From Deseret News archives:
Women enjoy chance to race
How rare is it to feature this many women at one race?
Besides the fact that it's never happened before at RMR, the record for most women at a USAC racing event is seven. Mark Pittman, the public relations director at the track, said in the 11 years he raced, he only competed against two or three women — total.
While the number of women in the RMR event was impressive, it seemed to be just another race for the competitors.
"Once you're in the car, everyone's just a car," said 17-year-old Caitlin Shaw from New Mexico. But she did add, "It's really nice to see a lot of girls out here."
For Shaw and fellow 17-year-old Laura Hayes, being a woman in a male-dominated sport isn't really the hard part. Driving against seasoned veterans as much as twice their age? Now that can prove a bit difficult, but also beneficial.
"No," said Shaw when asked if it's intimidating going against drivers who are older than her. "It's a great opportunity to learn from everybody else. They all help us out a lot and give us advice."
Hayes, a high school senior from Sacramento, Calif., grew up around racing. Her parents raced, and she has been involved in the sport since she was 8. This is her first year racing in USAC.
"I think it's pretty cool being the youngest here," she said, "running against 40-year-old guys who've been doing this for a really long time."
Both girls plan to attend college after graduation but still want to race.
The fact that these young girls and more and more females are racing gives a lot of satisfaction to some of the pioneers who started when it was even more unusual to see women taking to the track.
"I think there's something to be said about being a positive role model," said sprint car racer Audra Sasselli, who also teaches the fourth grade in central California.
Sasselli said she first realized the significance of what she does when she saw a few girls list her as their hero on the Internet. When Sasselli first started racing in the 1980s, you probably wouldn't have found too many young girls looking up to race car drivers. Now, there are young girls racing alongside her. Sasselli's students benefit, too.
"They're blown away," laughed Sasselli. "I think it's really inspired the girls to get on sports."
Sasselli teaches in a low-income area, in which a lot of the kids' parents aren't even legal residents. The girls she teaches didn't have the same opportunity as she did growing up to get into sports. It's rewarding for Sasselli to see her young students get excited about participating in sports.
The other women participating were Lindy Luttmer and Jamie Wysong, who raced focuses, and sprint car driver Shauna Hogg, who also happens to play women's professional football.
"I hope to be a role model for others and maybe pave the way for other women who are trying to make it," Hayes said.
Jim Wysong won the sprint car 100-lap main event with a time of 34:33.170. JoJo Helberg finished second at 34:35.605 and Rick Pardee took third with a time of 34:38.525.
E-mail: nstorey@desnews.com
