 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
On even ground
By KRISTEN LEIGH PORTER Auto racing is the only major sport in which men and women compete against each other, and it's becoming more common on Saturdays at Citrus County Speedway. The women involved don't think it is a male vs. female thing; it's driver vs. driver. Robin Bauer, 11th in the Thunder Stock class points standings, said her gender usually is not an issue on the track. "You can't take two runners, one male and one female, and expect them to be equal for the most part," Bauer said. "In racing, you can put a female in a car and a male in a car that is built exactly the same, and they are going to be able to go out there and compete on the same level." Virginia Wilson, who drove for two years and has daughter-in-laws, Erica and Becky, who've raced, said she wouldn't call herself much of a women's-libber. She just liked the rush of racing and how it became part of her life. "It's not as much being out there saying you want to beat the guys," Wilson said. "It's just the challenge." Alice Jacobson said the issue initially almost kept her from climbing behind the wheel of racer. Since then, she has earned a top-20 Thunder Stock finish. "I always wanted to race, but I was intimidated by the men," Jacobson said. Kathy Ray, sixth in the Street Stock division after her fourth-place performance Saturday night, has been driving since 1994. She said it's gotten easier over the years and that speedway officials and male drivers don't treat her any differently. "I feel like I get a lot of respect most of the time, and I don't disrespect anyone else," Ray said. "Once we get in the car, we're all the same and we're all out there with one goal in mind and that's to win." When she's walking through the pits, Ray said everyone is nice, and she can sit and talk racing like one of the guys. There are times when she doesn't mind being a woman. "I sometimes think they're a little more forgiving in some instances," Ray said. "Because I'm a girl, the guys aren't going to want to jump out and fight me like they fight each other." The 5-foot-1 Ray isn't much of an imposing figure once she gets out of her car. Bauer, 5-21/2 and 94 pounds, joked that 99-percent of her division could beat her at arm-wrestling. But the nice part about the sport, Bauer said, is that women don't need physical strength and stamina because there's so many aspects of driving the high-powered machines. Being in good physical shape is important, but skill, luck, mental attitude and instinct play bigger roles. Racing is about proving something to yourself, Bauer said. Although there has been times she's had to defend herself on and off the track, she doesn't think men should be threatened by a female competitor's success. "I'm not a huge women's lib kind of person," Bauer said. "I like being a wife, I like being a mommy, I like being a lady. But to me, this is telling girls you can be anything you want to be." Aspiring female drivers can find out for themselves if racing is for them. There will be an open Powder Puff event on the Citrus oval Saturday. -- Kristen Leigh Porter can be reached at 564-3628. -- The second of a three-part series.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Citrus Times |
