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Who are the top female NASCAR drivers of all-time?
NASCAR has had a long history with female fans. According to studies, over a quarter of all NASCAR racing fans are women. With such a large female fanbase, it makes sense that there have been several women race car drivers. Racing fans can find the best online betting on NASCAR and predict the winner of each race this season.
A long list of women have gotten behind the wheel of race cars, but only a select few can be considered the best of all-time.
5. Tammy Jo Kirk
Tammy Jo Kirk became the first woman to drive in the NASCAR Truck Series in the late 1990s. She re-entered NASCAR racing for a second time in 2003. Although much of Kirk’s success occurred in the lower levels of NASCAR racing, she succeeded as a top driver.
4. Shawna Robinson
Shawna Robinson found success early in her racing career as she became the first female driver to win a NASCAR Touring Series event. The win led her to become the 1988 Rookie of the Year.
In 1991, Robinson moved to the Busch Series where results were mixed at the higher level of racing. Robinson failed to replicate the same performances she had previously. It prompted her to leave auto racing for a time, but she made a short-lived return in the early 2000s.
3. Patty Moise
Patty Moise had more success on the racetrack than most other female drivers. Moise made 133 Xfinity Series starts from 1986 and 1998 achieving four top 10 finishes.
In 1998, Moise struggled to make races and with her team sold to Michael Waltrip Racing, she retired from the sport. Despite the anticlimactic ending, Moise’s early career was a huge success and helped female race car driving step forward.
2. Janet Guthrie
Danica Patrick may have competed in the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500, achieving high finishes, but without Janet Guthrie, those feats would have never been reached. Guthrie was the first female drive to compete in both races in the mid-1970s.
Guthrie finished 15th in the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup race. Her 1977 Daytona 500 finish of 12th place was a remarkable moment and could have been better had her car’s engine not blown. Like Patrick, Guthrie crossed over into mainstream but she did it at a time when NASCAR was nowhere near the popularity it is today.
Her race suit and helmet are displayed at the Smithsonian Institute and in 2006, she was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
1. Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick may not be the winningest female NASCAR driver of all-time, but she reaches No. 1 due to what she has done off the racetrack as well as on it. Patrick crossed over into the mainstream from the start of her NASCAR career.
Patrick achieved a number of firsts for women in motorsports including first “to win an IndyCar Series race, first to clinch a pole position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the most starts”. She also holds the highest finishes for a woman in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.
