Women in top echelon of Motorsports - Updated

As any motorsports enthusiast knows, at the pinnacle of the sport we find the likes of FIA's Formula One, World Endurance racing, and World Touring championships, and on the other side of the Atlantic, the Nascar and drag racing truly stand out from the rest. However, where the Europeans are obsessed with constantly pushing the envelop of technology, and righteously so, the Americans are solely focused on the entertainment value.

And then you have NHRA drag race, who from its very inception encouraged women to participate in the mostly man dominated sport.

Alexis putting the Patron sponsored F/C through its paces

In the modern era of NHRA drag racing, women, often using the same equipment as their male counterparts, beat them to the finish line [light]. Above a picture of Alexis deJoria warming up her nitro-methane breathing 10,000+ horsepower funny car on jacks in the pits.

FIA gentlemen, Nascar men..... eat your hearts out. Drag racing has intelligent pretty girls... and they're winning championships. Go ask Greg Anderson!

For more on the topic, click here.

UPDATE
Just ran across this great picture of Leah Pritchett in her Top Fuel dragster after a run at last weekend's race in Pomona. Note that these are not just pretty girls! These cars produce as much G-force at the starting line to make an astronaut sitting atop of a Saturn V rocket sweat bullets. Not only must Leah endure the incredible G-force but she must drive the car and keep it in the grove while on the constant lookout for that excessive tire spin. Very cool stuff that we owe to the founding fathers of drag racing for empowering women to participate in the sport.

Photo credit: Alexis deJoria Racing, Leah Pritchett Racing