GO!: Women ready to take the lead in 2009

The halls of motor sports history have long been filled with names like Mario, Richard, A.J. and Dale, but as we look toward a new year in 2009, it’s almost a sure bet that names like Danica and Ashley will be ready to continue leaving their mark on the track.
IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick certainly led the way for high-speed ladies in 2008.  After becoming the first female in major auto racing history to ever win a race earlier this year in Japan and gracing the pages of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition, she topped golfer Tiger Woods, as well as football stars Tom Brady and Eli Manning, as AOL’s most-searched athlete in 2008.
It was a banner season on-track for Patrick, who finished a career-high sixth in the IndyCar Series points championship with one victory and 10 top-10 finishes, including a career-best finish of fifth at Infineon Raceway.
Her victory at the Indy Japan 300 was the highlight of her season, though, marking her first IndyCar victory in 50 starts. The win ended years of frustration for Patrick. Despite a second-place finish last summer at Detroit and a stint as leader of the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, where she finished fourth – Patrick could never close the deal.
“A lot of women hadn’t really proved on a consistent basis that they could be a good driver and always run up front. I think there had been times when they had done well but not consistently,” said Patrick. “I can’t tell you that I blame them for not believing that we could do it. But I grew up with never really using guys as a reference, but using drivers as a reference, and if I wasn’t fast enough, I wasn’t fast enough.”
It may be hard for Patrick to come to terms with the enormity of what she’s done for the prominence of women in racing. At 26, she’s the first to say that maybe she isn’t equipped to put this in historical context.
“I think it’s difficult being the person in the middle of it, and, you know, also being kind of young … I feel like I still have so much more racing to do and years to go,” Patrick said. “So I think that it’s something that as time goes on … that’s when it really starts to kick in and you probably become more aware of it.”
If you’re looking for a woman who can cover a quarter-mile in under five seconds, look no further than 25-year-old Ashley Force. Force, the daughter of 14-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) champion John Force, earned her first professional win just one week after Patrick claimed her historic victory.
Ironically, Force’s win came after defeating her father in the final round of the Southern Nationals in Atlanta. Her win was also an historic one – it marked the first-ever victory for a woman in the Funny Car class.
What’s more, last year Force won the prestigious Automobile of Southern California Road to the Future Award presented annually to NHRA’s rookie of the year after she became the first woman to reach a final round in Funny Car competition. This is certainly a girl who knows something about speed. She’s reached a top speed of 329.10 mph in her Funny Car.
“It’s an exciting time, you know, with Danica winning. There are a lot of women in a lot of different motor sports and we’re getting our practice, we’re getting our experience and we’re making our way toward those wins,” said Force after her victory in Atlanta. “It’s a good week for women and it’s exciting for the fans to finally have a woman winner in Funny Car.”
So, as you tune in to racing events in 2009, be sure to keep an eye out for the ladies.  They’re making their way to the front more than ever, and they’re ready for you to get to know them on a first-name basis.