I’ve written about this before, but one thing that irritates me is when people make sexist comments — whether blatant or subtle — about female race car drivers. I see those posted on various pages now and again — I saw one recently even — and it pisses me off.
Let me let you in on a little secret: they are racers, just like the men. Sometimes we need that reminder.
Maybe I feel stronger about this issue since having a daughter a few years ago, or maybe it’s I’ve since I’ve gotten to know a few of the female racers the last couple of years, but the old-school thinking on gender in racing need to go by the wayside.
Truth is, we need more females in racing, and that’s something that is important to the future of our sport. I say the more the merrier.
By the way, here’s a list of some of the 2019 accomplishments of some of female drivers in the RaceChaser area:
—Haley Lee of Starbuck picked up her first career Wissota Midwest Modified win in August and Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon and finished with nine top five finishes on the year.
—Alyssa White of West Fargo — only a teenager — won three IMCA Hobby Stock features at Norman County Raceway in Ada and finished third in points at both NCR and Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo.
—Danielle Stevens of Elizabeth, Minn., finished fifth in the Short Tracker points at I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls and had three top five finishes. And her #45 pickup might be the most recognizable Short Tracker out there.
—Kelsi Pederson of East Grand Forks has emerged as a top NLSA Lightning Sprint driver. She won six times in 2019, had 21 top five finishes and finished second in the point standings at Greenbush Race Park by just three points.
—West Fargo driver Torey Fischer had six top finishes in the IMCA Sport Mod division this year and finished fourth in points at Buffalo River Race Park, fifth in points at Norman County and ninth in points at Red River Valley.
—Teenager and rookie driver Skyla Miller of Harwood finished fifth in the IMCA Hobby Stock points at BRRP.
—Fargo driver Kaitlin Skalicky had one win and finished second in the INEX Legend points at RRVS.
—Michelle Lund of Brandon, Minn., was a rookie in the Wissota Midwest Modified class and finished ninth in the points at Viking Speedway.
—Mckenzie Gerdes of Alexandria made the jump to the tough Wissota Modified class after years in the B mods and finished third in the points at Viking and ninth at I-94 — against what I would consider some of the strongest modified competition in Wissota country.
--North Dakota driver Leann Christensen, who was believed to be the first female driver who competed regularly in North Dakota, was third in the Bomber points at Jamestown.
Translation: these drivers are pretty good. And their gender makes no difference — because they are racers just like their male counterparts.
Couldn't agree more. Racing is one of the few sports where women and men compete side by side as equals, and that's part of what I think makes it great. Female drivers should be encouraged, not disparaged. There are a lot of good women drivers and they deserve to be celebrated, not hated.