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The Past, Present, & Future of Women in Motorsports
It’s been a long time coming but it seems that women are finally making progress in the mostly male-dominated world of motorsports. Many amazing women have made their names in the industry but those who make it to the top levels have a difficult time keeping the door open behind them. Luckily, it seems like things are changing with incredible women both on and off the track making their marks. As of this writing, it is Women’s History Month and we want to celebrate these trailblazers. Today, we’re looking at just a few of the women that paved the way and even more that are currently making racing history.
The Originals
You can pinpoint the exact moment women joined the automotive world. Bertha Benz wanted to take her sons to visit her family 100 miles away. Unfortunately, it was 1888 and that was quite the hike. But Bertha Benz had access to something no one else did: The Benz Patent Motorwagen. Her husband Karl’s little invention seemed perfect for taking a trip to visit relatives. Only a few months away from being the “first commercially available automobile in history”, the Benz had more than a few issues on the drive. Bertha had to stop a couple times, refilling the carburetor with petroleum ether and making innovative repairs with whatever she had on her (a hatpin and garter included). The family arrived safely at their destination and Bertha contacted her terrified husband, whom she had not informed of the plan, about all the problems in his car that needed to be fixed. And that is how Bertha Benz became the first woman to drive a motor vehicle by herself.
As women were there from the beginning of modern automobiles, they were also there for the dawn of motorsports. In the early days, there were more than a few women who competed in the highly dangerous races of the time. In France, high society women like Camille du Gast and Hélène van Zuylen used their wealth to fund their racing habit. In the US, Joan Newton Cuneo set speed records in her Ranier. So how did this promising start go so badly? Due to the danger and “unladylike” nature of the sport, the races’ governing bodies and even some countries started putting rules in place banning women from racing. Women just had too much “feminine nervousness”, you guys! Of course these new rules coincided with events like Cuneo absolutely destroying the best male drivers of her age in races. So these women moved on to other things like hot air balloons, motor-boats, and dodging hitmen hired by their terrible daughters. Over time, motorsports mostly became the realm of men.
The Prodigy
Car racing enthusiasts have been waiting for Juju Noda. Literally. They’ve been keeping track of her progress since she was 9 years old, anticipating the day that she would enter the automotive racing world. She has been in this world her entire life, first getting into a kart at the age of 3. Juju’s father, Hideki Noda, is a former Formula 1, IndyCar, and Formula Nippon driver. She made her European debut at the age of 14, representing Noda Racing. 18 years old as of this writing, Juju has joined Team Goh as Super Formula’s first Japanese female driver (Tatiana Calderon joined the league in 2021). She is old enough to compete in F1 but some doubt has been thrown as to whether or not she will go in that direction. There was controversy in her first and only Euroformula season, where a different weight limit for the car was instituted for female drivers. That league gradually began to restore the 20 pound difference, with Team Noda withdrawing shortly after the advantage was rescinded to focus on the F2000 Italian Formula Trophy (which she won). A team spokesman noted that while the weight was a factor, the league also made “unreasonable” demands that Team Noda was physically incapable of fulfilling. It’s worth noting that Juju’s win in Euroformula came after they had restored 15 pounds to her car. So while many fans believe that F1 glory is Juju’s destiny, her father has rightly pointed out that Formula 1 is not the only game in town. While she is racing for Super Formula, Juju will also pursue a season in Boss GP and begin studying at Nihon University this year. Who knows what the future holds for Juju Noda.
The Next Superstar?
Juju is not the only up and coming female driver that the racing world has their eye on. Many in the automotive world have begun investing in creating the first female driving superstar. A woman has not competed in F1 since Giovanna Amati in 1992. F1 has taken steps to remedy this, first with the W Series and then the F1 Academy after the pandemic. The W Series helped the careers of many stellar drivers before shuttering for financial reasons. Jamie Chadwick currently drives for Indy NXT, while drivers like Abbie Pulling, Bianca Bustamante, and Marta García migrated to the F1 Academy series. In its inaugural season in 2023, Marta García took the Driver’s Championship. Having raced in both the W Series and the F1 Academy, García is a veteran at the wizened old age of 23. She did not return for the 2024 season. Both she and season standout, Léna Bühler, moved to the Formula Regional European series. While they are missed, more incredible drivers, including Doriane Pin and Lia Block, have joined the roster of stellar veterans. In the US, racing enthusiasts have taken notice of Jade Avedisian. At the tender age of 16, Avedisian has been racking up wins in the sort of leagues that have been the starting ground of some of NASCAR’s best. Racing for Toyota, Jade Avedisian has stated that NASCAR is her dream. Fans are impressed not just by her talent but also her eerie calm. She famously confronted a driver that put her into the wall with a chill fist bump. Keep an eye out for these incredible women in the future.
Behind the Scenes Dynamos
A race lives and dies on how good your pit crew is and the job is deceptively difficult. Brehanna Daniels, Breanna O’Leary and Dalanda Ouendeno went from playing, respectively, basketball, softball, & soccer to pitting at the Daytona 500. These women are blazing trails…for incredibly fit and athletic ladies. After all, you have to be fast, agile, skilled, and most importantly strong. Most Poetry majors aren’t hauling around 50 pound tires on their shoulders. Christmas Abbott, the first woman in a NASCAR pit crew and Big Brother alum, was an Olympic weightlifter. Brehanna Daniels competed in The Titan Games. Recruited through NASCAR’s Drive to Diversity program, Daniels, O’Leary, & Ouendeno have all said that they had very little knowledge of NASCAR before they joined the industry. Daniels even remarked that she “changed a race car tire before I changed my own tire.” For Dalanda Ouendeno, a Parisian immigrant, the job is a source of endless confusion for her family. In 2017, just a year after her initial recruitment, Brehanna Daniels became the first Black woman to pit a NASCAR Cup Series race. In 2019, Daniels and Breanna O’Leary, her roommate at Drive to Diversity, were the first women to pit a car at the Daytona 500. That was also the year University of Miami soccer star, Dalanda Ouendeno, was recruited to Drive for Diversity. There she met both Daniels and O’Leary, who had returned to give advice and guidance to those in the program. Just a few years later, the three women would be back at the Daytona 500 with Brehanna Daniels and Dalanda Ouendeno pitting for Rick Ward racing and Breanna O’Leary working with Chip Ganassi Racing. Daniels said that she teared up seeing Ouendeno in the pit with her. Dalanda Ouendeno’s response? “What’s wrong with you? Come on. We gotta perform.”
The Daredevils
The upper echelons of F1 & NASCAR are not the only ways to achieve glory in motorsports. Meet Sarah Lezito. The French phenom has been called “the greatest female stunt driver of all time.” Lezito discovered the joy of riding ATVs around the French countryside at the age of 13. Sarah Lezito has been winning hearts and minds (and trophies) at stunt driving competitions for more than 10 years now. Her jaw dropping stunts have stunned not only the crowds at the competition but, thanks to the rise of social media, millions of people across the internet. Lezito also stunt drives for film and tv. Alongside greats like Jenny Tinmouth, Sarah Lezito is one of the stunt women stepping in for Scarlett Johannsen as the Black Widow. She can be seen racing along the streets of South Korea in a red wig in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Also doing time as a Marvel superhero doing damage to Korean streets is Brionna Lynch. A second generation stunt driver, Lynch doubled both Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira in the Black Panther movies. Drafted last minute into playing a dirt bike rider in Creed, Bri Lynch’s career has taken off like a rocket. Brionna has worked on everything from Barbie to Hobbs & Shaw, even driving in the Formation music video. Be it in cars or motorcycles, these amazing ladies are putting their automotive talents to use in a truly enviable fashion. Put it this way, would you rather constantly lose to Max Verstappen or do donuts in a parking lot with Beyoncé?
