will put me on track toward the direction of racing I want to go. It has also always been a dream of mine as far back as I can remember to follow in my grandfathers footsteps, so this is a very exciting time for me.

Contact Brea at: brea_lopez@yahoo.com

by Linda Przygodski
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com

by Linda Przygodski
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com