[Note: This was the Editor's Notebook column that introduced the new graphics and format for the Thunder Valley Racing web site.]

(Thunder Valley) A few of you remember when we launched the Thunder Valley Racing web site in June 1996. The Internet was new and the technology untried. We were pioneers. We were a handful of people who knew and cared for one another, at least electronically.

Today, we are a community that includes hundreds of active women race car drivers in North and South America, Great Britain and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and all places where the sport is found. We attract thousands of loyal participants and many tens of thousands of repeat readers. We are supported by a tremendous group of twenty-five volunteer staffers from across the world, each adding her skills and commitment to the common good. We are, collectively, the recognized voice of women in racing around the English-speaking world.

Now, doesn't that sound grand? But it is a limited sort of grandeur. Women who race are still an anomaly. They are not just a minority; they are an oddity. "Why would a woman want to drive a race car?" still seems like a reasonable question to many folks. I'm always shocked, of course, because I can't imagine why anyone would not want to race. But, I digress.

Over the years, the mission of Thunder Valley Racing has remained steadfast. We celebrate women in racing and nurture their aspirations, whether they race for the simple love of the sport or are building a professional career.

This web site has undergone a number of revisions in those years as the role of women in racing has grown and the issues facing those women have become more clear. I hope you find this new version engrossing, entertaining, encompassing, energizing, and effective.

We've tried to build this web site as an interactive element in the creation and support of a community of women and men who race and who support women in racing.

The Racer Profiles and Racer Calendar in the Meet the Racers section will help you get to know a growing number of women racers.

The Message Boards and the Racer Email Group in the Member Area encourage you to discuss all things racing with your friends, new and old.

The Press Room offers a number of ways for you to build collaborations with journalists, learn about women who race, and get your story out.

Our Sponsorship section is an ongoing dialogue about funding, the lifeblood of racing.

Our News Articles, Features, and Resources sections provide current and archival information about racing from a woman's point of view.

So, browse around, read the articles, bookmark this site, come back again and again and get to know us better. More important, add your skills, talent, energy, and commitment to ours as we continue to build this community 'For Women Racers and Their Fans'.