I’ve had a truly wonderful driving career, and even if I could go back and change a few things, I doubt if I would.  It’s not that I’ve gotten philosophical as the years have gone by, but I guess that when you get right down to it, you live your life the best you can, and take the good times with the bad.

Everyone’s heard the stories of how difficult it was for me to become a driver, so I won’t bother repeating those yet again.  I will admit, however, that I do appreciate it when women drivers acknowledge me as having paved the way for them.  I’d love to say that I’m glad I did it, but in all honesty, when I was going through it I never considered the long term picture.  You never see yourself as a “pioneer,” and that certainly wasn’t my intention at the time.  All I wanted to do was drive a race car without being hassled because I was a woman.  Now, looking back on it all, I’m glad that I went through all of the crap just so today’s women drivers don’t have to.  Well, maybe “glad” wasn’t the right word.  I went through it so others don’t have to, but from the conversations I’ve had with some of the younger drivers out there I get the feeling that some of them have been subjected to additional scrutiny just because they’re girls.

I’ve had a truly wonderful driving career, and even if I could go back and change a few things, I doubt if I would.  It’s not that I’ve gotten philosophical as the years have gone by, but I guess that when you get right down to it, you live your life the best you can, and take the good times with the bad.

Everyone’s heard the stories of how difficult it was for me to become a driver, so I won’t bother repeating those yet again.  I will admit, however, that I do appreciate it when women drivers acknowledge me as having paved the way for them.  I’d love to say that I’m glad I did it, but in all honesty, when I was going through it I never considered the long term picture.  You never see yourself as a “pioneer,” and that certainly wasn’t my intention at the time.  All I wanted to do was drive a race car without being hassled because I was a woman.  Now, looking back on it all, I’m glad that I went through all of the crap just so today’s women drivers don’t have to.  Well, maybe “glad” wasn’t the right word.  I went through it so others don’t have to, but from the conversations I’ve had with some of the younger drivers out there I get the feeling that some of them have been subjected to additional scrutiny just because they’re girls.

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