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Karen
Salvaggio
Panoz Racing Series Driver
As one of the Women's Global GT Series newest drivers,
Karen Salvaggio may have recently joined the Series, but
she is far from new to the world of auto racing. In fact,
if she has her way, this will be just another stop along
the way to a career in professional motor sports.
Growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, Karen's
childhood days were far removed from virtually any form of
auto racing. It was the late1960's, and the only access
that she had to racing was in the form of NASCAR events
that were captured on the weekly "ABC Wide World of
Sports" television program. Karen remembers being "glued"
to the television on those Saturdays, as racing legends
Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and Buddy Baker etched
into her mind a vision of driving the legendary super
speedways of Daytona, Talladega, or Charlotte. Since that
time and for as long as she can remember, racing has been
a driving force in her life.
| nine years in military
service... |
In the mid-seventies, she joined the U.S. Air Force and
trained as a B-52 crew chief. She spent nine years in
military service, garnering two commendation medals and
numerous awards for mechanical and leadership excellence.
While travelling and living across the states and abroad
in Japan and the Philippines, she continued to follow auto
racing, and dreamed of a day when she could realize her
passion to drive. Through the Air Force, her dream was
about to come true.
That day came in 1984 when she took the offer of a
co-worker to drive his NASCAR street stock at the local,
Saturday night 1/4-mile dirt track in Merced, California.
One lap in the car and she was hooked. "Yeah, it was
dirty, noisy, and downright brutal, but I knew right then
that this was what I had been waiting for!" To see the
grandstands from inside the car, to be one with this dirt
churning, four wheel drifting, powerful machine was like a
dream come true. She bought her own car the next week, and
hasn't returned to the stands since.
Karen believes that her years as a dirt track racer have
given her a grounded and valuable perspective on auto
racing that would be hard to replicate in other venues.
"When you talk to the best drivers they will tell you that
the key to driving a race car is to "feel" the car, or as
some call it, driving by the seat of your pants. In dirt
track, you live by the seat of your pants, always
on the edge, always finding the ultimate slip angles and
making corrections in such a balanced manner that it truly
becomes second nature. All the schooling and book learning
in the world cannot replace that innate ability to
feel the car.
| five years in local
NASCAR... |
After a five-year stint in local NASCAR events, including
late model sportsman, she made the move to road racing.
Racing with the Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA),
she campaigned a 1959 Corvette owned by her racing husband
Andy. Together, they have co-driven night endurance races
and numerous race events across the Southwest. Her growing
passion for racing, a desire to build highly refined
driving skills, and a love of Corvettes, led her to
purchase a1995 Z07 Corvette which she has campaigned in
high and low speed autocross events for the last five
years.
In these endeavors, she secured consecutive championships
with the National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC) in 1998
and again in 1999. Additionally, she has competed in NHRA
sanctioned drag racing events, garnering the Gardei
Memorial Overall Competitor Award in 1997, and Top
Eliminator at the Pomona Drags in 1999. She also serves as
an instructor driver at NCCC and SCCA driving school
events, and enjoys working with novice drivers as they
overcome apprehension and develop confidence through
driving mastery.
| Elementary School
Principal... |
Through the week, Karen is the principal of Gibson
Elementary School in Palmdale, California. She holds a
Master's Degree in education and is currently working on
her doctorate in educational leadership. Her daughter
Tracy, now in her second year of college, seems to be
following in mom's footsteps, garnering the SCCA Novice
Driver of the Year award for 1997 when she was just 16
years of age.
Karen joined the WGGT Series this last July at Sears
Point and finished 11th in her first start. At the season
finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in late October, she
concentrated pushing her driving skills further and
learning more about the handling characteristics of the
Panoz sports cars. "It was an exhilarating experience to
work on lap times and begin to master the car. By the end
of the weekend, my lap times had fallen to within range of
the front runners. With that knowledge, I am looking
forward to continuing to develop my skills and competing
in the Series in the 2001 season."
| "racing is a family
affair" |
She has her many friends and professional colleagues to
thank for continued support and encouragement. "For me,
racing is a family affair. Racing is about following your
passion, striving for excellence, and building
relationships, both professional and personal, in which we
support each other in reaching our goals. I am fortunate
to have built friendships through racing, and to have the
opportunity to live my dreams."
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