Hailie Deegan is already shaping up to become one of the most popular female drivers in NASCAR. She first made history by competing and winning the NAPA Auto Parts/Idaho 208 race. In fact, Deegan was the first driver to ever win that race.
Deegan is the only female to have ever won a race in the K&N Pro Series, doing so in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. She’s the daughter of Brian Deegan, the first freestyle motorcycle rider to ever manage a 360 flip during a competition. Deegan was primed from a young age to become a successful NASCAR driver, as she began riding dirt bikes at the extremely young age of seven. Her future is extremely promising, and we can’t wait to see how it’ll turn out a few years from now.
Tammy Jo Kirk
In addition to being a highly celebrated and accomplished NASCAR driver, Tammy Jo Kirk is also a huge fan of motorcycles. She began racing these two-wheeled vehicles at the young age of nine and fell in love with the sport. Despite being very talented, Kirk faced a great deal of sexism and wasn’t allowed to race in male-dominated motorcycle competitions. The race driver was so frustrated that she decided to transition into car racing.
Tammy Jo Kirk was quickly picked up by NASCAR, and in 1991 she joined the All-American Challenge Series. Just three years later, she was already crowned the world’s most popular driver. The talented NASCAR competitor kept racing until 2003 when she decided to hang her helmet and open up a motorcycle dealership.
Jennifer Jo Cobb
Pro NASCAR driver Jennifer Jo Cobb is a fantastic example of that, as she became one of the world’s top female race drivers of all time through years of obsession with the sport.
Her first experience racing was in 1991 when her father, Joe Cobb, helped her get started as a racer. By 2002, she was already competing in racing competitions, leading her to become an official NASCAR driver just two years later. Everything about Jo Cobb’s life is related to cars and racing, which is why she holds the record for the woman with the highest points in any major NASCAR series. The veteran racing driver also owns her own successful clothing line, Driver Boutique.
Natalie Sather
Natalie Sather was a star from a very young age. She was the second runner-up in 2003's Miss North Dakota Teen USA pageant and was also the captain of the cheerleading squad in her high school. Sather got her moment of fame as a NASCAR racer when various media publications began propping her up. For example, The Heralds had an article about her titled: "Evergreen Speedway driver shows you can still be feminine and succeed in a male-dominated sport."
Sather's claim to fame happened in 2007. At the time, she was the first female to ever win the American Sprint Car Series. Natalie also won the ASCS Midwest championship and received the Knoxville Raceway Rookie of the Year award. She was later invited to join NASCAR just two after her big win. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for various races and crashed her car during the practice of one of the laps.
Louise Smith
Whenever a discussion about legendary NASCAR racers starts, the name Louise Smith gets mentioned at least once. This incredible female driver began her career with NASCAR in 1949, when she decided that nothing was going to stop her from joining the sport. She didn’t only make that dream come true but went on to become one of the best race car drivers of all time.
Louise Smith, the second female NASCAR driver ever, won 38 races in her six-year career in the sport. She returned in 1971 as a sponsor for other drivers and even helped Ronnie Thomas when he was just getting started. Smith was truly the Princess Diana of NASCAR, which is why she received her iconic nickname, the “First Lady Of Racing.”