April 11, 2008 - Americans Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher and Venezuela’s Milka Duno join two-time Indy champion Helio Castroneves of Brazil (who, let’s not forget, also won ’Dancing with the Stars’ last season) as hopefuls for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 scheduled to take place May 25th.

In all, 32 drivers have been named to the starting spots in the world’s most prestigious auto race, an increase of seven drivers over last year’s initial entry list. A total of 22 racers from outside of the United States and 12 newcomers are participating thanks to the merger of the rival Champ-car and Indy-car leagues before the season began.

Once again, Danica, Sarah and Milka are vying to become the first woman to win the 200-lap “Brickyard” classic. Could this be the year a woman breaks through?

Filed under: Motorsports, News Bytes by jane
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Martinsville, VA, March 29, 2008 - This past weekend Chrissy Wallace made her debut in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series. Facing 35 other experienced drivers could have proved overwhelming, but Miss Wallace was able to handle herself with confidence and composure to post a solid top 20 result, finishing on the lead lap.

For more on Chrissy Wallace and her racing career:
http://www.chrissywallaceracing.com/

Filed under: General, Motorsports, Nascar by Becki Wheeler
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March 31, 2008 - Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, Detroit Shock forward Cheryl Ford, and race car driver Danica Patrick all have trophy cases filled with championship paraphenalia.

But on Saturday, March 29, only Danica added a Favorite Female Athlete trophy as part of the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (otherwise known as KCA).

She joined Johnny Depp, Jessica Alba, Miley Cyrus, Tony Hawk, Cameron Diaz and more by scoring big at the slime fest. The winners clinched coveted orange Blimps during the live telecast hosted by Jack Black and spotlighting the hottest stars of TV, movies, music and sports.

More than doubling last year’s record-breaking record, 86,708,020 million votes were cast by kids in 18 categories to honor their favorites (that’s more votes than American Idol!). A lot of adults still don’t know who Danica Patrick is but kids are obviously paying attention.

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Filed under: Entertainment, Motorsports, TV by jane
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March 24, 2008 - Detroit Shock forward Cheryl Ford already has two WNBA Championship rings, a WNBA Rookie of the Year Award and a WNBA All-Star Game MVP Award resting on her mantelpiece.

Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams and race car driver Danica Patrick each have their own cases filled with championship paraphenalia.

On Saturday, March 29, one of them will add a Favorite Female Athlete trophy and a healthy doss of green slime to her collection as part of the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

Actor and musician Jack Black is hosting the star-studded telecast live from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Jessica Alba,  Beyonce, Miley Cyrus,  Cameron Diaz, Fergie, and Keira Knightley also received nominations in Nickelodeon’s 18 major awards categories.

Cast your vote online at www.nick.com/kca.

Filed under: Basketball, Entertainment, Motorsports, Music, TV, Tennis by jane
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As a teenager with braces on her teeth and rubber bands tying back her blonde hair, Chrissy Wallace told all the boys she one day would be a NASCAR driver.

One day is now.

The 20-year-old Wallace, a daughter and niece in the popular Wallace family of racers, is set to make her NASCAR debut March 29 in the Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

Tapped to drive for a championship-caliber team, Wallace said she will drive five Truck races and five ARCA races for Germain Racing, which also fields trucks for drivers Todd Bodine and Justin Marks.

On top of that, Wallace will continue racing Late Model events around the Carolina tracks where she has found Victory Lane four times and was named most popular driver at Hickory Speedway, making her the first female to win in a Late Model stock car at the track in its 57-year history.

Preparing to leave this week for the upcoming Truck test at Martinsville, Wallace said talks to join the Germain family and Toyota began at the end of last season. However, her young-but-tough heart was guarded.

Wallace knows she is competing in a male-dominated sport where in recent years there has been public opposition to females racing on the track. Not only that, she’s grown accustomed to empty promises; opportunities have been served only to be taken away days later.

“But I knew with the Germain family, they stick by their word … if they say they are going to do something they do it,” Wallace said.

More than that, she trusts the same family the employees her father, Nationwide Series driver Mike Wallace, who pilots the No. 7 Camry. The venture will make Mike and Chrissy the first father-daughter duo racing for the same team in NASCAR.

 Full article and more info on Chrissy Wallace here!,

Filed under: Motorsports, Nascar, News Bytes, Profiles by Becki Wheeler
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<<Hey everyone…sorry this has taken so long to post, I’ve been waiting on my video to get here, but decided to post it without it>>

This weekend was the last indoor series race of the season. I’ve raced three races so far and placed 3^rd, 2^nd, and 4^th. I came into this weekend dying for my first win. It’s pretty hard going from winning every outdoor supercross race to not winning a single indoor supercross race.

The night started out well. Practice was good and as usual, I excelled in my heat race, taking 1^st. Then came that dreaded main event, 6 laps of pure chaos in the Women’s Quad class. One of our regular riders broke her wrist last week in a wreck but was still racing this weekend to keep her point standing.  The other two girls in the class are fairly new to the sport, but are just as hungry as I am to win. Sometimes, that gets us into trouble.

Sitting at the gate watching the card, I let off my brake and noticed I started to roll forward, so….instead of taking the chance of jumping the gate and getting caught in it, I decided to wait until I knew the gate was completely dropped, then take off. That right there began the Pretty Tough ride. I was last into the holeshot, again. I thought to myself, “Why does this feel so familiar?”….maybe that’s because that’s exactly how last weekend began.

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Filed under: Motocross, Motorsports, Off-Road Racing by Becki Wheeler
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So, now that I have two indoor races under my belt, I’m seeing some major differences between the two types of tracks/races. I faired pretty well during the 2007 outdoor Supercross series I participated in (800MX.net), but I’m finding that adjusting to indoors is harder than I had expected.

Outdoors racing is spread out more….which gives you the ability to get more speed before catching air of a jump. Indoors doesn’t really give you that luxury. You must know how to “feather your clutch” (keeping your RPM’s up while getting in and out of a corner)….leaning into the corner never became more important, and overall strength and stamina is a must have in indoor series racing.

Because an outdoors track allows you to gain more speed before jumps, you usually can catch more air time, which in itself, is an amazing feeling! For those few moments your in the air, you get a feeling of liberation, freedom, of flying. Although there are jumps in the indoor series races, most are not able to give you the extended effect that outdoors gives.

Of course, when comparing indoor and outdoors racing, you must look at the different types of tracks, the size of the venues, etc. Not all indoor and outdoor tracks are as large and laid out like those of the AMA Motocross, Supercross, and Arenacross series. Plus, every rider’s experience and ability is different. Those who do not do particularly well on an outdoors track may do extremely well on indoors.

I know in my case, I cannot wait to get back on the outdoors tracks. I miss the sun on my face, the smell of fresh air,  and being able to just go faster for a longer period of time.

Indoor vs. Outdoor

Filed under: Action, Events, Motocross, Motorcycle, Motorsports, Off-Road Racing by Becki Wheeler
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 Look for the series 2007 Women’s Champion, Traci Cecco, at the following events, overcoming the odds, to defend her title in 2008.

For more information on the 2008 Can-Am GNCC Racing series, log on to: www.gnccracing.com .

Filed under: Action, Motorcycle, Motorsports, Off-Road Racing by Becki Wheeler
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You’ve come to the right place! The following websites are awesome for any girls riding atvs or dirtbikes to look at for support, help, or just some general info:

http://www.mudgaloreatvclub.com/

http://www.dirtygirls.com/

http://www.playhardgetdirty.com/

http://www.womensmotocrossassociation.com/index.html

http://www.girlyz.com/

…you can also email me at wheeler0801@aol.com if you need some extra help or an actual person to talk to! :)     

Filed under: 101-Basics, General, Motocross, Motorcycle, Motorsports, Off-Road Racing by Becki Wheeler
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Washington, UT: 12/5/07- WORCS Racing announced today that they will add a Women Pro class starting Round #1 in Phoenix, AZ. They will run on Saturday at 3:00pm along with the Open A&B, 125 A&B & VET A classes.“This is a huge step for us in the off-road racing venue. The Women coming out of the Amateurs these days are so fast and talented; it only made sense to add the class,” said Sean Reddish of WORCS Racing.

This is a newly formed class which will allow the fast “A” riders that have been competing in the class for the past 3+ years. This will truly show the talent these Women Pros have along with opening up the door to Women who are racing MX series to transition over to Off-Road.

http://www.transworldmotocross.com/

Filed under: Motocross, Motorsports, News Bytes, Off-Road Racing by Becki Wheeler
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