Women in Motorsport

We here at Hittin' The Apex take all Motorsports very seriously. Well, almost all. Drag racing and circle track racing are largely boring and silly to me. To anyone hating that statement, I have been in both of those arenas, and I make my judgement with first hand experience. Also I say this with a moderate amount of sarcasm. All venues of Motorsports have their value and help further the sport along, so I tip my hat to those boring events and their respective drivers. Getting back to the matter at hand, we take Motorsports very seriously. From safety to car prep, every aspect is vital down to the most minor of details. This includes the general overall image of Motorsports. Let's face it, if there is any negative image, be it stereotypes, or bad behavior my the sports "faces", it will turn people away, and we do not need, want or can we afford that. One of the biggest stereotypes and negative images we have is that Motorsports is a "man's sport" that "women should not be participating in". I use quotations because I have actually heard these statements a few times. What a load of bullshit. Like it or not, and it will be easier for everybody if you learn to like it, women are more than welcome, scratch that, needed in Motorsport. From officials (we in Motorsport call them Stewards because we are fancy) timekeepers, grid patrol, tech inspectors to most importantly, drivers, women keep the sport going. The first time I took my wife and step-kids to a race, it was at a 2015 SCCA Majors race at Mid-Ohio.in the third or fourth race of the day, right in front of us, a small formula car was spun out into the tire barrier and subsequently too damaged to continue. To my wife's and step daughter's shock, when the driver jumped behind the corner worker barrier and removed their helmet, a flowing lock of brown hair fell out and my step daughter asked "girls can race too??" My response was a simple "yes" and " why not?", to which there was no answer but a shrug. It was just assumed to someone who was never immersed in the culture that it was a male dominated sport. I cannot say this clearly enough, THIS IS A PROBLEM. Let's break down the argument that women do not belong on track. Is getting into a race car so complicated that women need male guided assistance to get in and out of? That would be a ridiculous statement to actually make. I hope no-one thinks like that. Are race cars harder to start? Some do not have keys but I am confident that any person male or female who cannot flip a series of switches and push a button should not be getting in a race car anyway. Are race cars harder to shift and steer? Well, yes, they are, but again to insinuate that a woman cannot perform these tasks is completely asinine and idiotic to even think about. Can a woman keep up the stamina to endure the hardships of a 45 minute race? While grueling depending on weather and other factors, anyone prepared enough health wise to operate a race can withstand these hard ships, regardless of gender. So that leaves mental capacity. Here we go, here is where I believe anyone who has a problem with women in Motorsport believes women are inferior. I am going to say this as clearly as I can. WOMEN ARE NOT MENTALLY INFERIOR AND THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS TO MAKE THAT GENERALIZATION. I apologize for yelling, I wanted everyone to hear that, even those in the back. Any example of any idiotic move on a race track that a woman driver made, I can show ten very similar moves made by men. Trust me on this, it will only benefit EVERYBODY if more women were to come out and play with us. I don't care if it is autocross, HPDE, time attack, road racing circle track or drag, whatever course you are on is and should always be a gender neutral playground. On a final note, to ANYONE who is afraid to "lose to a girl", you have already lost so much more than a race. 

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