When it comes to sacrifices, hard work, and making it big, no female success story in the sport of NASCAR quite compares to that of Danica Patrick. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing and is the only woman to ever win an IndyCar Series race. Patrick was born in 1982 in Beloit, Wisconsin to a working-class family, and showed an interest in the sport since age ten.
In 1998, she made an extremely bold move and dropped out of high school to pursue a NASCAR career. By 2005, she was named the IndyCar Series’ “Rookie of the Year.” Just five years later, Danica Patrick already began racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. She officially retired last year and left behind her a legacy that will inspire many women for years to come. Patrick is also a highly successful business owner, which makes her a true superwoman. Our next driver is one of the most highly awarded NASCAR drivers of all time, and achieved that and more despite having multiple sclerosis…
Sara Christian
Imagine being a professional NASCAR driver at a time when women were expected to stay at home and take care of the children. For Sara Christian, this was not an option. She spent years working hard to become the world’s first female NASCAR driver. By 1949, she drove her Ford at the Charlotte Speedway and finished in 13th place. She raced for a total of two years, starting in 1949 and finishing her racing career in 1950.
In 1949, the first female NASCAR driver competed in six out of eight events during her first and only full year. She came out in 13th place in the finals for that year. Also in 1949, Christian received the United States Drivers Association Woman Driver of the Year award. Later in 2004, Sara Christian was inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame. Our next driver actually began her career as a model, and became a NASCAR driver when she discovered her passion for racing…
Claire Decker
Clair Decker actually comes from a family of snowmobile racers. However, the athlete managed to get herself into the prestigious NASCAR sport through its Drive for Diversity program. The program's purpose is to attract females and other minorities to participate as drivers, owners, sponsors, and crew members in NASCAR, which is largely dominated today by men.
Decker has participated in two major NASCAR events throughout her career. These include the Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. In 2016 she finished in the 105th position during her only year in the sport and eventually stopped attending after her achievements were not where she wished they could be.
Patty Moise
In every competitive sport, you have certain rare individuals who stand shoulders above the rest. Rare athletes exist in each and every different sport such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Tom Brady, each in their respective fields. In the NASCAR female racing gang, the clear winner is Patty Moise. She began racing at age 16 and made her official debut at age 26 in the Busch Series. Moise won the top four ten times throughout her 133 races, which made her the top female NASCAR driver of all time.
Patty Moise is married to former fellow NASCAR driver, Elton Sawyer, who is currently Vice president of a division in NASCAR. Back in her glory days, Moise was one of the most sought-after race drivers in NASCAR and was often photographed leaning out of her car with her beautiful curly hair and dazzling smile.
Caitlin Shaw
American NASCAR driver Caitlin Shaw is the world's second woman to ever compete in NASCAR's top three series. She's also the only woman from New Mexico to ever compete in any of NASCAR's top three series. In 2008, Shaw gained widespread recognition when she was invited to her first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Test. So far, the young driver had participated in two major NASCAR events, the 2009 and 2010 Camping World Truck Series, where she placed 24th and 30th respectively.
Caitlin Shaw has quite an interesting career in her field of racing and even became the inaugural United States Spokeswoman for the International Online Magazine GirlRacer.co.uk. She’s an avid supporter of women's rights and equality, and advocates for women to participate in sports. Shaw is currently working part-time at Michael Waltrip Racing, a stock car racing team, where she is in charge of their Communications and Marketing divisions.