Women in NASCAR

Sara Christian

Sara Christian was the first woman driver in NASCAR history. Christian competed in NASCAR's first race on June 19, 1949 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Christian made seven starts in the Sprint Cup Series during the course of two years. Christian's best finish (5th) came in 1949 at Heidelberg Raceway.

Janet Guthrie

Janet Guthrie is the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Originally an aerospace engineer, Guthrie began racing in 1963 but came into the NASCAR world in 1976. Guthrie's best finish came in 1977 at Bristol Motor Speedway where she placed sixth. That remains the best finish by a woman in the modern era of NASCAR's premier series, a mark tied by Danica Patrick in 2014. In 1980, Guthrie was one of the first elected into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. Guthrie was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Ethel Flock Mobley

Tied for the second female driver in NASCAR, Ethel Flock Mobley is also the sister of Tim Flock, the man who once drove with a monkey in his car. Mobley raced in more than 100 NASCAR modified events and had two Sprint Cup Series starts. Mobley raced against her brothers at NASCAR's second event ever on July 10, 1949 at the Daytona Beach Road Course. This was the first race to feature a brother and a sister, and the only event to feature four siblings. Mobley finished 11th and beat two of her brothers.

Louise Smith

Tied for the second woman to race at NASCAR's elite level, Louise Smith entered her first race with her family's new Ford coupe and rolled it. The Daytona Beach Road Course race was the first to feature three female drivers (Ethel Mobley and Sara Christian). Smith raced from 1949 to 1956 and won 38 races in her career in various forms: late models, modifieds, midgets and sportsman. Smith became the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Patty Moise

Starting in 1986, Patty Moise competed in a total of 133 XFINITY Series races and starting in 1987, competed in five Sprint Cup Series races. Moise's best finish (7th) came in the XFINITY Series at Talladega Superspeedway in 1995. Often creating her own teams, Moise's final team was purchased in 1998 to create Michael Waltrip Racing.

Robin Dallenbach

Born Robin McCall, the former race car driver made two starts in the Sprint Cup Series in 1982 and was then the youngest driver to qualify for a race at 18 years old. Dallenbach is also a mother to three children, including aspiring racer Kate Dallenbach, who joined Richard Childress Racing's Driver Development Program in 2015.

Shawna Robinson

Shawna Robinson has competed in all three of NASCAR's national series, getting her start in the XFINITY Series in 1991. Robinson has run eight Sprint Cup races, 61 XFINITY races and three Camping World Truck Series races since the start of her career. Robinson's best finish (10th) came in the XFINITY Series at Watkins Glen in 1994.

Erin Crocker

Former NASCAR driver Erin Crocker is also the wife of Jeff Gordon's longtime crew chief Ray Evernham. In 2004, Crocker earned an opportunity to drive for Ford Motor Company's developmental program. The following season, Crocker left Ford to join Evernham Motorsports' driver developmental program. Crocker has made a total of 10 starts in what is now the NASCAR XFINITY Series and 29 starts in the Camping World Truck Series.

Chrissy Wallace

Daughter of NASCAR driver Mike Wallace and niece of Rusty and Kenny Wallace, Chrissy Wallace is a driver herself. In 2008, Wallace made her Camping World Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway, where she finished 18th. Wallace competed in six races that season. In 2009, Wallace earned a best finish of 13th at Talladega Superspeedway. Wallace has made starts in the XFINITY Series, as well, and in 2011 became the first woman to win an American Speed Association Late Model track championship at Lebanon/I-44 Speedway, the same track where her father won the championship in 1990.

Johanna Long

Johanna Long piloted the No. 97 Chevrolet part-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for Obaika Racing in 2015. The 23-year-old has made 42 starts in the XFINITY Series and 24 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. Her most recent start was in NXS in 2015 at Iowa. Long finished 27th.

Danica Patrick

Driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, Danica Patrick has been running full-time in the Sprint Cup Series since 2013, when she became the first woman to win the pole award for the Daytona 500. Since then, Patrick has earned six top-10 finishes, her best showing coming at Atlanta (6th) in 2014, tying Janet Guthrie for the best finish by a woman in the modern era of NASCAR's premier series. In her IndyCar days, Patrick won the 2005 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award as well as the IndyCar Series season Rookie of the Year Award. Patrick was recognized as IndyCar's Most Popular Driver from 2005 to 2010, as well as the Most Popular NASCAR XFINITY Series driver in 2012.

Jennifer Jo Cobb

A NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and team owner, Jennifer Jo Cobb drives the No. 10 Chevrolet for her eponymous team. Cobb has competed in 28 races in the XFINITY Series and 117 in the Truck Series with her best finish coming in 2011 in the Truck Series when she finished sixth in the season-opening race at Daytona.

Anne B. France

Better known as simply 'Annie B.,' was the wife of NASCAR founder Bill France and the inaugural winner of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. She served as the first secretary and treasurer for NASCAR as well as for International Speedway Corporation when Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959.

Betty Jane France

Betty Jane France is the Executive Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of NASCAR and became Chairperson of the NASCAR Foundation in 2004. Widow to Bill France Jr., France has been a longtime community leader in Daytona Beach, Florida. France assisted in establishing 'Speediatrics,' a children's care unit at Halifax Health in Daytona Beach. In 2011, the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award was created in France's honor, and the award recognizes outstanding charitable and volunteer efforts of NASCAR fans. France presents the award annually at the NASCAR Awards Banquet.

Lesa France Kennedy

Lesa France Kennedy is the chief executive officer of International Speedway Corporation and a member of the board of directors of NASCAR. Kennedy joined ISC in 1983 and was named to the board one year later. Kennedy was appointed ISC president after her father Bill France Jr. stepped down and then became chief executive officer in 2009. Kennedy was named as 'The Most Powerful Woman in Sports' for 2015 by Forbes.

Jill Gregory

Leading NASCAR's Marketing department, Jill Gregory earned her current role in 2015, as she was formerly known as the Senior Vice President of NASCAR's Industry Services department. Gregory currently leads Brand Marketing, Marketing and Media Research and NASCAR Creative Design. Gregory also serves on the board of directors for The NASCAR Foundation. Gregory joined NASCAR in 2007 after serving as Senior Vice President of Motorsports Marketing at Bank of America.

Ashley Parlett

Ashley Parlett is a general mechanic for Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 1 Chevrolet and has been a NASCAR mechanic for 13 years. Parlett was a former stock car driver, herself, competing in two races in the ARCA Racing Series in 2006. Parlett was also once a car chief and suspension mechanic in the K&N Pro East and Camping World Truck Series for several years.

Alba Colon

Sprint Cup Program Manager for General Motors since 2001 and a native of Spain, Alba Colon has been working within the sport of racing since 1994 as a data acquisition engineer. Colon's daily on-track responsibility is to manage the technical resources GM provides its teams. Colon advocates for the use of new parts or procedures that interest her teams and provide them with support to better compete. She is credited with contributing directly to Jimmie Johnson's six championships in a Chevrolet.

Kim Lopez

Longtime NASCAR official Kim Lopez became the first woman and Hispanic to flag the Daytona 500 during the 57th running of the 'Great American Race' in 2015. Lopez is in her 11th season with NASCAR and has flagged races for the last seven years in the NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series. Lopez flagged two Sprint Cup Series races in 2015.

Jodi Geschickter

The only active female owner of a Sprint Cup Series team, Jodi Geschickter co-owns JTG Daugherty Racing with her husband, Tad, and Brad Daugherty. Geschickter and her husband also formed the XFINITY Series team ST Motorsports in 1994 before partnering with Daugherty. Today the JTG Daughtery Racing team fields the No. 47 Chevrolet with driver AJ Allmendinger.

Lynda Petty

Late wife of NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, Lynda Petty was once known as the 'First Lady of NASCAR.' Petty helped to found the Racing Wives Auxiliary organization. Petty was honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals with the Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award for her personal commitment to seriously ill children and American troops. The Petty matriarch died in 2014 after battling cancer for four years.

Teresa Earnhardt

Widow of seven-time Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, Teresa Earnhardt founded Dale Earnhardt Inc. with her husband in 1984, earning XFINITY Series championships in 1998-99 and 2004-05, along with back-to-back Truck Series titles as an owner in 1996-97. In 2008 Earnhardt partnered with Chip Ganassi to start what was then-Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, fielding Jamie McMurray's No. 1 Chevrolet, which won the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500 all in 2010.

Stevie Waltrip

Wife of NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip, Stevie Waltrip was the first NASCAR wife to attend races and sit atop the pit box. Waltrip learned to calculate fuel mileage and would monitor the race radio listening to communications between the crew chief and Waltrip. Waltrip was known to give NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt handwritten Bible verses to keep in his car before each race, and now does the same for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Cindy Elliottt

Wife of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and mother to Sprint Cup Series driver Chase Elliott, Cindy Elliott got involved in the NASCAR world as a photographer/photo editor and met Bill. Elliott served as the marketing director of former family-owned race team Bill Elliott Racing, and currently works with the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in the family's famous hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia.

Chandra Johnson

Wife of six-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, Chandra Johnson co-founded the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in 2006 with her husband in an effort to focus on funding K-12 public education in California, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Johnson is also a mother to two daughters and the owner of Southern Comfort (SOCO) Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Samantha Busch

Wife of Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, Samantha Busch is heavily involved in the Kyle Busch Foundation, a charity organized to improve the quality of life for children, families and communities. Busch has also created a lifestyle brand for herself through her blog, www. SamanthaBusch.com. Busch is also a mother to a baby boy born in 2015.

Ingrid Vandebosch

Wife of four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, Ingrid Vandebosch got involved in the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation in 2006, after her marriage to Jeff, and has gone on to develop Promise Circle, which is a group of women who pledge money every year for three years toward fighting pediatric cancer. In 2011, the Gordon family traveled to Rwanda to help open a children's hospital. Vandebosch is also mother to Ella Sofia and Leo Benjamin.

DeLana Harvick

Wife of Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, DeLana Harvick is the co-owner of KHI Management, a celebrity marketing agency that represents a smorgasbord of talent from country music artists, to UFC fighters, to PGA golfers, to a 10-year-old motorcross phenom and even husband Kevin Harvick, himself. Harvick has grown up in the racing world and once worked for PPR Plus, the same public relations firm that managed Jeff Gordon. Harvick is also active in the Kevin Harvick Foundation and mother to 3-year-old Keelan.

Krissie Newman

Wife of Richard Childress Racing driver Ryan Newman, Krissie Newman helps run the Rescue Ranch, a 501 (C) (3) organization that rescues and finds homes for animals in need. Newman is also a mother to two daughters.

Kelley Earnhardt Miller

Daughter of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt and sister to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller is the co-owner, vice president and manager of JR Motorsports, which houses an XFINITY Series championship team. Earnhardt Miller oversees the company's race teams, management team and business ventures for her brother, Earnhardt Jr. In 2007, Earnhardt Miller was the recipient of the Top 25 in Business Achievement by Charlotte Business Journal. Earnhardt Miller is also on the board of directors for The Dale Jr. Foundation and is a mother to three children.

Sherry Pollex

Longtime girlfriend of Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Ford, Sherry Pollex has been an inspiration within the NASCAR community through her fight against ovarian cancer. Pollex plays a key role in the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation as she organizes the Catwalk for a Cause, an annual event raising money for the fight against childhood cancer.