Women Road Racers

Women keep up with — and sometimes beat — the guys in Mazda Motorsports Development Ladder

When historians look back at 2008, they may be inclined to call it the year of the woman. With roughly half the race season gone, several noteworthy accomplishments in a handful of professional series have dominated the news, illustrating that motorsports is no longer an all-boys club.

In April, Atlantic Championship graduate Danica Patrick won at Twin Ring Motegi in the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win a major auto racing event on a closed-course circuit. The accomplishment placed Patrick among the ranks of drag racer Shirley Muldowney, who won three NHRA Top Fuel Championships as a first female winner in the top tier of American motorsports. Read more