Yesterday we lauded Shirley Muldowney for being a fast woman with class. But she’s not the only racer rocking the XY chromosome, and the ladies don’t exclusively drive in a straight line, a quarter mile at a time.
We all know Danica Patrick from not only her driving but also for bikini pictorials and track-side brawls. Ashley, daughter of funny car driver John, is a Force to be reckoned with, and America is not alone in putting women behind the wheel of horsepower-soaked chariots as Germany’s Sabine Schmitz proves. Janet Guthrie finished as high as 9th at Indy back in the ’70s, and was the first woman to qualify for both the Indy and Daytona 500s.
So, looking back, and looking out, who has been, or is, the best woman race car driver ever?
Image source: [ingamenow, race500.com]
Hooniverse Asks- Who's the Best Woman Racer Ever?
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This would be my vote as well.
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Mouton has already been posted so I will nominate Pat Moss. She won rallies and proved that driving talent in her family was not restricted to her brother Sir Sterling Moss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Moss -
Mouton has already been posted so I will nominate Pat Moss. She won rallies and proved that driving talent in her family was not restricted to her brother Sir Sterling Moss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Moss -
If I'm not mistaken, Janet Guthrie was also the first woman to race in the Bathurst 1000.
The best woman racers have been rally car drivers…..and the best female rally driver is Michele Mouton. -
Surely you mean the XX chromosome?
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My order for women racers is as follows:
Michèle Mouton
Sabine Schmitz
Janet Guthrie
Sara Christian
Pat Moss
Rosemary Smith
[A small creek]
Milka Duno
Lyn St. James
Ashley Force
[An uncrossable abyss]
Danica Patrick
Shawna Robinson
Sarah Fisher-
Milka Duno belongs across the abyss. She's positively awful- at least one former team owner and teammate are on record as stating such. It's amazing what easy access to Hugo Chavez's wallet will buy, though.
Danica, for all of her many faults, used to have some serious skills. Her time in Europe was well-spent, and she road-raced very well against some formidable talent. Sometime around her transition from Atlantic to IRL, though, she started concentrating on The Danica Brand instead.
Simona de Silvestro might be one to watch out for in the future, if only she doesn't end up in the toilet-circling IRL. -
I don't know about Ashley Force, She did finish 2nd this year.
Milka, in Daytona Prototypes wasn't bad, but I'm not sure she knows which pedal of her IRL car is the "GO" one.
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Other drivers worthy of a mention:
Rosemary Smith…a charter member of the Hooniversal Dream Girl Society.
Pat Moss…for all the reasons the have been cited already.
Marie Claude Beaumont, also a rally ace and (I think) the first woman to compete at LeMans.
Ada Pace…who raced in the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, the Tour de Automobile and many Italian hillclimbs. She also raced Vespa's. -
Oh man, I have to say my mom. Before I was born, my dad let her drag their AMX in Oklahoma.
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Seriously, why hasn't anyone shown muthalovin some lovin for lovin his mutha?
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My Mom, too. She used to rally in a TR3.
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YES! Her columns are about the only good thing left in AutoBi-Weekly.
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+1 for that list but add motorcycle drag racer Angelle Sampey to the top category since her win record is even better than Shirley Muldowney's.
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Beat me to it.
Ah well here's a pic.
<img src="http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/C4B/ULSTER006-1.jpg" border="0" alt="michele mouton audi Pictures, Images and Photos"/> -
Good call!
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click the link I posted above.
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Jeff, I'm sorry. Good call!
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I gave Duno some points for her success at 24 Hours of Daytona and for racing at Le Mans. She is on the bubble, though, and could go either way. She hasn't panned out in open wheel, as you point out, and is probably only kept around since she has a guaranteed sponsor (Citgo).
Danica would have been across the creek a few years ago, but she has sold herself out so much that she can't be taken seriously. The final nail in that coffin is the announcement the other day that she'll be racing in NASCAR. She's jumped the shark. Big time.
I'll have to keep an eye open for Simona, for sure!
I'll have to k-
Milka's successes in sports cars have been largely due to the high-caliber co-drivers Hugo's money pays for. *I* could probably win a race or two with Andy Wallace as a co-driver.
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She got second going in a straight line. You don't get very many engineerd Cool Points (eCP™) for that.
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I meant earlier to throw a nod to Ellen Lohr. She notched a win in DTM back in '92, beating a field that included the likes of Keke Rosberg, Hans Stuck, Emanuele Pirro & Frank Biela. I believe she's rallying these days, which automatically raises her Awesome Ranking in my book.
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What he said.
<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2080474795_7019f530d0.jpg"> -
Denise McCluggage anyone?
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How about Desiree Wilson, the only woman to win an (admittedly non-World Championship) F1 race?
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nice, like sexy car, good article
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![http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2080474795_7019f530d0.jpg">](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2080474795_7019f530d0.jpg">){kind=link}