DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – From female series executives and team owners to race engineers and drivers, auto racing has become one of the more diverse sports on the planet, providing a rare opportunity for men and women to compete head-to-head at a major league level.
While it has taken time to consistently provide that diversity, there is both obvious and subtle progress in the sport. As the world celebrates Women’s History Month, it’s a fitting time to examine how the NASCAR grid has evolved both stateside and internationally.
One of the most promising young drivers in the United States is 20-year-old Isabella Robusto, an established member of the next generation of racing stars—regardless of gender. She quickly proved herself as a top talent, earning three top-10 finishes in her first four ARCA national series starts last year.
This season, in addition to moving up to full-time competition in the ARCA Menards Series for the renowned Venturini Racing Team, the South Carolinian—who graduated from high school a year early—is currently studying aeronautical engineering at Arizona State University.
It’s clear in talking to her that racing against men is essentially a non-issue. And that’s exactly the kind of progress that she stands to benefit from.
“I feel like the drivers I’ve grown up racing do [show respect], but we’ve been racing against each other for 10 years now, and we understand we’re all good enough to be running up front, so let’s not just knock each other out of the way all the time,” said Robusto, who acknowledges she has faced some hurdles along the way but has largely found competitors to be accepting and fair.
She concedes there have been times she was perhaps unfairly challenged or raced differently because she is female but says it is much different now than when she was starting out a decade ago.
“You have a handful of people you didn’t grow up with, that grew up in a different way, with a different racing route, and you have to race them on national TV where everything is on camera, and it can be a different perspective. I think it really depends on how much respect you have for them. If they’ve seen what you’ve been able to accomplish, it’s better. If not, it’s hard sometimes.”
“I feel like, overall, some boys will race you harder. I had that especially when I was growing up. But I’ve turned it into a positive, where I practice my race craft even more. I feel like it helps me in a way. Now, if you get the two or three guys that want to race you harder than the rest [of the field], you can kind of fall back on the race craft you’ve learned throughout the years.”
That’s a familiar theme. And having to prove themselves as they move up the ranks seems to have made some female drivers even better by increasing their learning curve exponentially.
Robusto’s rise through the ranks based on talent rather than spectacle is especially encouraging for veteran racers in some of NASCAR’s premier international series. They appreciate the growth and respect younger drivers are receiving today.
At 34 years old, NASCAR Canada Series driver Shantel Kaliki has seen the progress firsthand. The Saskatoon driver is one of the more popular competitors in the series, where she owned her car and raced full time from 2018 to 2022. She now makes selected starts.
“I think that’s always the topic of conversation to some degree, but I think the world has evolved in the sense of being more accepting of that. I feel like it still exists, just not as much of a stigma around it in the sense that we recognize you’re different than everybody else,” Kaliki said of typically being one of the only women on the grid as she worked her way up.
“For me, it’s always been important to show up and be seen as just another competitor. I think at the same time, there’s a piece that comes into play when you’re a female in a male-dominated sport. You do have to consistently prove yourself in that environment.
“I think it means breaking some of those stereotypes and challenging some perceptions. I think sometimes you’re fighting for the same level of respect, and that comes from earning it. I think that was always something I was just raised with.”
Kaliki credits her father with bringing her up through the ranks with the kind of tough love and hard lessons that she believes ultimately helped her competitively.
“The first year I started racing, my dad actually made me start at the back of the pack at my local racetrack,” Kaliki recalled. “I had to start at the back every race for the whole season, and I absolutely despised it at the time.
“I was thinking, ‘Why do I need to do this?’ Looking at it now, I am ever thankful that my dad had that outlook. For me to be able to go out there and gain respect and race door-to-door, to start at the back and work my way up, the car control of racing side by side with other people—it taught me so much more, and I think that’s what helped me have such a good career now.”
Italian Arianna Casoli, 50, is competing in the NASCAR Euro Series this season, announcing just last week that she will again drive for Speedhouse Racing in the Open division. The series not only has substantial female participation but also offers a special “Lady Trophy”—a year-end honor recognizing the top female driver in the class—a title Casoli has won five times.
Casoli, who works professionally as an architect, is popular in the paddock with young girls who see her as a role model—whether inspiring them to drive race cars or build buildings. She hopes to encourage them to pursue their dreams.
“This young generation, the ladies that want to approach the sport must know what is happening,” Casoli said. “Motorsports is the only sport where there are no adjustments for women. Mentally, in a certain way, we are also different, and this is really powerful to make them understand they can do it.”
Speak to Casoli for even a few minutes, and you walk away inspired—exactly the effect she is proud to pass along.
“I want to improve and learn things, and there is a lot I can do,” Casoli said. “In Europe, it is not so common to have people on track talking with a driver, but I had that chance with Euro NASCAR. Many said, ‘I want to do what you are doing.’ Some moms came up and told me, ‘You are giving an example to my daughter and my son that it is possible to do it.’
“I never imagined it could be possible to do so many things just doing what I love. I think it is a matter of passion. It is not easy. The challenges you face are so hard sometimes—on track and maybe more so outside the racetrack—but I love what I do.”
Being able to do what you love is perhaps the truest sign of achievement and progress—even if you have to be part of a societal shift to do that. And, in racing, it extends even beyond the driver’s seat, which is encouraging for the future.
“I’m seeing so many more young [female] racers competing in a variety of types [of cars] to get the variety of experiences that will pay dividends as they progress up the ladder,” said Lyn St. James, a co-founder of Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) and one of the most successful racers of any gender.
“We need all forms of motorsports to help tell the stories of the successful women racers because it will put them on the radar to help capture the wave of support for women in sports. … It’s an opportunity to create more exposure and support for all of motorsports. It’s happening with the women engineers in motorsports crossing over to STEM and technology. These are opportunities for the sport to grow.”
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
