 Ready to Race Race car drivers are a dime a dozen, that is unless your female. It seems that the world of racing has both a fascination with women drivers and lack of faith that any of them can actually win a race. Gals like Danica Patrick, in spite of their popularity, have done little change the latter. The problem is not that women are not interested in driving, but that most lack the necessary racing background to be successful at the top level of the sport.
Of course there are exceptions, but by in large most successful race car drivers started when they were young. I'd wager that this is the case for most professional sports, but it's especially true of driving. The reason is because driving a car is very much like swinging a golf club or a tennis racket, it's a set of motions and movements that once ingrained in your mind become very hard to change. For this reason you'll often seen drivers who switch racing series or are of particular background have different styles of driving a car. As with a good golf swing, form is always important and the earlier you learn to swing the club correctly, the more you'll benefit from it later.
For whatever reason, women aren't as active in motor sports at the junior level thus most never acquire the strong foundation that's required for future success. As such the number and quality of female drivers in the top series is lacking. This seriously hinders their ability, as a group, to win. However, Ford has set out to change that by starting what they call the "Ford Female Driver Development Program". The idea is to start 17-18 year olds off with the right foundation for future success. Ultimately the goal is to one day have a woman win a NASCAR race.
So why is this so important to FORD? For starters nearly half of NASCAR fans are women, and the success of a female driver will set an example for millions of fans. Second it helps set stodgy old FORD in a new more progressive role, helped by NASCAR who is already moving in that direction through various diversity programs. And last, the obvious historical significance of the first win. Some have equated the racing gender barrier to the baseball color barrier, saying that the first woman to win a race will be the sport's Jackie Robinson.
Though it's great to see FORD working to develop young drivers, I can't help but feel that it will be a long uphill battle. Though NASCAR fan gender is split nearly 50-50, this is not true for the rest of the racing world so finding women interested in becoming drivers could be a problem. Likewise, NASCAR is more about sponsors, and driver personalities than raw talent. It's also about backroom deals and having a healthy respect (or fear) for your competitor. Throwing a young driver into the mix, no matter how good he or she is, is like throwing a pork chop to a pack of dogs. The established drivers will do whatever it takes to try and muscle out a new competitor, be they male or female.
Personally, I think the NASCAR juggernaut is going to chew up and spit out a lot of drivers before a woman makes that first monumental win. I also think that NASCAR will be one of the last major racing series that sees a woman win, not because of some backwaters good ole boy system, but because it's a much more competitive game. Though it hasn't garnered as much press, several women have already won in other racing series. So while a NASCAR winner may not be Jackie Robinson, chances are it will have an impact. We will have to wait and see a few pioneering women can truely bridge the gender gap in racing.
Female Race Winners:
|
