TEAMING UP WITH CHAMPIONS TO THANK OUR HEROES . . .

It’s not every day you get to have breakfast with Mario Andretti, or have your dinner wine personally selected by Larry Foyt while dining at the famed St. Elmo’s Steak House in downtown Indianapolis, or visit the belly of a KC-135 Stratotanker with all your racing heroes.  But as the “official cheerleader” for espnW’s and Track Chic’s female motorsport fans, it was a humbling privilege to participate in the celebrations launching the Indy 500 Centennial Tour as our favorite female driver, Sarah Fisher, joined other IndyCar legends to personally thank our troops defending our freedom.

Timed to coordinate with the annual gathering of IndyCar Series race team owners, drivers and sponsors attending the State of IndyCar 2011 media event, the winter’s snow blizzard chased us all the way from Atlanta to Indianapolis and back again. We left Atlanta a day early to hopefully beat the snow, and arrived in Indianapolis to, you guessed it, snow. 

Organizing this goodwill tour takes an army of folks to coordinate State Department visas, Defense Department security clearances, military base accommodations, travel logistics to transport 27 people, the Indy Racing Experience IndyCar Two-Seater, and the IMS film crew documenting the trip.  Right away, my husband and I were put to work sorting, folding and packing flight jackets, fleeces and t-shirts for the crew which included drivers, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Jr., Davey Hamilton, Larry Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Martin Plowman and Sarah Fisher as well as IZOD IndyCar spokes model, Cameron Haven; Terry Angstadt, President of IndyCar’s Commercial Operations and the legendary sportscaster, Jack Arute. 

Also joining the group is James Taylor, director of Experience Marketing for Hewlett Packard; tour organizers from Morale Entertainment, and Mark "Dill" Driscoll, part owner of Panther Racing and chairman of the experiential marketing firm, Ignition, Inc.  A robust group for sure, all with vibrant personalities and each sharing both pride to be selected and humility for their mission.  They also shared a tremendous sense of humor as the winter storm went from bad to worse and delayed departure for their 10-day tour January 12th-22nd.

Here’s the shakedown: January 10^th-13^th
 

FIRST EVENING was spent at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame with Dill Driscoll, the defending Indy 500 Champion, Dario Franchitti, Al Unser, Jr., Martin Plowman, Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, Alex Lloyd, Davey Hamilton, Sarah Fisher, Scott Goodyear and IndyCar Series CEO, Randy Bernard, as race fans and racing celebrities celebrated “A Night of Memories at the Museum”. 

Surrounded by racing celebrities, vintage race cars and memorabilia, the event was heaven on earth and an apt benefit for the IndyCar Ministry, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit Christian organization that serves the racing community.

A signature item up for bid was a beautiful commemorative bottle of wine celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of the Indy 500.  Dill and Dario launched a friendly bidding war for the wine. Dill eventually won the bid at $650 a bottle x 2 bottles = $1,300.  That’s the good news: a generous $1,300 donation was raised for a great cause.  The bad news is that $1,300 of wine was left in the trunk of the car overnight in the blizzard to nearly freeze! The drinkable value is now, probably somewhere in the $5.95 per bottle range!
 

THE NEXT DAY was the annual State Of IndyCar meeting and an opportunity to visit with old friends and make new ones.  That evening, I was invited by radio host Don Kay to join Jack Arute (THE Jack Arute) and Dill Driscoll (THE Dill Driscoll) on Auto Sport Radio, the much-respected “Indy Institution” in sports news.  It was still snowing and we were stunned by the hearty group of race fans packing McGilvery’s restaurant for the weekly live broadcast.  The audience enjoyed a side-splitting exchange of stories, with each guest topping the other with fun memories of their years in the industry.  It was interesting that the audience was close to 50% male/50% female.  Sharing espnW’s vision to create a new world for female athletes and fans and Track Chic’s mission to celebrate motorsports’ forgotten 240 million female fans worldwide was enthusiastically received! 

Our audience enjoyed learning more about the Indy 500 Centennial Tour’s visit to our troops in Europe and the Middle East, which includes visits to Ramstein Air Base and the 435 Medical Group in Germany, airbases in Iraq, Turkey, Bahrain, two-seater IndyCar experiences at Bahrain F1 International Circuit, even an overnight stay on an active aircraft carrier at sea!  The tour will also thank our coalition troops in the UK Military, including possible visits with members of the Royal family, at an air base in England before returning stateside.  Personal requests are made, contact details exchanged and promises given to give their family members a hug if they should happen to see them on the tour.

THE BIG DAY HAS COME, Wednesday, January 12^th and it begins with a military style briefing at 09:30.  Dos and don’ts are authoritatively reviewed by “The Men in Charge”, a.k.a. “Papa Bear” Michael Whalen, Thomas Lee and Nissen Davis of Morale Entertainment.

 

Thoughts are exchanged and emotions shared.  In preparation for the tour, Martin Plowman spent Christmas Eve with wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center.  The impact was profound as “Plowey” emotionally tells the group of one soldier who, although he had lost both legs in an IED explosion, bravely tells Martin that “he volunteered to give his life, all he gave was his legs”.  All are moved, and recognize that saying Thank You is never enough. 

14:00 – depart for the private airfield hosting the monstrous Boeing KC-135 Refueling Stratotanker for departure. And yep, it’s still snowing!  The wind is whipping and snow is swirling everywhere causing semi-whiteout conditions.  But then you see this grey monster planted on the tarmac … it’s enormous!

You can barely glimpse the IndyCar two-seater already loaded.  The brilliant colors of the car’s decals are the only colors visible against the bleak backdrop of military drab and winter storm bleak. It was a very stark interruption of laughter and joviality, and suddenly we felt as though we were sending them off to Siberia!

14:30 - media event, interviews, informal presentations, laughter, camaraderie, a final farewell by David Henninger, VP Marketing Services for Kangaroo Express, and a blessing shared before departure. 

We all brave the ice and snow to have a guided tour of the plane, this beast waiting for us on the tarmac. 

Holy cow – it’s huge!
But Holier Cow – it is BASIC!

Seats, the few available, are fundamentally heavy-duty slings.  Others will grab the few mesh hammock-like options lining the walls of the plane.  The cold, plywood-covered steel floor is also a seating option.  A critical memo, advising passengers to pack a sleeping bag, arrived too late for many.  Like a good Girl Scout, Sarah Fisher was prepared and brought extra sleeping bags from her race shop. She immediately became the most popular person on the plane!

It was conspicuously obvious that the IndyCar Two-Seater, stowed on the plane next to extra tires and supplies, was going to be First Class Seating.  Mario Andretti and Sarah Fisher quickly claimed “dibbs” for the coveted perception of comfort.

There are no windows on this utilitarian airship, seats are facing backwards and heat is a matter of opinion.  Reality sets in as families, friends and media watched anxiously as the snow continued and weather conditions worsened. We celebrated final clearance from air-controllers in Indianapolis only to simultaneously learn that the destination airbase in New Jersey was now closed due to the blizzard blustering its way Northeast. 

  
Plan B – everybody off the plane, scrap the media tour scheduled for New York the next morning, and find hotel rooms nearby.  Instructions were given to re-convene the next morning for 09:30 departure directly to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.  So party we must and off to St. Elmo’s Steak House we go!

08:30, Thursday, January 13th – a “not so perky” crowd gathers in the hotel lobby for breakfast and the shuttle back to the airport.  It’s still freezing, and yes, flurries are still falling, but we are assured that the mission is a “Go”.

09:30 – SRA Jason Coffey gives safety instructions for the aircraft, including how to operate the oxygen canister and hooded face mask, the anticipated flight schedule, and what to expect during the 9+ hour flight.  One critical final piece of advice is shared as the group gathers to board the plane.  “There are limited sanitary chemicals on board so please use the lavatories sparingly.” advises Coffey.  Mario Andretti laughingly requests “Worst-case, can you open a window?” Like obedient two-year olds, the line suddenly shifts to the airport’s lobby bathrooms for a final “pit stop” before departure. 

10:30 – Wheels up for the final farewell. No one can see us waving goodbye, nor can we see them waving back; there are no windows.  It was a solemn farewell for a serious mission of gratitude for the men and women defending our freedom.   Our team’s goal is to brighten one soldier’s day, to lighten their load and to let them understand that their noble efforts are valued and appreciated.  No doubt that many laughs will be shared and many tears shed during this goodwill tour as lives are touched and hearts warmed.


11:00 – New mission! 
Flights in and out of Atlanta are predictably delayed, so my husband and I begin a long, but quiet, drive back to Atlanta. The mission for which we have been chosen?  Return Dill’s dirty laundry and the two (now empty!) wine bottles to his wife at the Atlanta offices of ignition, Inc!  We laughingly fulfill our assignment and return home to reality – and the mountain of snow waiting to be shoveled from our driveway!  

espnW and TrackChic.com are teaming up with Sarah Fisher to share her personal journal with video and photo updates of this experience!  We will be sharing Sarah’s updates of the Indy 500 Centennial Tour as available from remote destinations, including an active aircraft carrier and military bases in Turkey, Bahrain and the United Kingdom.  Share with friends of families of military personnel everywhere as humble champions come together to thank America’s heroes. 

Read more on www.espnW.com and www.TrackChic.com

WOMEN IN SPORTS > THE NEW "X" FACTOR is a "W"!

Last month, ESPN announced more formalized plans for new products and strategies geared toward women’s sports. The initiative, espnW, will not only assist in developing content and plans for current ESPN programming and media (such as its high school sports-oriented site, ESPNRise.com), but will also look into launching its own stand-alone properties. In an article for Media Post, Laura Gentile, the newly named vice president of the espnW business unit stated, “We’re kind of this business unit within the company that’s influencing businesses, where it makes sense, while also eventually launching a stand-alone brand.”

Targeting women’s sports is a smart move for ESPN who sees women comprising about one-third of its current viewership. Participation in women’s sports continues to grow through high schools, college and professional organizations and even when women aren’t playing the game, they are attending it and supporting their favorite teams and players. Women make up 46.5% of MLB fans, 43.2% of NFL fans and 40.8% of fans at NHL games. Women spent 80% of all sport apparel dollars and purchase a whopping 46% of official NFL merchandise. Women may just be the best untapped opportunity for the sports industry—a fact that the WNBA has known for quite sometime.

In 2001, WNBA games were broadcast to nearly 60 million fans in 23 different languages and 167 countries. While the ‘in-arena’ audience skews heavy with female fans (about 70% of those in the stands are women), the TV audience attracts a 50-50 mix of females and males—once again proving that targeting women does not mean ignoring men. So, how do they do it? At the core of the WNBA’s marketing success has been their attention to values. Showcasing players who are good role models, who are passionate about what they do and developing platforms that tap into those values for their fan base—a strategy that other sports organizations may want to lift from the WNBA handbook. They have created innovative ways for marketing partners to engage with fans and with this year’s “Expect Great” theme, we can only have the highest expectations for a brand that has always been great.

The Power of Women and Money - together we are fueling change!

Thanks Nan McCann from M2W for sharing these statistics! The closing keynote speaker of next week’s M2W®-The Marketing To Women Conference will be WNBA president, Donna Orender ... click here  to register and for more information.

It starts with one girl . . . Danica.

While other women have preceded Danica Patrick behind the wheel, including
Ethel Flock, Louise Smith, Janet Guthrie, Lyn St James, Denise McCluggage, Pattie Moise, Shirley Muldowney and others,
. . . none have done so with the media fanfare that Danica brings to motorsports.

Motorsports is no longer just a "Good ol’ Boys Club" and it’s fitting that another woman is credited for crafting Danica’s NASCAR deal. Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, President and co-owner of JR Motorsports, is the one responsible for negotiating the terms of Danica’s deal. It’s a fun fact that in a sport mocked by its critics as backward-looking, the hottest new team in NASCAR has at its center two women: Danica Patrick behind the wheel and Kelley Earnhardt behind the scenes.

Among all the clutter and controversy that a personality such as Danica Patrick brings to racing, she also brings the brilliant klieg lights of a voraciously hungry media and a challenged motorsport industry eager to produce exciting news. The benefit of this new media attention is not to be underestimated as other women drivers will also either gain momentum or risk diminution from the “Danica spotlight”.

Danica’s performance both on and off the track directly impacts all the women in motorsports today. Talented and ambitious women such as Alli Owens, Megan Reitenour, Tiffany Daniels, Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro, Pippa Mann,Colbi Bradley, Natalie Fenaroli, Kate and Diana Harker, Kristin Bumbera, Natalie Sather and so many others, who share and respect the struggles and sacrifices Danica experienced, are eager to find their spotlight and sponsorship deals. We trust that talent will trump tramp stamps in Danica’s future media campaigns and that her new team ensures that future glossy photo shoots represent the best of the past, present and future for women in racing.

As the media frenzy surrounding Danica represents, there is a shifting trend in motorsports – finally – as racing circuits, race teams, track owners and the media begin to recognize the “Power of the Purse”.

Savvy motorsports marketers know that women make the buying decisions and control the family checkbook in 85% of American households. One in three women in the U.S. are avid race fans; they have an average household income of $58,000. With 240 million female race fans worldwide, race circuits, track owners and advertisers are eager to influence women’s $7 Trillion in consumer spending, embrace and engage a previously underserved fan base, energize ticket sales and combat their ageing fan base dilemma.

In addition to the Danica deal, the 2010 season brings
an important new emphasis on the
women fueling motorsports today.
Exciting developments include:

 The FIA has established a new 10 member commission for women in motorsports and appointed former rally driver, Michele Mouton, president. Organized by the governing International Automobile Federation, the commission’s goal is to facilitate the full participation of women in all aspects of motor sport and set in place strategies and policies that will promote the education and training of women in motorsports.  

The American Karting Association (AKRA) and Track Chic will spearhead a National Merit Badge Award for the Girl Scouts USA . AKRA’s program titled “Girls’ N Gears” uses karting to teach girls self-confidence, self-esteem, mathematics, introductory engineering, physics, self-discipline, team work, competitive spirit, etc. 

In collaboration with The Henry Ford, Lyn St James will debut a traveling exhibit at the Daytona 500 Experience February 2010. Titled “Women in the Winner’s Circle”, the exhibit will travel to ten U.S. destinations and pay tribute to the history of women in motor sports, their achievements and the growing future of women in motor sports.

Plans are also in the works for an all Female NASCAR Craftsman Truck Team to debut second half 2010.

Motorsports is about so much more than belly buttons and beer.

This is an exciting time for women as they shift the gears of the motorsports machine.
This unprecedented media momentum may start with one girl, Danica,
but it augurs well for all the women around the globe
sharing a passion for
Speed, Style and Sisterhood.

2010 is the start of great things to come!
Go Girls!

Images compliments of
Jason Smith Getty Images
JRMotorsports
www.DaleJr.com
Corporate references, logos, etc., are the property of their respective companies

and may be trademarked or copyrighted and owned by their respective companies.

ALMS: Female Friendly, Fan Friendly, Global Leader in Green Racing

American Le Mans Series: To Tomorrow. Faster 
. . . a mantra that resonates with women!

Inspired by the ultimate endurance test for man and machine – the 24 hours of Le Mans – the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) is considered the hottest racing series in North America. The series attracts some of the best drivers and most technologically advanced racing machines in the world.

ALMS has a commitment to driving progress through innovative, relevant and environmentally responsible motorsport competition that is worthy of the series’ rich heritage, world-class competitors and the devotion of race fans worldwide.

Speed with safety, style and amenities, supportive family-friendly crews and spectators make this sport particularly appealing to women. The Petit Le Mans, the series annual flagship event held at Road Atlanta, is a 4-day road racing festival comprised of 9 different racing series and 12 thrilling races including the legendary Petit Le Mans 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance race.

As with all ALMS events, this was a FAN FRIENDLY EVENT! All fans have unprecedented access to free driver autograph sessions and chats, tech talks, and an open paddock where they can mingle with the cars, drivers and race teams all week long. Minutes before the engines start, all fans are invited to come over the wall, walk the starting grid, meet the teams, ask questions, and wish them luck. Where else does that happen?

Obvious at the recent rain-soaked 12th running of the Petit Le Mans, were the number of women present as drivers, team owners, crew members and fans!

Melanie Snow – co-owner and winning driver of #56 Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Challenge Cup Series (read: Track Chic’s Woman behind the Wheels)
Andrea Robertson – co-owner and driver Robertson Racing #40 Ford GTMK7 G2 Class
Elspeth, Lady Drayson – co owner and Team CEO #88 LM P1 Drayson Racing
Anna Hoye – Crew Member PrimeTime Race Group……
Susan Brown & Tessa Tape – Crew Members Risi Competzione Ferrari 430GT
Simona De Silvestro – driver and tied for points-leader in the Atlantic Championship Series powered by Mazda

ALMS connects their brand to race fans and auto enthusiasts through their core attributes: Relevant technology, Authentic Competition, and Green Racing Leadership.

As their 2010 logo attests, ALMS works closely with the EPA, DOE and SAE and earned the designation as “Leader l Green Racing”, a cause that women are committed to. More than going fast, women appreciate initiatives such as the Michelin Green-X Challenge that rewards those who goes the farthest, the fastest with the smallest impact on the environment.

Other ALMS partnerships include Green Earth Technologies G-Oil used as the official motor oil; Freescale, creators of semi-conductors and electronics that make cars greener; and, Yokohama ADVAN ENV-R1 orange oil–infused tires.

The series also supports the Nature Conservancy Adopt-An-Acre and Green Park program by planting trees in each race market.

This year, Dyson Racing debuted a unique ethanol-biobutanol blend at Petit Le Mans in the team’s LMP2 #16 Lola-Mazda. And Paul, Lord Drayson, UK’s Science Minister, driver and co-owner of Drayson Racing, announced his team’s commitment to campaign the #88 LMP1 Judd V10-powered Lola B09/60 for a full North American 2010 season using the sport as a catalyst to advance environmental technologies. Drayson Racing will use its Lola–Judd prototype as a test bed for environmentally forward-thinking and a dynamic platform to develop and advance new technologies for improved efficiency and performance.

Track Chics care deeply about Going Green–Faster!

We will be following these campaigns and sharing the teams’ struggles and successes as we all strive to be environmentally responsible, reduce our carbon footprint, and in the words of Crosby, Stills, Nash  and Young …”teach our children well”.
Stay tuned for updates!

THE ELEGANT LADY RETURNS TO AMERICAN LE MANS … JAGUAR IS BACK!

THE FIRST LADY OF RACING, JANET GUTHRIE, turned wrenches on her 1953 Jaguar XK 120 coupe and campaigned the elegant machine back in the early 1960s. At the beginning of 1963 she acquired a 1956 Jaguar XK 140 roadster to begin her Sports Car Club of America career as a professional race car driver. I’ve always cringed at the stories in her book, Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle of trading paint, banging and bashing during aggressive gymkhanas and hill climb competitions. Determined to arrive first at the finish line, Guthrie did not mind the repair work required afterword. Janet Guthrie shared as much admiration for her Jaguar as her beloved machine did for the courageous woman piloting behind the wheel.

Jaguar has been involved in motorsport since the company was founded by Sir William Lyons in 1922. The Coventry-based luxury car manufacturer has seven times won the world's toughest endurance race at Le Mans. Jaguar has twice been World Sports Car Champions, and in 1956 the company won both Le Mans and the Monte Carlo Rally in the same year.

The roll call of drivers who have raced Jaguars reads like a Who's Who of motorsport. In the 1950s, Mike Hawthorn, Paul Frere, Duncan Hamilton and Stirling Moss were regulars with the Jaguar team. Jackie Stewart (and his brother Jimmy), Sir Jack Brabham, Briggs Cunningham, Graham Hill and others all drove Jaguars during their successful racing careers.

But in my mind, Jaguar and Janet Guthrie are one and the same – elegant, sophisticated, determined, capable, tenacious – and represent the refined beauty of motorsports.

I was privileged to join executives from ACO (Automobile Club De l’Ouest), American Le Mans, Yokohama, Bosch Motorsport ECU at Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans as Paul Gentilozzi, RSR team owner and Connell John O’Donnell, Global Marketing Director for Jaguar proudly announced Jaguar’s return to the American Le Mans Series.

The body work features a design that is based on the Jaguar XKR and was completed in the Jaguar Advance Design Studio headed by chief designer Iam Callum. The body has undergone intensive computation fluid dynamic work, known as CFD, by the Jaguar aerodynamics department. Information from the CFD was then incorporated in the finished body work which was made in clay at the RSR facility. Over 1100 man hours were spent during the clay process. The carbon fiber composite body work was molded and produced by a local company in Michigan and conforms to the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) guidelines.

“The end result is a GT2 car that contains the DNA and the spirit of the Jaguar Design Department and the production car" comments Gentilozzi.

A five time Trans-Am Series Champion, Gentilozzi will wear multiple hats for the team, as not only the owner but also one of the three drivers designated to run at the Petit Le Mans. He will be joined with Sports car veterans American Scott Pruett and Belgian Marc Goossens. During the testing and development process these seasoned drivers will play a key role in getting the Jaguar XKR up to speed for a strong fight in 2010.

Gentilozzi’s relationship with Jaguar dates back to 2000 when he built and raced Jaguar XKRs in the North American Trans-Am Series. In their tenure together, 66 starts were made, 31 of those resulted in team wins with an additional four victories by chassis/customer cars. This led to five Manufacturers’ and five Drivers’ Championships from 2000-2006 with Paul Gentilozzi, Scott Pruett and Klaus Graf. The Jaguar XKR was also entered in the famed 24 Hours of Daytona, where it earned the pole and win in the GTS Class in 2002.

The Jaguar XKR will compete for a full American Le Mans Series season 2010. It is hard to believe that William Lyons original production of sidecars for motorcycles in the 1920s has grown to this Beautiful Jaguar XKR Beast of a racing machine for ALMS 2010. But grown she has; the Lady is back and she is “track chic”!

… ahhh, if only there were a woman behind the wheel… soon

JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER … AND THE STORY OF THE BUGATTI QUEEN’S DETERMINED CHAMPION, SHERYL GREENE

I first learned of Sheryl Greene in Indianapolis this July while attending the Lyn St James Women in the Winner’s Circle Awards Ceremony with other motorsports executives. Her fascination with women in motorsports was recently sparked by an interesting book cover she spotted in a favorite bookshop in Atlanta’s quaint Little Five Points neighborhood.

The book, “The Bugatti Queen, In Search of a French Racing Legend”, by Miranda Seymour, (www.mirandaseymour.com ), explores the life and times of a forgotten Speed Demon, Helle Nice, a French born trapeze artist and co-star of Maurice Chevalier who abandoned her perch at the fashionable Casino de Paris for the danger of the racing circuit.

A fortunate relationship with French car maker, Jean Bugatti, fueled Helle’s racing career. Whether the relationship was romantic or merely friendly, no one is certain. Nonetheless, Bugatti was impressed by Helle Nice’s skill and agreed to lend her the Bugatti in December 1929 to compete in a 10-mile race near Paris. She successful clocked an amazing 118 miles per hour.

Eventually, Helle bought the Bugatti in March 1930, for $1,600 -- the original invoice, for 40,000 francs, is pasted into a collector’s scrapbook -- and spent the next four seasons behind its wheel as one the world's few female grand prix drivers.

Sheryl was intrigued, absorbed (hmmm, and maybe delightfully obsessed?) by the Bugatti Queen’s fast-paced story and in a “Julie & Julia” fashion, followed along as Helle’s career travels to scores of exotic places, like Monte Carlo, Rio and Casablanca, and to some of the world’s most famous racetracks, setting records that still stand today. But after decades of excitement and adventure, Helle Nice fell into obscurity. Having once lived in a fashionable residence in Paris and being the toast of the town, Helle died broken and penniless. She is buried in an unmarked grave/crypt outside Paris, France.

Not at all happy with the ending to this story, Sheryl is determined to pay tribute to this racing pioneer. What started as a lighthearted summer read has now transformed into Sheryl's life mission. She has single-handedly formed a non-profit organization to honor “The Fastest Women in the World” and promote global gender equality in racing through education and funding for women in motorsports.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Helle Nice’s death, and it is the intention of the Helle Nice Foundation to officially mark her final resting place and pay tribute to a woman who dedicated her adult life to auto racing in a sport with very few women. The plan is to have the grave marker placed in the Fall of 2010 at her gravesite outside Paris, France.

Sheryl is planning fun car rallies throughout the US and Europe as well as Vintage Bugatti and Exotic Car Shows and other unique fundraising events. Want to get involved? If you, or perhaps your car club, want to show your support for Speed, Style & Sisterhood and the forgotten Bugatti Queen, contact:

The Helle Nice Foundation, Inc.
Sheryl A. Greene
Email: hellenicefoundation@gmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/11/4b3/662
404-429-9600

UPDATE!
READ THIS BEAUTIFUL UPDATE OF SHERYL's VISIT TO FRANCE, the emotions she shared meeting Helle's family, visiting the church gravesite and her plans with friends, family and supporters for the  Hellé Nice Project this autumn:
 1. To raise, with their help, $5,000 to create and place a marker on the racer’s grave in the village of Sainte Mesme, France;
2. To organize a rally of historic cars and motorcycles from Paris to the village of Sainte Mesme on the day of the ceremony; then to have the drivers and all interested persons attend the ceremony and unveiling of the marker.

Click here to read the story in VeloceToday.

RESPECT. HOPE. OPPORTUNITY. PREPARATION

Track Chic was privileged to celebrate THE SEVENTH ANNUAL WOMEN IN THE WINNER's CIRCLE AWARDS CEREMONY with Lyn St. James, a special tribute to the significant accomplishments and bright future for women in racing. It was great to see favorite Track Chics from prior years, including Megan Reitenour, Tiffany Daniels, Samantha Taylor, Brandie Jass and Natalie Fenaroli and share their success stories from the last time we met.

Many new faces were visible at this year’s awards ceremony, including Alesi Gerthe, the 2008 highest nationally ranked female in IHRA Quick Rod, and Simona de Silvestro who currently holds the points lead in the Mazda Atlantic Championship Series.

All women shared that same fierce determination to succeed in the sport they love … and their parents shared immense pride for their daughters’ enormous accomplishments. Their stories were inspiring and illustrated just how far women have come in motorsports today.

It was equally inspiring to be surrounded by the support of notables in the industry, including Mike Helton, President NASCAR, Tom Compton, President NHRA, John Saunders, President International Speedway Corp., Joie Chitwood, then President of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Max Siegel, The 909 Group/NASCAR Drive For Diversity Program, and so many others. Their commitment and support will help change the face of the future of motorsports.

While currently the number of female drivers competing in the elite series is limited, we are making progress. Although NASCAR currently has no women racing in the Sprint Cup Series, there are some real powerhouses coming up through the ranks, with Laura Hayes, Emily Sue Steck, Katie Hagar, Megan Reitenour, Tiffany Daniels, Natalie Sather and Mackena Bell currently tearing up the tracks with NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.

IndyCar boasts three women behind the wheels: Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick and Milka Duno. Of the three, only Danica Patrick races full time. However, Sarah Fisher has made history as the first female to drive and own an IRL team. It was great to talk with Sarah at the ceremony; she is a role model - as both an athlete and an entrepreneur - for so many women competing today.

NHRA, however, has been putting women in the winner’s circle for decades. NHRA boasts 43 women who have raced in the top series since the 1970’s, with 11 pickup wins in the top tier of Drag Racing. Two of the series most recognizable faces are women, Ashley Force Hood and Hillary Will. Thirty years ago, it was Shirley Muldowney that became the first in the top drag racing series to capture three consecutive season titles. "She did that before any man had done that," said veteran NHRA Driver Melanie Troxel, also attending the event. "I think we were a little ahead of other motorsports."

The LSJ Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation remains dedicated to continuing to train, advocate and educate for diversity in racing. To date, the Foundation has trained more than 250 women drivers from 38 states and five countries through their Driver Development Academy. With a commitment to Respect, Hope, Opportunity and Preparation, there will be many, many more. To learn more about how you can participate, visit: http://www.lynstjames.com