Mammoth Blog

Females are moving in on racing, both on the track and in the grandstands.

NASCAR marketers estimate their growing female fan base is already 30 million strong. It's easier than ever to find a t-shirt to support your favorite driver that's pink and covered in rhinestones, and rightly so.

NASCAR marketers estimate their growing female fan base is already 30 million strong.

An ESPN poll recently showed that 42 percent of all race fans are now female. Nielsen media research looked at how many women watched racing on TV back in 2003 and found that more women watched NASCAR on network TV than Major League Baseball or the NFL.

Jessica Helberg is giving female NASCAR fans a fresh, fast driver to cheer for. Helberg is currently the only female competing in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.

The 19-year-old blonde from Rohnert Park, California is heading into her second season with the Drive for Diversity program. Helberg, a third generation driver, started racing dirt karts when she was just 13 years old. Helberg moved from dirt karts to sprint cars in 2005 and just last year took on racing full-bodied stock cars.

Her positive attitude and desire to race are apparent on and off the track.

"It all comes together on the race track and that's really my most favorite time of the week or the month. That's my time, being out on the racetrack and competing. Whether I win or not, being out on the tracks what I love doing," Helberg told Ivanhoe.

Among the most famous female racecar drivers is Danica Patrick. Patrick has found success in the Indy Racing League. She was named Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar series.

Another woman to find success in the Indy Racing League was Lyn St. James. St. James was the first woman to earn the title of Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in 1992.

She retired from racing in 2001 but young drivers, like Helberg, still look to St. James for inspiration. "She'll let you know if its going to be tough and I have watched her and seeing that she has made it when it was a whole lot more difficult and so if she can do it then it keeps me going," Helberg said. source