In a way, it would seem that they're related - the stalling of an initiative in the wake of a scandal where a team owner leaves his wife for a much younger woman who drives for him.
The thing is, I'm not sure that they are related in quite the same way.
Yes, what Evernham and Crocker have done (together, as they're both complicit) has set back female drivers within the sport a good deal. But they're not the only ones who have blurred the lines - when members of the NASCAR media or NASCAR officials use their position to score with a driver, that does just as much damage as the Crocker debacle. Why? Because it makes it look like the women are pit lizards, no matter what their skill or intelligence.
Is it necessarily fair? No. It takes two to tango. But should women hold themselves more accountable because of the acknowledged disparity? Hell yeah.
What Will It Take To Fix Things?
Considering the current landscape, I've been wondering what it would take to "fix" things for female drivers. Would rules help? Should a woman coming in be older and married? Would a pretty open wheel driver (Danica Patrick, Milka Duno) transferring over smooth the way?
My conclusions:
1. Pretty isn't going to cut it - what NASCAR needs is a Janet Guthrie. It's all about personality. Any woman coming in has to be tougher than the guys and willing to take them on no matter what.
2. Flat out, all institutions related to NASCAR need to establish a fraternization policy. I don't care how professional they are - employees shouldn't date bosses and governing bodies shouldn't allow their representatives to be involved with the competitors (and the media need to keep a professional distance to preserve some integrity). (I actually have no problems with the PR girls dating drivers because PR is a different profession.)
3. Anyone currently in another form of racing (namely, open wheel) isn't going to transfer in and be successful enough to pave the way. Sarah Fisher is the most respected of the bunch, but she hasn't had consistent rides and her forays into NASCAR haven't gone further than NASCAR West. Danica Patrick has the name and the fame, but she's controversial enough that she'd have to succeed pretty quickly in order to keep her ride. (Let it be noted, however, that she is only 25 years old, which is younger than many of the NASCAR young guns of today, so she still has time to grow as a driver.) Milka Duno by far is the most impressive to me (I admit to being a fan of anyone with four master's degrees), as she's brilliant and has drive (she didn't start racing until age 24 and has gone to great lengths to improve her driving), but at age 35 it's a little late to be entering the NASCAR game and truly be competitive.
4. It will take a NASCAR family relationship to eclipse the stigma that women can't be competitive with the men. Let's all admit it - there's no doubt that should she desire to, Baby Gordon will have a ride when she's old enough. Prior to Baby Gordon, though, other women will make their way in and be successful. Families drive the sport. Parents invest in their kids at a very early age. The difference now lies in the current crop of second and third generation drivers who are coming up through the ranks, the kids that have family support regardless of gender. The closest hope at the moment lies with Chrissy Wallace. If she's half as hard-headed as her dad and her uncle Rusty then she can handle all the tough guys in the sport. There are times when hard-headed is good and times when it's bad. It could go either way, but part of the struggle with being female in a male dominated field is strength of self. From what I've seen of her, she doesn't lack that. Other NASCAR drivers have daughters who are racing as well - Dave Blaney for one. Because they have the name, they do stand a better chance. If they're good, all the better for the women that will follow them.
5. Women drivers won't appear overnight - they come from years of hard work, just like the guys do. Look at the ages the guys racing right now started. They were young. Really young. Now look at the number of females who race. The number of females is well lower than the number of males. Now do the math on what percentage of male racers from all forms of racing make it to the elite levels. Use that same percentage on the females. It's damn hard to break through the pack no matter of gender. When more females want to race at a young age, then they'll increase their percentages in comparison to males and down the road they'll improve their odds as a whole of making it to the elite level.
6. Attitudes have to change. There are still guys in positions of power (Richard Petty, I'm looking at you) who think poorly of any woman trying to hang with the big boys. It's old school thinking, but it's thinking that can be changed. The change has been largely made by the fact that many guys under 30 haven't been raised in the sport to think the women can't muscle a car just as well as them, be just as competitive. They don't think twice about it. Heck, David Stremme's mother was the racer in his family, not his dad. When drivers regard each others purely based upon driving ability (okay, and some by personality), then it makes transition easier.
So what are your thoughts? What else could be done to improve the lot of women drivers in NASCAR? Can anything be done in the short term?
Everything you put forward also applies to racial diversity efforts as well.
You can't just take someone who meets a key demographic, throw them a fire suit, put them in the car and have anything good come out of it.
Not only does it take an amazingly long time to develop a driver, but you are also talking about very long odds for anyone who isn't from an established racing family making it.
One of the other issues is an economic one. This is an expensive sport -- even at the very lowest levels.
When they first started the diversity program, Bill Lester said that about it needing to start at the very beginning, when they're young. And it makes so much sense. It has to start early to see if the kids really want to stick with it. Passion for racing is the one thing the diversity program can't do anything about. Which is why Marc Davis is going to be the kid that gets it done when he gets into Cup. He has the passion and the drive and dealt with parents who wanted him to play a different sport.
The economic aspect is so daunting that I can see why it's hard for anyone to get in. You either have to be rich or have lots of time...or both. And even the established driver families can't guarantee that all the help in the world will get their kid noticed.
I have to say this is a well thought out article..
Being my oldest daughter was a racing nut and failed to get recognized when she wanted to go pro has led me to be more supportive of women in racing seeing her trails and set backs.
Any person to get in racing of any sorts had better have some money and talent from an early age up to adult hood. Like you said, you just can't put a fire suit on a person and say they are a race car driver..
It's so hard these days for anyone to get noticed that the women who do put in the work (and the right kind of work) should be the ones getting noticed, not the ones that give women a bad name. Talent should speak for itself. It's sad that it doesn't, though, when media savvy gets more press instead of how the person wheels a car.
Maveness - a very good post. I agree Evernham & Crocker have set back women in racing. And it is a shame since Crocker has talent, but now everyone will think its because of a "personal" relationship with her owner.
She was amazing at Knoxville on the dirt. She doesn't let herself get pushed around by guys like Steve Kinser or Danny Lasoski.
Great post. I think part of the problem is that people want the first at anything to be like Jackie Robinson, in terms of having immediate success. That would prove, in some minds, that members of diverse groups "belong".
The reality is that NASCAR probably just needs someone to come in and be first and be credible. As you say, not for cosmetic reasons, but to be respected by the other drivers even if finishing in the 30's every week.
Once the sport gets past that, then there will be opportunities for more female drivers, some who will succeed and some who will fail. For right now, it is important just to get someone in the Busch series who can develop into a competent NASCAR driver.
As for Patrick, I think she probably has the ability, but I think her heart is in Formula 1 racing.
I like your post for many of the reasons already cited by CCR. And Janet Guthrie was a true pioneer - she had the courage and focus to achieve her goal of becoming the woman who broke through the gender barrier of Indy racing.
Having said that, she did not have the talent to race at that level. She was pretty much a moving barricade, seemingly satisfied to simply bring a car home in one piece. She would get lapped within the first five to ten laps of the 500 nearly every year. The other drivers on her team would significantly outperform her, and it became very easy to become frustrated with her, rather than to celebrate her achievement.
You can't pick your breakthrough hero. Yet it would have been nice if this one had significantly more racing talent, to match her courage, tenacity, and focus.
Geek girls love NASCAR too! If you don't believe me, spend a Sunday afternoon at my house (or a Saturday night). I have great love for the cars, the speed, the engines, the stories, the drivers, the crew chiefs, the crews, the owners, the business that is NASCAR.
