Professional
motorsports have been, and still are, heavily male-dominated. There have been few females to break through this barrier, and even fewer have actually experienced any level of success. We’re hoping to see more women enter the field, hauling ass in drag racers, stock cars and motorcycles — we’re getting tired watching the same guys year after year. Here are 15 of the hottest women in the world of racing — get ready to eat their dust.
Danica Patrick
Gorgeous Danica Patrick has been racing since the early age of 10. She’s since moved on from
Go Karts and now competes in the IndyCar series, and has taken away one win in Japan at the 2008 Indy 300. Not only does she fire up the track, but has modeled for the likes of
FHM,
Sports Illustrated, and is the current face of GoDaddy.com.
Ashley Force
Daughter of 14-time NHRA Funny Car national champion John Force, Ashley was the first female to claim a professional NHRA Funny Car win — and it was
against her own dad. In 2007 she was named NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series’ Rookie of the Year, and stomped out Danica Patrick the same year on the AOL Sports Poll as Hottest Athlete.
Brittany and Courtney Force
Brittany and Courtney Force are Ashley’s little sisters, and good looks
definitely seem to run in the family. Courtney, the youngest at 21, picked up her first National event in the Top Alcohol Dragster category at the 22nd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals. She’s competed against her sister Brittany three times, and has been victorious every time. Brittany, identified by Force as his “problem child,” is a headstrong California blonde with a serious
need for speed.
Melanie Troxel
Competing in the NHRA’s Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions, Melanie Troxel is one of drag racing’s fastest female drivers. She ran her first race at age 16 — the soonest she was able to get her racing license — in a car with an
engine she rebuilt herself. She boasts five wins in her career, and is the first female to score wins in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories.
Hillary Will
As of 2008, Hillary Will is the World’s Fastest Woman, posting a 335 MPH lap down the quarter-mile
race track. She’s only been racing professionally as an NHRA Top Fuel driver for three years, but her love of all things fast began at the ripe age of 17. Her first competitive car was a 1973 Dodge Challenger that topped out at 99 MPH, and she’s since been named one of the top ten female racers in the world by
Sports Illustrated.
Kate and Diana Harker
Daughters of renowned International Top Alcohol Funny
Car driver, Steve Harker, Kate and Diana are two hot Aussie twins. Their love of racing began at age 13 when they got ahold of a 110cc Briggs and Straton powered 10-second Junior Dragster. Just 10 years later, the two packed their bags and moved to America to join the NHRA Top Fuel category. In 2008, Diana made history at the Lucas Oil Super Nationals when she became the first Australian female to win an NHRA National event.
Deborah Renshaw
Shifting gears from drag racing, we found a rare female competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Growing up around her two brothers, Deborah Renshaw took to racing like a
duck to water. She first participated in NASCAR when she began racing in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series in 2001 and 2002, finishing in the top 10 thirteen times in the two seasons. In 2004 she ran in 14 of the last 15 races of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and despite finishing no higher than 15th, she became the first woman to ever lead a race in the series when she led one lap in the Darlington 200.
Katherine Legge
Sultry Katherine Legge is a
driver hailing from Britain, and she’s currently racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. She was the first woman to test an A1 Grand Prix car in 2005, and became the first woman since 2002 to test a
Formula 1 car. Year 2005 was Legge’s best year, in which she finished the season third in the Toyota Atlantic Championship and received the Toyota Atlantic BBS Rising Star 2005 Award.
Erica Enders
Beginning her drag racing career at just 8 years old, Erica Enders became the most successful female Pro
Stock driver in NHRA history. She has racked up 37 career Jr. Dragster wins in eight years of competition, and was named Jr. Dragster of the Year in 1995. In 2006 she finished runner-up in the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. To top it off, the Disney Channel made her life story into an original TV movie called,
Right On Track.
Angelle Sampey
Angelle began her racing career in 1996 and has the most wins for any female in both NHRA competition and professional motor
sports as a whole — which is saying a lot. She races American Pro Stock Motorcycles, which are basically the most badass crotch rockets you’ll ever lay eyes on. She’s one of only two women to ever win more than one championship in her division — she won three.
Milka Duno
Venezuelan beauty, Milka Duno is the first woman from her native country to start a career in Motorsports at an international level. Not only is she one of the top female sportscar racers in history, but she is also a qualified Naval
Engineer with
four master’s degrees — in Organizational Development, Naval Architecture, Fishing and Aquaculture, and Maritime Business –- earning the last three degrees simultaneously. Beauty
and brains. In 2007 she set, and still holds, the record of highest finish for a female driver in the 24 Hours of
Daytona.
Liz Halliday
Liz Halliday is a rare breed of female athlete. She dedicates her life to not just one, but two international sporting careers — the first being racecar driver and the second as an
equestrian. Her ambitions are mighty: to claim a place on the US Olympic equestrian team
and to win the famous 24 LeMans race. She seems very focused and driven, which is an intimidating combination to say the least — factoring in her beauty as well, and she’s downright scary. In just two seasons, she’s already the most successful female driver ever in the history of the American
Le Mans Series. We look forward to seeing what she’ll accomplish in the coming years.
Cyndie Allemann
Hailing from Switzerland, Cyndie Allemann started her racing career in karting at the age of 7, and eventually moved to cars in 2004. That same year, she finished sixth in the Formule Renault 2.0 Suisse. Only two years later, she moved up to the Formel 3 Cup and placed ninth.
Erin Crocker
Erin Crocker’s love of racing began when she raced quarter midgets at the age of 7. In 2004, after racing professionally for two years, she won the opportunity to drive for
Ford Motor Company’s driver development program. She became the first woman to win a World of Outlaws race. After a couple years struggling in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series, she returned to racing sprint cars under her own banner.
Valerie Limoges
Beating the boys at extreme sports since a young age, Valerie Limoges first experienced a race track at age 13, and hasn’t turned back since. Once her great potential was discovered, she went on to make history by being the first girl to clinch the Quebec 125cc Shifter Cup Championship in 2001. Now 22, she is competing in the Formula Renault 2000 Series in North America.
