Women in Racing

Avalon Biddle earns European Women’s Cup

September 24, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Avalon Biddle Podium — Dave Jackson Photography

With one race remaining, 23-year old Auckland motorcycle racer Avalon Biddle has cinched the first ever 2015 European Women’s Cup Championship. After qualifying an off-paced 24th position at Jerez in Spain (which later was discovered to be a rear suspension issue), Biddle only had to complete 10 laps to secure the Women’s Cup and Championship. She rode safe, completing her necessary laps cautiously, finishing 19th at Jerez.

“I knew I only had to complete the 10 laps in order to have enough of a points lead to win the Women’s Cup. On the grid my mind was fluttering with every imaginable outcome for the race but cleared immediately as we rolled up to the red lights. I decided to ride as safe as possible but still managing to mix it up with a few of the guys. I will never forget looking down with a trophy in hand and seeing my mum all the way from NZ, as well as Julie Nelson and also my boyfriend Jake who have been such amazing support all season.”

2015 European Women’s Cup Championship

Avalon Biddle in Jerez — Dave Jackson Photography

Biddle has dominated the inaugural FIM Women’s championship, run within the European Junior Cup races. Women racers compete as part of the PATA European Junior Cup on identical race prepared Honda CBR 650F motorcycles at all 8 European rounds of the FIM Superbike World Championship. Female riders score points in both EJC and the Women’s Cup, with the highest point scoring female being appointed as the 2015 FIM Europe Women’s European Cup winner.

Her significant points lead that sealed up the championship early, was the result of five impressive wins (Aragon, Donington, Portimao, Misano & Jerez), in the eight race series. The other two races, she posted DNFs, and still has one race left to contest in the series.

She currently sits in the 23rd overall European Junior Cup points, and has impressed many with her consistency on her Honda CBR650F machine. Her prize for the overall Women’s Cup winner is a new Honda CBR 600 RR, prepared to European Superstock 600 specification.

The final round of this season’s championship will take place at Magny-Cours in France on October 2nd.

Dale Gummow returns as Event Coordinator for Perth Motorplex

September 23, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Perth Motorplex announced that they have hired Dale Gummow as Event Coordinator for Drag Racing, Burnout and Special Events at their Kwinana Beach, Australia facility.

Dale previously worked for Perth Motorplex office in 2009, and returns to the drag racing event coordination gig in a full-time capacity with renewed spark and enthusiasm.

“Drag racing fills a large part of my life, and nothing gives me greater pleasure than to return to do what I love – the behind the scenes work, the organisation and build up to events,” Dale expressed in the Perth announcement of her position. “I am so grateful to be back working at the Motorplex along side some very talented people and together I am sure we will have a fantastic season,” said Dale,

Gummow is a female drag racing veteran who has not only worked in the industry, but also competed in both Modified Bike and Modified Eliminator class events. She was also selected the esteemed 2014/15 Igglesden Award for greatest contribution to drag racing by a female, successful over one hundred applicants who were in contention for the award.

Perth Motorplex is very pleased with their selection, having chosen Gummow over numerous other candidates vying for the position.

“We were very humbled to have received so many applicants for the position, but there was one whom perfectly gelled with the position,” said Drag Racing Manager, Rod Britton.

Differing from her previous assignment at Perth Motorplex, where as Event Administrator she spent much of her time in the office, Dale’s Event Coordinator role will take on aspects of Drag Racing Manager, including hands-on event support.

With over seventy scheduled dates for drag racing, burnouts and special events in 2015/16, Dale will dig right in and begin work with the venue starting Tuesday, 29 September 2015.

Female Racers seek votes to race NASCAR event

September 23, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Two Female Racers Compete for NASCAR Xfinity Seat

Stock car racers Cassie Gannis and Mackena Bell have been selected as finalists in an online contest for VROOM Brands. The drivers are competing for a chance to win a seat in the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway. Each driver is asking fans to vote for them online by selecting their favorite finalist, liking the Vroom Brands Facebook page, and sharing the contest with others. The racer with the most votes will get the chance to showcase their talent behind the wheel at the HiSense 200 race on October 3rd.

>> To vote, visit http://fans.vote/v/ACjecYd3j9o <<

Voting takes place September 23- 26th.

Best of luck to our favorite NASCAR Racing Women!

Erica Enders lands new long-term sponsor

September 22, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Enders signs sponsorship with Transportation Impact

She kicked off the Countdown to the Championship with a convincing victory at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, but reigning Pro Stock world champion and points leader Erica Enders and her Elite Motorsports race team weren’t done working. They continued their good fortune into weekday meetings, where they have just announced a major associate sponsorship deal with Transportation Impact.

The privately-held logistics company specializes in helping some of the largest companies in the world drastically reduce their shipping costs. Transportation Impact, an Inc. 5000 company based in North Carolina, was founded in 2008 by Keith Byrd and Travis Burt and has quickly earned a reputation as one of the top small-package negotiation and parcel-auditing firms in the shipping industry.

“We are excited to team up with Erica and the Elite Motorsports team,” Transportation Impact Co-Founder Travis Burt said. “Both our team and theirs have a championship mentality. We both work hard each day to be better than we were yesterday, and we at Transportation Impact have little doubt that this partnership will help both sides reach new heights.”

Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman, who spearheaded Enders’ ascension to becoming the first female champion in Pro Stock history, is thrilled to sign a long-term deal with Transportation Impact that he believes will help his team achieve its future objectives.

“I’m humbled and grateful that everyone at Transportation Impact thought enough of what we’re doing to come on board and give us some tremendous support,” Freeman said. “Since Erica joined us a year and a half ago, we’ve won the championship, we’ve won 13 national events, including the last three in a row, been No. 1 qualifier 11 times, and put up an 89-28 race day record. That’s better than anyone in the sport and we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished. At the same time, we feel like we want to do so much more, and having companies like Transportation Impact lend support will help us reach all of our long-range goals. We are firing this deal up right now so they can ride with us to what we hope will be a successful championship defense.”

Enders admits she’s riding along on a euphoric high at the moment, and having a new sponsor recognize the team’s potential adds a lot to her current situation, on many levels.

“It’s been an incredible month and having Transportation Impact come on board today just makes it that much better,” she said. “We scored a really big win in Brainerd (Minn.), and that kind of set up this run we’re on. Then we get to Indy, the biggest race in our sport, and we get another win that ties me with my No. 1 idol, Shirley Muldowney, with 18 career wins. Now we come to North Carolina and get another win to kick off the playoffs and sign an incredible new marketing partner. I need to pinch myself. I’m so blessed to be driving this car and to have such an awesome group of people behind me making it happen, and that now includes everyone at Transportation Impact. We spent some time at their facility, and I told everyone we met we’re going to do everything we can to get them a championship this year.”

With new partner Transportation Impact along, Erica and the Elite team head to the next stop in the playoff series, the 4th Annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals held at Gateway Motorsports Park outside of St. Louis, MO, Sept. 25-27.

Pippa Mann’s Indy 500 helmet up for auction

September 22, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Indy Car driver Pippa Mann has donated her race worn helmet from the 2015 IndyCar season as part of the Justin Wilson Memorial Auction.

Justin Wilson Memorial Auction

The eBay charity auction features helmets worn by IndyCar drivers at Sonoma Raceway, as well as many more items added for auction through October 26th when the charity fundraiser ends. All of the proceeds will go to the Wilson Children’s Fund, which was created after Justin Wilson lost his life on August 24th.

The helmet donated by Pippa Mann was worn at the 2015 Indy 500, and at every race this season where she drove the Dale Coyne Racing 18 car. The auction for her helmet will end on Monday 28th October at 10.20pm ET.

Race fans are also able to donate to support Justin’s wife and two young daughters via www.wilsonchildrensfund.com

Record-breaking weekend for Enders

September 21, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA defending Pro Stock champion Erica Enders added another national event victory to her resume this weekend during the 8th Annual NHRA Carolina Nationals, her first win at the Charlotte, NC area zMax Dragway facility. The win captured several historical milestones for the current points leader, and keeps her a front-runner for the Countdown to the Championship.

Enders began the weekend with consistent qualifying efforts, landing the No. 3 spot for Sunday’s eliminations with a best pass of 6.536 seconds at 211.83 mph. She would take on V. Gaines in the opening round, taking the early lead off the starting line and never looking back, with a 6.565 second pass at 211.10 mph to defeat Gaines 6.645 at 209.33 mph.

In round 2, Enders would dispatch Chris McGaha with the fastest pass of the round – a 6.588 at 210.11 mph, taking the advantage at the tree yet again. Though McGaha would run the second-fastest time of the round- a 6.620 at 210.18 mph, it wasn’t enough to catch Enders. She would earn lane choice into round 3. However, something went amiss on the Elite Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro during the run, and the team returned to the pits, thrashing to prepare for their semifinal match-up with veteran racer Allen Johnson.

“In the second round we had an issue with our clutch and were able to barely make it up for the semifinals against (Allen Johnson),” Enders said.

The team got her to the line for the semifinals, and Erica’s uncharacteristic 0.031 second reaction time left her chasing Johnson, who posted a 0.010 second reaction. She chased him down to the finish line, running a 6.586 second at 210.31 mph pass to his losing 6.611 at 209.59 mph, passing him by just 18 inches at the stripe. The margin of victory was 0.0048 seconds, but it was just enough to land Enders in her third consecutive final, where she would face Vincent Nobile.

It’s just a confidence booster in getting in the race car up there when my crew chief (Rick Jones) said, ‘Hey, look up in the right corner of your windshield. What does that say? It says No. 1. There is a reason for that.’ Just having them stand behind me even when I might not be there mentally that day it pumps me up. They are there for me. My guys are who make me a better driver.”

Enders would take the hole-shot win against Nobile in the final, running a slower 6.581 second, 210.97 mph to his losing 6.575 sec at 211.13 mph performance.

That is pretty neat,” Enders said of winning in Charlotte. “Back when I drove for Cagnazzi (Racing), this was one of the facilities that they had never won at. It was obviously a goal of ours. Coming in this weekend, I had runner-upped three or four different times here, a couple at the Four-Wide Nationals and one at the regular race. This was actually the place where the win lights malfunctioned and we thought we got our first win against Greg Anderson, but then they were like, ‘Sike, you don’t get it,’ and took the trophy over to him.”

History for Enders in Charlotte

Not only did she land her first win at the zMax Dragway facility, but she crossed off quite a few more milestones in the process. The win marked the third straight victory for Enders, the second hole-shot victory in a row, and ties marks set by Sampey (2002) and Muldowney (1977) for the most consecutive wins by a female racer. In addition, her class-leading seventh victory of the season ties Sampey’s 2001 season effort for the most female racer wins in one season. It also marked her 19th-career professional win in Pro Stock, a feat by which she passes Shirley Muldowney on the all-time female racer win list for the No. 2 position. She trails only Angelle Sampey (41 wins) for the winning-est female racer in drag racing history.

It’s a true blessing, and to be able to pass Shirley — it was crazy in Indy to tie her. Angelle is a friend of mine, lives about 20 minutes from my house (in New Orleans). She is by far the winning-est female in NHRA drag racing, so it’s definitely cool to put my name alongside of theirs, a true honor.”

Enders, who entered the countdown as the No. 1 seed, retains the No. 1 position and increases her lead in the Countdown to the Championship by 83 points going into race No. 2.

Yeah, it’s pretty incredible,” Enders said. “My PR guy was telling me some stats on the way down the hallway and that is pretty surreal. I feel like I’m in a dream. I just don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such a great group of guys and to work for such an awesome team owner. We have fun together and that is what makes it so cool. We are able to be successful and have fun. Nobody said that you had to be miserable while you are doing it.”

The Elite Motorsports team packs up and heads to the next stop on the Countdown tour, the 4th Annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals held at Gateway Motorsports Park outside of St. Louis, MO, Sept. 25-27.

Carchix Women of Motorsports Calendar Contest

September 15, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

A great opportunity for women in the motorsports world: CarChix.com is hosting their annual Women of Motorsports Contest!

The Car Chix Women of Motorsports Contest is an annual online contest that recognizes women in motorsports, female racers and ladies in the automotive industry world-wide.

The contest began on September 12th and ends Saturday, September 19th. Voting is currently underway on the CarChix Facebook page. Though voting is in-progress, its not too late to submit a photo that highlights you and your vehicle of choice and is open to all women with ANY type of vehicle including, but not limited to: bikes, cars, trucks, dragsters, boats, etc.

Submit your vote in support for your favorite ladies of racing!

PRIZES:

Top 12 Ladies with the most “LIKES” will receive an exclusive invite to be featured in the Official 2016 Car Chix Calendar and will be featured every month throughout 2016.
Top 12 women will all receive a copy of the Official 2016 Calendar and official Car Chix Stickers.
The Photo with the most “LIKES” will receive a $25 VISA Gift Card & The Ultimate Car Chix Gear Package and be named the Official 2015 Women of Motorsports winner.

Winners are selected based on how many people *LIKE* the contestants photo entry in the official ’2015 Women of Motorsports Contest’ Album on the Official Car Chix Facebook Page.

HOW TO ENTER:

Submit your entry for the Women of Motorsports Contest by filling out the entry form on CarChix.com.
Your entry, it will then be added to the ’2015 Women of Motorsports Contest’ Photo Album on the Car Chix Facebook Page by CarChix staff.
Voting begins immediately. *ONLY “LIKES” ON THE IMAGE IN THE DEDICATED ALBUM WILL BE COUNTED*
See RULES and other information on CarChix.com

Best of Luck to all the Women of Motorsports!

Leah Pritchett ready to take on the Big GO

September 1, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Top Fuel dragster driver Leah Pritchett has been dreaming of racing at the NHRA U.S. Nationals since she began her racing career at age eight. The 27-year-old Redlands, Calif., native has set her sights on the world’s biggest drag racing event for nearly twenty years when she started competing in her family’s Junior Dragster at the Pomona Raceway. Though she has been to Lucas Oil Raceway many times, even in her Junior Dragster at age 12, she has always wanted to race at the Clermont, Ind., motorsports facility on Labor Day during the hallowed U.S. Nationals. Now in the top drag racing division, Top Fuel, it looks like Pritchett has finally reached her goal.

“I haven’t been able to race on Labor Day yet at Indy,” said Pritchett, who’ll wheel her bright, chrome red Gumout Top Fuel dragster for Dote Racing next week (Sept. 3-7) in the 61^st annual drag racing extravaganza. “I just missed out last year when (former NHRA champion) Antron Brown nipped me by .001 of a second (for the 16^th starting spot).”

Leah Pritchett’s frustration of missing the U.S. Nationals 16-driver Top Fuel lineup in 2014 was especially cruel since it was so close, Brown’s 3.845 to Pritchett’s 3.846 seconds.

“Hey, that’s drag racing,” she explains. “The track conditions are always tough at Indy. With so many race cars there, the track surface becomes very tricky. We’ll have five qualifying runs next weekend for the U.S. Nationals and two will be at night. We need to get the night runs down to put the Gumout dragster into the field this time.”

Leah Pritchett has experience beyond her age

Pritchett, despite her age, is one of the most experienced pro drivers in the NHRA pit area including holding four different professional racing licenses in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Heritage Funny Car and ProMod. Leah is a former Heritage Funny Car world champion and a three-time NHRA national event winner in the wild ProMod division.

“When I was a kid racing in Junior Dragsters, I wanted to drive in the Top Fuel division,” said Pritchett, whose husband, Gary, is a mechanic on the Steve Torrence Top Fuel car. “So I drove just about anything I could to get up to the top ranks. I tested in the Funny Cars at Indy and drove the unpredictable ProMod cars on the national NHRA circuit. Finally, the Dote family offered me this Top Fuel ride and we brought in Gumout as our primary sponsor. It was a dream come true. I’m competing against the likes Antron (Brown), Tony (Schumacher), Shawn (Langdon) and Larry (Dixon) and all have been Top Fuel champions. Ultimately, that is my goal too, winning the NHRA Mello Yellow Top Fuel title.”

And a good start in Leah Pritchett’s goal would be a victory at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Her Dote Dragster has been consistently going rounds this season, Pritchett finished runner-up to Brown at the Southern Nationals in Atlanta and has posted qualifying efforts of third, fourth and fifth this season.

“The U.S. Nationals are our Indy 500,” Leah said. “It’s the biggest drag race in the world and it is an honor just to qualify for the Top Fuel field. But I feel our Dote team can go a lot further than that this year. The Gumout car has been strong throughout the year and we want to be contender for the win at Indy. Last year, we just missed the show on Monday,” she said. “Now, with the new red chrome Gumout car, we want to put this new paint scheme in the winner’s circle at the world’s biggest drag race. Led by Doug Kuch (crew chief) and Rob Flynn (tuner), we feel positive about our chances this time.”

This year’s event marks the 61st Annual U.S. Nationals for the NHRA. Pritchett’s first qualifying attempt will take place on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Then there are two additional runs each on Saturday and Sunday for the Top Fuel dragsters. The final eliminations are set for Monday, Sept. 7, at 11 a.m. EDT.

Best of luck to Leah Pritchett!

Amy Castell lands podium finish at Calabogie

August 28, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

A comeback weekend for Toyo Tires Formula 1600 driver Amy Castell at Calabogie Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada lands her on the podium despite early struggles.

While testing on Friday presented a few mechanical issues limiting Castell’s time on track, she was able to quickly learn the 20-turn circuit in just the last two sessions of the day. Qualifying on Saturday would find Castell sitting 10th overall and 4th in the B Class. After narrowly avoiding a race incident, Amy Castell would remain in the uncontested 3rd position for the remainder of the race.

During Sunday’s qualifying, ignition issues would mean that Castell would only be able to complete one full lap – enough to qualify 4th in B Class. An incident during the start of the race led to a restart where Castell was able to stick with Connor Wagland’s 2nd position car.

“It’s so good to be back on the podium after the difficulties we’ve been having the past few weekends,” commented Castell. “The team did an amazing job with the car and I can’t wait for next weekend!”

Castell had previously had a problematic outing in the rain-soaked BARC Grand Prix event. The Toyo Tires Formula 1600 Championship winners will be determined at the 61st annual BEMC Indian Summer Trophy Races on September 12-13 at Bowmanville’s Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Amy Castell is supported by Landmark Cinemas Canada, Castrol Canada, Bell Racing USA, Performance Physixx, KarmaComa Studio, Jaguar Land Rover Waterloo and Volvo of Waterloo, Driverseat Kitchener, and Leaf Racewear.

The Toyo Tires Formula 1600 Championship Series is the premiere open wheel series in Ontario, sanctioned by CASC Ontario Region. The series is comprised of six double-headers and competes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Shannonville Motorsport Park, and Calabogie Motorsports Park.

Salemi to debut new Firebird in Memphis PDRA

August 21, 2015 // by Horsepower & Heels

Melanie Salemi Rendering 68 Firebird — Rendering: Rod Burke

15 year Top Dragster veteran, Melanie Salemi is set to debut a striking new 1968 Firebird at the PDRA Memphis Drags this weekend. Salemi stepped into the Pro Boost class earlier this season, earning her license and competed in 3 races with Tommy Zarella’s 2004 C5 Corvette.

“I am so thankful to Tommy Zarella of TT Motorsports, he had faith in what we were doing and without him I wouldn’t have been able to get the experiance behind the wheel before our new car was finished” explained Salemi. “Tommy has been a big part of our race team for the past couple of years and we couldn’t be more proud to have him on board continuing to supply us with the drivetrain for this new car.”

This weekend, she will showcase her brand new G-Force Race Cars built 1968 Firebird in the Pro Boost category with the Professional Drag Racing Association. The project is the result of a collective vision put forth by Mike Stawicki (MSR Performance), Jim Salemi (G-Force Race Cars), Jon Salemi (Resolution Racing Services) and Melanie on what they wanted to do with their team, and the group is proud that it has now become a reality.

“Although we didn’t start working on the car until late spring, things moved quickly. We wanted to make sure we had this car ready for this season and a lot of effort on everyone’s part is what it took. Late nights and early mornings but we are all really happy with the outcome” stated Jim Salemi.

The rendering was designed by popular hotrod/racing designer Rod Burke of Burke Designs. Paint on the beautiful pro mod was sprayed by Scott Jahren of Scott Jahren Paint from Tonawanda, New York.

Melanie Salemi 68 Firebird — Photo: Pumice Mendola 33.33 Marketing