A Walking Tour
Editor's Notebook, June 1999
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[NOTE: This Editor's Notebook introduced the 'race track' visual format of Thunder Valley Racing.]
We've rebuilt Thunder Valley from the ground up. I hope you'll set aside some time to stroll the grounds and get to know all that we have to offer.
You may want to start in The Pits. We've created much better access to our Featured Drivers so you can introduce yourself to them and share their excitement for racing. Take a look at their racing pictures, read their bios, join them in conversation on Wednesday evenings. Most important, become a part of their race team by joining the Thunder Valley Fan Club. Also, drop in to the Thunder Valley Store. We don't have film or sunscreen, but we do have embroidered racing suit patches and race car decals so you can display your involvement with women in racing.
If you're a woman driver or involved in racing, or if you're a member of the Thunder Valley Fan Club, stop by the Drivers' Trailer. This new, sleek, air conditioned, fully outfitted trailer is a sanctuary for drivers and their teams to get away from the crowd. You'll find a discussion group and a conversation area, two places you can go to share information, swap stories, and support one another. You can find out about the Thunder Valley sponsorship program. There's plenty of room in the trailer for you to stretch out. There's also lots of room to build new ways to support women in racing. If you've got an idea for how to make the Drivers. Trailer better, let us know, or better yet, help us create it.
See that impressive-looking tent with the security guard at the entrance? That's the VIP Tent . If you'd like to enter the exotic world of race team corporate sponsorship, stop in. (The guard will let you by if you look like you know what you're doing.) You'll find race car drivers and potential sponsors getting to know one another and discovering how to build a marketing or communications program around a woman racer or fit a driver into an existing program. You'd be surprised at the range of companies, from Fortune 500 corporations to local shops, that can benefit from involvement with racing.
Over at Start/Finish you'll see the new Press Box . If you're a Thunder Valley Featured Driver or doing PR for one, drop off a copy of your press release and we'll post it. If you're a fan, you can follow your favorite drivers. We've got all their releases available and you can browse through them, back to the beginning of the season.
As you stroll around, take your copy of Distant Thunder with you. You might run into our Driver of the Month. Ask for her autograph.
We've got the latest article in Ruth Wolf's Tech Series. If you see her, say hello. She's writing about Oil is Just Oil this month. Ruth is a Featured Driver and you might be able to ask her a question or two about this or her previous articles. (We've posted them all in the Drivers' Trailer for reference by racing teams.)
If you meet Lisa Devlin Arken, be sure to talk with her about the latest Racing Diary entry that you'll find here in Distant Thunder. Lisa's a Featured Driver who has been sharing the trials and tribulations of building a DSR from the ground up. It's now finished and she's taking it racing. You can find the entire Racing Diary series in the Distant Thunder Archives.
Thunder Valley has been created to promote and support women in racing. We wanted to build a place where being a woman in racing doesn't mean that you're the odd (wo)man out. Here, in Thunder Valley, women are the drivers, do much of the tech work, and make up the greatest proportion of the fans.
On a personal note, I'm proud to be involved with Thunder Valley Racing. I'm one of the many men who appreciate the special dedication and love of the sport that women drivers display. We know that the obstacles to overcome are great for anyone in racing, but even more so for women in racing. We know that reaching the highest level that a woman's driving abilities will take her requires the support of a great many others. We're here to help.