FastLane CEO Sandy Mahle traveled to the Charlotte Motorspeedway October 5th & 6th 2022 to participate in Women with Drive II, motorsport industry event bringing together the most successful and influential people in motorsports to discuss the current issues and needs to advance opportunities for a more diverse and inclusive environment to help grow the motorsports industry.
The two day event featured over 100 attendees, many engaging panel discussions, tours and networking opportunities, benefiting Women in Motorsports North America.
Of particular interest was Time to Drive: Attitudes Towards Women in Motorsports. In 2005, an online survey was commissioned by the Lyn St. James Foundation with the primary goal to understand race fans’ attitudes toward women in racing.
The 2022 study is being done in partnership with Dr. David Ferguson, PhD, FACSM, CEP, Associate Professor, Michigan State University, Dr Ferguson has done considerable research in racing for over ten years with the top teams in NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, and IMSA.
Dr. Ferguson presented the results from his study, which included impressive physiological data showing that women can not only compete equally with men under race conditions, but may in fact be able to better handle g-forces with stronger mental acuity compared to their male counterparts.
The organization, led by FastLane friend Cindy Sisson supports Women in Motorsports North America, a non-profit founded in 2022 by two iconic women in the motorsports industry, Lyn St. James and Beth Paretta.
WIMNA’s mission is to encourage, support, and mentor more women to pursue careers in motorsport, educating them about the sport and the types of employment. Communicate how the motorsports industry can better reach, encourage and attract women to roles, and advocate and inspire more programs.
FastLane is proud to help sponsor and contribute to the advancement of women in every aspect of its business.