Current female NASCAR drivers are Danica Patrick, Natalie Decker, Hailie Deegan, Kayli Barker, Mackena Bell, Toni Breidinger, and Amber Cope.
One of the most popular motorsports in the United States has been dominated by male drivers. However, many female drivers are making their impression in racing in recent years.
At least 125 women, including 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series have qualified for and started race in one of the NASCAR's touring series. Sara Christian was the first female race car driver in NASCAR history.
Natalie Decker, who has been racing since she was 9 years old, and Toni Breidinger, the first Arab-American female NASCAR racer are showing the way for the next generation of female drivers.
However, in today's context, the increase in female NASCAR drivers highlights how racing is becoming more diverse and how women are getting the chance to compete at the highest levels.
Danica Patrick - 41 Years Old
Danica Patrick started in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010 driving stock cars. She won the title of the highest-finishing female in NASCAR history in Las Vegas.
Danica is one of the top female drivers in NASCAR who has achieved a number of accomplishments throughout her career. She is also the first woman to ever win an IndyCar race.
She made her IndyCar Series debut with Rahal Letterman Racing in 2005, winning three pole positions to tie Tomas Scheckter's record for most in a rookie season.
Patrick received the Rookie of the Year award for the 2005 IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Patrick began competing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012.
Danica completed the quickest qualifying lap for the 2013 Daytona 500 and finished seventh to become the first female to win a Cup Series pole position.
Patrick beat Sara Christian's 62-year record to finish fourth in the Sam's Town 300 race, becoming the highest-finishing female in national NASCAR history at Las Vegas.
Natalie Decker - 26 Years Old
Natalie Decker competes as a part-time racer in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series. Natalie has raced in the NASCAR Truck Series and the Trans-Am Series.
She participated in the 2015 Drive for Diversity competition and the 2016 Alan Kulwicki Driver Development competition. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021, Natalie made her NASCAR debut while driving RSS Racing/Reaume Brothers Racing's No. 23.
Talking about her early career, when Deceker was 12 years old, she started racing in 4-cylinder modified stock vehicles. She progressed to the Super Stock division in 2011 and took home the class title at Marshfield Motor Speedway in 2012.
Natalie started competing in the ARCA Midwest Tour and won the 2013 Rookie of the Year award after coming in third in the final standings.
Decker has signed a contract with Emerling-Gase Motorsports to race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series on a part-time basis in 2023.
Hailie Deegan - 21 Years Old
Hailie Deegan is a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor. She started her career in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 2018.
Deegan currently drives for Ford Performance after driving for Toyota Racing Development. She started riding dirt motorcycles when she was seven years old and entered a short course of off-road racing after receiving a Trophy Kart for her eighth birthday.
Hailie participated in NASCAR Drive for Diversity in 2016 and was given the NASCAR Diversity Young Racer honor. She was the only female to participate in the 2018 K&N Series race.
She raced in Las Vegas in the SS-Green Light Racing No.07 for her NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. Deegan placed 13th at the finish line, which is the best showing by a woman making her series debut in the history of the Xfinity Series.
Kayli Barker - 25 Years Old
Kayli Barker is the first woman driver NASCAR to win one of the track's three NASCAR classes. Kayli has won three Bandolero Championships since starting racing at the age of eight years.
Barker won a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race for the first time at the age of 19 in 2012. She joined the Sigma Racing team for the 2014 racing season, competing in the super late model class alongside Jay Beasley and Donny St Ours.
Kayli attended the University of Nevada under a Millennium scholarship and received a straight A in her high school classes. Moreover, she works as the spokeswoman for Project 150, a nonprofit in Las Vegas that assists local high school students who are homeless and underprivileged.
Mackena Bell - 33 Years Old
A professional stock car racer from Nevada, Makena Bell participated in six events in 2010 as part of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity leadership.
Makena participated in one race while driving the No.23 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet in the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Bell completed the season for the Max Siegel in 2013 recording two top-five results and missing to finish two of the fourteen events.
She started 39th and finished 29th while racing for Rick Ware Racing, eight laps behind the leaders. Furthermore, Makena placed sixteenth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings in 2014 with one top-10 finish in 16 starts.
Toni Breidinger - 23 Years Old
Toni Breidinger has recorded the most victories in USAC history among female drivers with 19. Toni participates in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on a part-time basis.
Breidinger also participates on a part-time basis in the ARCA Menards Series, East, and West, driving Venturini Motorsports' No. 55 Toyota Camry.
Furthermore, she got an invitation from Venturini Motorsports to run a part-time program for them in the ARCA Series in 2018.
Breidinger made a comeback to the ARCA in 2021, starting at Daytona International Speedway on a part-time schedule for Young's Motorsports.
Additionally, the team revealed that Breidinger would compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on a part-time basis. With Hailie Deegan, she competed in a number of Late Model events in California in 2017.
Breidinger drove the 80-car in the 2020 Carolina Pro Late Model Series for DLP Motorsports and finished fourth in the overall standings.
Amber Cope - 39 Years Old
Amber Cope is renowned for making NASCAR history with her twin sister Angela Cope-Ruch. Amber made her NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series in Martinsville, Virginia, where she placed 26th.
Cope and her sister started Go-Kart racing when they were 9 years old, and they immediately earned popularity by winning poles and races. Even without getting their driver's licenses, they progressed to late-model race cars by the age of 15.
When Amber and Angela Cope competed together in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series on October 23, 2010, they made history as the first twins to take part in a NASCAR national touring series race.
During the 2011 Nationwide Series, Amber Cope made one start. She competed in the Nationwide Series in 2012 alongside Angela Cope and Benny Gordon on a part-time basis, sharing the No. 24 SR2 Motorsports Toyota;
Erin Crocker - 42 Years Old
Erin Crocker, an American race car driver, made her NASCAR debut in 2005 and finished with the 67th-best time.
Crocker currently works as a broadcaster for Winged Nation on the Motor Racing Network. At the age of 7, Erin began competing in the Custom Quarter Midget Club. She competed in 29 starts in the Camping World Truck during the 2005 season.
Crocker made history as the greatest female NASCAR driver of all time despite never competing in the Sprint Cup. Additionally, she made her NASCAR debut in 2005 at Richmond International Raceway while racing the No. 6 Dodge for Evernham in the Busch Series.
Erin competed in the Truck Series full-time in 2006, driving the No. 98, and finished 25th in the Craftsman Truck standings. In 2007, she won the starting position for the ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway.
Claire Decker - 28 Years Old
Claire Decker won in the Dick Trickle super late model race at Marshfield Motor Speedway in 2014. She also participated in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity.
Her sister Paige Decker and cousin Natalie Decker both are stock car, racing drivers. Together with her sister and cousin, Decker made an effort to qualify for her NASCAR race in the Martinsville event.
Following Amber Cope and Angela Cope, Claire and Paige Decker are the second pair of sisters to compete against one another in a race.
Taking about her career, she started out in Super Stock cars before switching to Super Late models in northern Wisconsin. Moreover, Claire also participated in Wisconsin's TUNDRA touring series as a Super Late Model racer.
Paige Decker - 30 Years Old
Paige Decker participated in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. Paige received the NASCAR Drive for Diversity award in 2014.
She began racing at the age of three and competed in snowmobile races. She first competed on Wisconsin's asphalt short track before eventually moving on to other tracks in the Midwest.
Paige was named the Rookie of the Year in 2013 at Golden Sands Speedway. Decker became the first rookie and woman to win in the series.
She participated in Whelen All-American Series races for Rev Racing at the Hickory Motor Speedway, Langley Speedway, and Motor Mile Speedway.
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