RELATED: Photos of women in NASCAR through the years
Some visions that once seemed outlandish are coming closer to reality: A woman crew chief, a female driver celebrating in Victory Lane.
"It wouldn't surprise me at all within the next handful of years to see a female or a person of a different ethnicity as a crew chief," Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney said during 2016 preseason events. "I think NASCAR is actually going to be a lot more diverse than we’ve seen in the past. Danica (Patrick), Bubba (Wallace), Rico Abreu. I think it’s a really good thing and will widen the recognition of our sport."
Thanks to the talent, persistence and savvy of inumerable smart, strong women, NASCAR already includes women at the top of their game -- be it in driving, in board rooms, in race shops, or in raising money for charities. They're all inspiring, and they're blending seamlessly into the fabric of the sport.
Ask any powerful or pioneering woman in NASCAR about her own success and she'll tell you she wants to be known simply as great at what she does. Respected. Not one wants to stand out just for being a woman.
As part of Women's History Month, NASCAR.com celebrates several women of substance who have broken barriers, raised bars and achieved greatness. Among them are driver Janet Guthrie and business women and industry leaders Alba Colon, DeLana Harvick, Lesa France Kennedy and Kelley Earnhardt Miller.
Each day from March 21-25, NASCAR.com will tell the story of one of these women, and provide more information on several others representing various groups, from engineers to drivers to wives of today's star drivers.
Lesa France Kennedy is not only racing royalty as part of the founding France family and mother of an up-and-coming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, Ben Kennedy. She also is a formidable business woman, the CEO of International Speedway Corp., who was named "The Most Powerful Woman in Sports" by Forbes in 2015.
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---Lesa France Kennedy: Advancing NASCAR with her own vision
---Women have been leaders in NASCAR since the beginning
DeLana Harvick is co-owner of Kevin Harvick Incorporated with her husband and team namesake, Kevin Harvick, as well as mother of social media sensation Keelan Harvick. She has worked in NASCAR her entire career.
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---Defining DeLana: Harvick is marketing exec, wife, mother and more
---Detailing accomplishments of current-day NASCAR wives
Kelley Earnhardt Miller grew up in NASCAR, daughter of "The Intimidator," sister to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a driver. She now is co-owner of JR Motorsports and commands a boardroom like her brother dominates at Talladega. And she's mother to another driver, Karsyn Elledge.
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---Kelley Earnhardt Miller leads JR Motorsports with passion
---Female perspective nothing new to race teams
Alba Colon's name is synonymous with GM Racing power. The late Dale Earnhardt earned his only Daytona 500 trophy in 1998 under her leadership at GM. Colon added 10 more Daytona 500 titles for Chevrolet while fostering Chevrolet's technical work in championships won by Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick.
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---Alba Colon: Blazing a trail in math, science and racing by following destiny
---Women help drive technical advances in NASCAR
Friday, March 25
Janet Guthrie was the first woman to compete regularly in NASCAR's premier series. She had 33 starts in her career from 1976-1980. She notched five top-10 finishes in that time, including a career-best sixth place at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1977.
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---Janet Guthrie pioneered the fast lane
---Women racers pave new roads to success in NASCAR