Research by The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., indicates that women have been racing cars since at least 1901, meeting with success in everything from the nation’s drag strips to IndyCar racing.
And yet, “we’re still trying to change opinions,” said Melanie Troxel, who is among the few racers — male or female — with victories in both of the National Hot Rod Association’s Top Fuel and Funny Car categories.
“Women have made huge gains,” she added, “but we’re still not the norm.”
Female racers were the topic of Wednesday’s seven-woman panel discussion here, during this week’s Barrett-Jackson classic car auctions.
The event, held in a hospitality area sponsored by a restaurant chain whose waitresses were obviously dressed to appeal to male diners, indicated that attitudes have a long way to go.
At another panel discussion held on Sunday — this one at the annual Wheels of Wellness historic race-car show in downtown Phoenix — Desiré Wilson, the only woman to have won a sanctioned race in a Formula One car, recounted how she was promised a spot on the Brabham Grand Prix team in the early 1980s, but when she arrived at the track, another driver was assigned to the car.
When Ms. Wilson asked Bernie Ecclestone, the team’s then-owner and current Formula One boss, what had transpired, Mr. Ecclestone reportedly responded that the other driver had “really good hands.”
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