NASCAR has traditionally been a sport that has been dominated by male drivers. However, the number of female drivers has increased exponentially over the years, and NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and NASCAR on NBC pit reporter Parker Kligerman believes that will only continue moving forward.
We have seen 124 female drivers compete in a national or regional touring series race since the organization was founded in 1948. Of those drivers, only four drivers, Shawna Robinson, Hailie Deegan, Manami Kobayashi, and Gracie Trotter have ever won a race in any of NASCAR’s touring series.
Of course, the most notable female driver in the history of NASCAR for most fans remains Danica Patrick, who competed in 191 races in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2012-2018.
We haven’t seen a true female star in the sport since Patrick, but Parker Kligerman said on the Awful Announcing podcast that he believes that will change soon.
Kligerman spoke with AA’s Brandon Contes recently, detailing that he believes that women’s participation in the sport is on the rise.
“I think that’s one of the cool things about motorsports is that it, it, it can be, you know, a multi-gender sport,” said Kligerman. They can compete on a level playing field, right? And I think that’s so cool and so unique and offers so much opportunity. I’d love to see a woman win the Daytona 500, a woman win a Formula One race. I would love to see that and I think it should absolutely be something that NASCAR is pushing for that. I truly believe I will see a woman win the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, and a Formula One race.”
While we do have women drivers at numerous levels of NASCAR at the moment, we do not currently have a female in the NASCAR Cup Series.
If Kligerman is right and we do one day see a female driver win a huge event like the Daytona 500 or the Indy 500, it would obviously be monumental for both the sport of racing and women’s sports as a whole.
[Awful Announcing podcast]
