harrassment on the track

an open letter

Dear Thunder Valley Racing readers,

I never thought it was going to be easy, stepping into a sport dominated by men. I was met with some jeers and resentment my first year at the track, but I made it through without much thought to giving up. Mostly because of the sheer joy of racing and some really supportive race fans and a few supportive racers.

I try to chock up most of what happens at the race track to, "well, that's just racing." Stuff happens. However, there are some things that happen that go beyond just racing.

First, it was, "Why don't you let your boyfriend drive your car?" Then there were the rumors flying around the track and in the stands that I was a lesbian. Despite all of that I managed to finish 6th in class points for my first year, and fifth in class points my second year.

I got married in October of last year, so my husband and I decided that we would race the next season at the track that is closest to our house.

It is a NASCAR track and has a fairly good reputation. I've had a couple of really nice spectators and drivers tell me that they are glad that I am racing there.

We have been plagued with car problems that we have never had before, so my finishes have been only so so. Things are coming to a head with driver relations, though.

For a start, the track tech/inspector, who happens to be a driver in my class, has been singling me out to have my "illegal" items fixed by deadlines, which have not been imposed on anyone else. He hasn't even checked all of the cars in my class to see if they are legal yet. His issue was with my bumper, which I have now changed to meet regulations.

The way I handled this situation was by telling him that he was not going to single me out and impose deadlines on me that no one else has to follow. He was not happy about this, so I went to the track promoter and he said that he would appreciate it if I would work on my bumper, but no deadline would be imposed.

Secondly, the driving has become rougher. Last Saturday night, I lost 4 tires and two rims from all of the rough driving. I have been in some rough races, and I can hang in there, but several people have pointed out to me that the roughness seems to center around me. One driver told me that he could not believe how terribly I was being treated out there.

Then to top all of that off, a driver came up to me and asked me what classes I had driven in and how long I had been driving. He proceeded to tell me that I should have started in another class, and that I was a dangerous driver and was going to get someone hurt. I told him that in my three years of driving, I had yet to ever hurt anyone. He told me that he was not the only driver out there saying that about me. I just gave you a small taste of the riot act that he said to me.

Now a little background about this driver. In the track program book, our class is called the Thompson's Appliances Hot Stocks, and Thompson's Appliances gives $200 to the winner of our Feature race if the car has a Thompson's sticker on it. It so happens that the driver I am talking about is the son of the owner of Thompson's Appliances, and Thompson's Appliances owns his car.

I know starting out that I have three strikes against me in racing this season, I am the only female driver in my class, I am new at the track, and I have a new car(well, it's new to me). Now you add the fact that the track tech/competitor is singling me out and the track favorite doesn't want me racing there, and I've got a large uphill battle to fight.

I am trying not to blow any of this up into anything more than what it is, but I am also trying to be prepared for whatever comes my way. I know this driver was trying to put a dent in my confidence, but if he were to get the idea to run me out of the track, it would not be hard for him to do. His father just has to say that he is going to remove his sponsorship from the track if I am not gone.

Another issue is that I don't understand why the track compromises their integrity so much by allowing track techs/inspectors to drive and compete against the cars they are regulating.

Has anyone else had experiences like mine? How have you dealt with it?

I need your help to make a plan of action.

Thank you. (Click on my name below to send me your thoughts on harassment at the track.)

Missy McAllister Kerr
Oval Dirt Track Driver, Hot Stock #00
Cowtown Speedway, Kennedale, Texas

Your responses to Missy's request