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Engineering and technical jobs in NASCAR have traditionally been male-dominated positions, but times are changing. In addition to Alba Colon's major presence as General Motors Program Manager in NASCAR, women are now holding major technical positions in the NASCAR garage.
Andrea Mueller is a lead engineer at Team Penske and has helped lead the team to manufacturer's championships in the XFINITY Series. Ashley Parlett is a full-time mechanic at the Chip Ganassi Racing organization -- both young women setting a high standard for themselves and breaking barriers for others to follow in the sport.
Andrea Mueller
After spending the early days of her career working on engine components for NASA's space shuttles, Mueller made the move to her first love, auto racing. Mueller, who raced quarter and micro-midgets as a youngster, helped lead the esteemed Team Penske organization to back-to-back XFINITY Series titles in 2013 and 2014 and another last year. The team has collected 31 of its 54 race wins since Mueller came on board as a race engineer in 2012.
Ashley Parlett
While seeing Ashley Parlett with tools underneath a race car may cause some to pause, it's just another day at work for this Chip Ganassi Racing mechanic. And there appears to be nothing she can't handle -- from working full-time on Jamie McMurray 's Sprint Cup Chevrolet to turning the wrenches on Ganassi's famous sports cars, Parlett has been a NASCAR mechanic for 13 years. Her background in racing open-wheel sprint cars also included working on all of those race cars from the age of 13. Earlier in her career, she led the efforts of a NASCAR K&N team and hopes one day to have the opportunity to become a crew chief in one of NASCAR's three national series.