The Ridler Award is essentially an award for the best in the Autorama show. The award was named after Don Ridler who was hired as the MHRA promotions agent and publicist for the show when it was initially set-up.

The show was initially set-up to help raise enough funds for the MHRA to be able to build their own drag strip. The event has gone from strength to strength and has seen the presence of some of the biggest and most popular bands of the show’s time.

Cars and creations for some of the most famous television programmes have also featured at Autorama from the Batmobile through to the Munsters car build by Ed Roth.

1964 Al Bergler - AA Comp Bantam Coupe - Aggravation

The first winner of the prize was Al Bergler’s AA Comp Bantam Coupe called Aggravation.

1970 Jan Bergel - 1966 Dodge Hemi Charger

1980 Winner : Everett Rezendes - 1928 Ford Sedan Delivery - The Cranberry Delivery

1990 Winner - Dan Webb - 1932 Ford Altered Street Roadster

2000 Winner Paul Atkins - 1933 Ford Speedster Coupe

The prize this year was won by Bruce Ricks with his ’56 Ford Sunliner Convertible. The car was extensivley modified by Steve Cook Creations and has been wedged, channeled, the A-pillars have been raked forward and many more modifications.

2011 Winner : Bruce Ricks – 1956 Ford Convertible

The soft-top roof has also bee chopped by Gabe’s Street Rods Custom Upholstery who also did all the interior work on the car.

Congratulations to Bruce and all the team for creating such a unique vehicle that definitely deserves to be named the Autorama “best of show” 2011.

Eagle Speedster front view

Last year E-type specialist Eagle Motors showed a stunning speedster version of their light weight E-Type recreation. As anticipated they will now be offering this as one of their line of available products and will make a formal announcement in June, 2011.

The light weight speedster was inspired by the legendary Jaguar E-Type but now boasts a 4.7 litre 6 cylinder engine capable of producing 310 HP (231 KW/314 PS) and a torque of 340 lb-ft (460 Nm). The engine is fitted with a 5 speed automatic transmission and with the car only weighing 1008Kg allows it to accelerate from 0 to 60mph in just under 5 seconds with a top speed of over 160mph.

Eagle Speedster

Eagle Speedster Interiior

Eagle Speedster rear view

Eagle Speedster - Engine

Eagle are keen to point out that the power to weight ratio is better than a modern Porsche. The full press release is show below;

With a new kit car its important that you get it checked over by a proper mechanic before taking it out on the road. They might not be as safe as you think and could cause an accident. Even though they don’t wish one on you Irwin Mitchell is happy to assist any claims you may have.

BMW 328 Hommage Concept old and new

This year the BMW 328 will be 75 years old and to celebrate this BMW have developed an amazing retake on the original design which they have named the BMW hommage. The design has all the features that are currently en-vogue like with design based on the original but with a retro twist. Its body is constructed of carbon fibre and weighs only 780 Kgs and is powered by a 3.0 Liter 6 cylinder engine.

The interior of the car has brown leather trim with all the modern facilities you would expect from a top-of-the-range sports car. The dashboard is simple yet has a contemporary feel with digital gauges cleverly disguised to look like their elder counterparts.

I can’t say that I am a big fan of modern cars but I actually quite like it! What do you think?

BMW 328 Hommage Concept

BMW 328 Hommage Concept steering wheel

BMW 328 Hommage Concept instruments

BMW 328 Hommage Concept rear view

Deborah Renshaw

Deborah Renshaw-Parker was born into a racing family and with two brothers her “tomboy” antics were encouraged. As a youngster she tried all sorts of vehicles and sports equipment that included jet skis, motorcycles, 4 wheelers and Legend race cars so it was obvious that she would grow up with a passion for racing. She competed on the tracks of the speedways at Kentucky and Tennessee where her father owned his own racing team. Deborah was born on the 28th October 1975 in Bowling Green, Kentucky where she graduated in 1997 from Northwood University in 1997 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business but instead of pursuing a career in the world of business, Deborah decided to direct her competitive personality into something that she loved – racing. This decision didn’t surprise her family or those that knew her. She attended various driving schools where she showed her obvious driving talent and, as one of her instructors said, “Deborah has the talent to drive a race-car at any level of competition that she desires. Now, all she needs are valuable seat time and a sponsorship, and she’ll go far. She is a very smooth driver.” In 1999 she was awarded the Rookie of the Year honours in the Late Model Stock Car division.

Her first ventures into NASCAR were in 2001/2002 when she raced in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series, during which time she posted thirteen Top 10’s and qualified for the pole position, setting a new qualifying record at Riverside Speedway. In 2002 she became the first woman to ever have led a NASCAR sanctioned race, this was at Nashville Speedway and she shared her points lead with fellow driver, Joe Buford. The same year she was in the media again after several drivers planned to enter a race to purposely finish behind her so that they could “protest” her car. This led to Deborah sitting the next two races out after which she continued the season to finish tenth in the track championship race.

In 2003 she joined the ARCA RE/MAX series and she finished three times in the Top 10. It was during the 2003 season that she was involved in an accident that ended the life of fellow driver, Eric Martin. It was during a practice session at Charlotte Speedway when Eric spun out after colliding with a wall after the fourth turn. He had radioed his team, telling them that he was OK. Three cars in front of her, although they didn’t have their spotters in the stands, managed to avoid him and his car but Deborah, turning at full speed from the third to the fourth turn, collided with him. She also didn’t have her spotter in the stands. This accident prompted that it would be mandatory for spotters to be in the stands if their driver was on the track in both NASCAR and ARCA. ARCA and Deborah earned a lot of criticism due to the unfortunate accident.

In 2004 she became the first woman to lead a race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series when she led a single lap in the Darlington 200. That season she ran in fourteen of the fifteen last races of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Her highest position was 15th place in any of that season’s races, she joined Bobby Hamilton Racing’s driver development programme in December 2004, replacing Chase Montgomery in the #8 and she became the first woman to run a complete schedule in NASCAR’s three premier division series. For the entire season Deborah missed only one race and had two Top 10 starts, her highest was at Nashville Superspeedway where her start was 8th but she failed to gain a Top 10 finish. Her final position was 24th in the point standings. Bobby Hamilton Racing lost their sponsorship with EasyCare the following year and the team also announced that Bobby Hamilton Jr. would be returning to run a limited schedule during the 2006 season. At that time there were no announcements regarding Deborah’s future but eventually, on the 1st of February 2006 it was announced that she would no longer ride for Bobby Hamilton Racing. She married Shawn Parker, a NASCAR crew chief in November 2006 and since has two children.

References

http://chicdriver.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/deborah-renshaw/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Renshaw
http://www.racerchicks.com/racers/renshaw.html

Tina Gordon

Tina Gordon is a woman who is not only competitive but is driven to succeed, not only in race car driving but every aspect of her life including rodeo competition business and other interests. Born on the 14th March 1969 in Andrews, North Carolina Tina started her driving career in 1995/1996 when she drove her husband’s short track car at Green Valley Speedway in Gadsden. She successfully won all six races that she entered. “I was hooked,” she said laughing. The couple bought another car in 1997 and in her rookie season at the Men’s Hobby Division at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Fyffe she had 19 starts, giving her six Top 5’s, eleven Top 10’s and finished tenth in the overall point standings. She sold her business and began racing full-time at Green Valley before she moved on to the Birmingham International Raceway in 1998.

In 1999 and 2000, she raced trucks in the NASCAR All-Pro Series, full time on tracks in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Florida, finishing 20th in the point standings, recording three Top 10 finishes. After making her debut in 2001 into the Busch Series at Darlington Raceway with little sponsorship the team decided to start and park after just one lap, giving her a start at 42nd and finish at 43rd. Tina’s career continued to improve and with a speed of 174.115 ph she qualified 16th on the 18th May 2002 in the 100 ARCA/Remax Race at Charlotte, a prelude event to “The Winston. Being in 13th position she was trying for the 12th position when a crash left her with serious leg and foot injuries. She was unable to race or practice until September of that year but nobody was surprised to see her back racing again. “It’s kind of like riding that horse and when you fall off, you’ve got to get back on it,” Tina said then.

Her best career finish came in 2003 when she scored her first top-ten in the Busch Series at Talladega Superspeedway. Tina intended to run in the NASCAR Craftsman Series in 2003, going for the “Rookie of the Year”. She raced in the #31 for the Brevak Racing team, again with limited sponsorship. However she didn’t qualify for all of her races and completed eleven races before her sponsor ended her run. She finished 13th at Charlotte and Nashville and in the top twenty three times eventually gaining 25th finish in the point standings.

Again in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 2004 Tina raced in the #13 ThorSport Motorsports Chevrolet, sponsored by Microtel and Vassarette but the sponsorship didn’t last and she only raced in five events, her best run was 24th at Daytona in the opening event. She was involved in a bad crash with Rick Crawford at Atlanta and Tina had minor injuries but she was able to race in the next race at Martinsville. She had her career best starting position in 2004, 13th at Daytona and Charlotte. In 2005 Tina made the decision to stay home with her husband, Gary and her son, Seth. The couple have founded Tina’s Dream Ranch, combining her love for horses and her love for children by sponsoring therapeutic riding camps for mentally and physically challenged children. “That’s probably the thing most folks don’t know about Tina,” husband Gary explained. “She’ll do anything to help children, and animals as well.” The ranch now includes eight horses, eight rescued dogs and a pond for fishing The Ranch is sponsoring trail rides and other events as fund raisers for the upcoming events for special children as well, because there will be NO CHARGE for any of the special needs children who participate.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Gordon

http://www2.line-x.com/ns/news.html?NewsID=146

http://www.alafarmnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108:qdriven-to-succeedq-tina-gordon-now-dedicated-to-helping-others&catid=29:january-2008

Ford's in-seat heart-monitoring sensors. (Credit: Screenshot by CNET)

The car manufacturer Ford recently published a press release annoucing that they are working on a car seat that can monitor the drivers heart beat with approximately 95% accuracy. The main driver force behind this research is obvious as if the driver has a heart attack whilst driving the all the other on-board safety measures that have been taken over the years may not prevent an accident.

The current prototype is still in the early stages of development and uses a electrocardiograph (ECG) to track the driver’s heart beat continually looking for irregularities that are an indication of a heart attack or other cardiovascular problems. The system feeds all the data into the on-board computer which then alerts the driver prompting them to seek medical attention.

The main benefit of the new Ford system is that it uses contact-less technology that will work through clothing etc unlike the current clinical systems that work by attaching electrodes to the skin.

Ford engineers are currently working on ways to minimise the interference from other on-board electrical equipment and improve the sensitivity through a wider range of clothing materials that are currently possible. They are also looking to possible methods to integrate into other on-board safety systems and possibly alert medical staff of the problems the driver is experiencing using Ford’s SYNC technology.

Sara Christian was the wife of racecar driver Frank Christian. She was born in 1918 and hailed from Dahlonega, Georgia, the site of the first major gold rush in 1928. Back in the early days it was not uncommon for women to take part in the racing and in her rookie year she was the first woman to qualify and compete in the NASCAR Strictly Stock inaugural race at Charlotte Speedway.

This first race took place on the 19th June, 1949 on the three quarter mile track. She qualified 13th in the 1949 Oldsmobile that was prepared for her by her husband, Frank and finished 13th in a field of thirty three (one place above Sam Rice, a pre-war winner of the Daytona Beach race). Sara’s husband also competed in this race where he finished sixth in his only career start. Sara and Frank became the only husband and wife to ever compete together in a NASCAR event.

The second race of the season, at the Daytona Beach Road course on the 10th of July saw her joined by two other women, Louise Smith and Ethel Mobley (the sister of the Flock brothers). This was the first race to have three women competitors. Sara finished 18th in a field of twenty eight. In September of the same year Sara started 21st and finished sixth in her fourth race of the season, in a field of forty four, at Langhorne Speedway, and the winner of the race, Curtis Turner, invited her to join him in victory lane. Incidentally, Louise Smith and Ethel Mobley also competed in this event making it the last time that three women have competed in a NASCAR event until this was broken on the 4th of July in1977 when Christine Beckers, Janet Guthrie and Lella Lombardi competed against each other at Daytona Speedway in the Firecracker 400.

In October, the ninth race of the season at Heidelberg Raceway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sara finished an amazing fifth place. It was the only Top 5 finish in stock car history for a woman in NASCAR’s premier circuit until it was overshadowed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by Danica Patrick on the 5th of March, 2011 with her fourth position win in the Nationwide Series, Sam’s Town 300. Sara ran in six of the eight strictly stock events in 1949 and finished an incredible thirteenth in the final points standings and with her other two Top 10finishes she was named “Woman Driver of the Year” by the United States Driver’ Association in 1949 for accomplishment. She is one of the few women drivers to become a member of NASCAR’s 100 MPH Club which she joined in 1953. 1950 saw Sara compete in one race, at Hamburg Speedway in New York in which she finished 14th before she retired. She was inducted in to the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame in 2004. She died of natural causes in 1980.

Race Car Driver and Environmental Activist Leilani Münter (Wiki Commons)

Leilani Maaja Munter is the beautiful daughter of a Hawaiian mother and German father. Born in Rochester, Minnesota on the 18th February 1976 she was rather a tom boy when she was growing up, preferring to ride horses, skateboard or play football than to play with dolls or girly things. While she was still at school she worked part-time as a model, did voluntary work for a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre and did some racing on the SCCA (Sports Car Circuit of America) race circuit. She completed her education at the University of California in San Diego, gaining a BSc. Degree in Biology, specialising in ecology, behaviour and evolution, before going to Hollywood where she found jobs as stand in for Catherine Zeta-Jones in Traffic and America’s Sweethearts, and as Kelly Hu’s stunt double in the film The Scorpion King.

When she wasn’t working Leilani went to the track to improve her driving skills, she also volunteered to be crew member for a NASCAR Southwest Tour team. 2001 saw Leilani begin her racing career when she debuted in the Allison Legacy Series, a series that offers a professional to intermediate racing program that attracts old or new drivers with or without experience and is stepping stone for drivers looking to further a racing career. She had a seventh place finish. After moving to Mooresville, North Carolina she had her first start in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at South Boston Speedway in 2003 where she finished in ninth place. She set a new record for the fastest qualifying woman at Texas Motor Speedway in 2004 when she finished in fourth place. Driving in her first super late model race she finished in seventh place.

Her first full-time season came in 2006 and in her fifth race of the season she had one of her best races of her career when she finished fourth and set a new record at the Speedway for the highest finish of all time for a woman driver at the track and later that same year at Illiana Speedway, Indiana, she was the first woman to qualify in the forty five year history of the Bettenhausen Classic. In thirty nine starts she acquired nineteen Top ten’s, nine Top five’s finishes and finished 92% of the time. She was then preparing to take the next step into the ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America – a stepping stone into NASCAR’s top three series). In December, 2006 she passed her rookie test at 24th out of 59 contestants at Daytona and shortly after she was asked by an Indy team if she would be interested in racing open wheel cars. She completed her Indy Pro rookie test driving an ARCA car at Daytona International Speedway before May was out, returning to ARCA testing in December of that year to drive the #59 Nextra Energy Resources Dodge for Mark Gibson Racing. Leilani, in the final practice, had the seventh fastest lap at 181.77 mph, just 69 one thousandths of a second behind Danica Patrick who finished fifth. She became just the fourth woman in history to compete in the Indy Pro Series, the development league of IndyCar, in 2007.

2007 saw her complete her rookie test at Kentucky Speedway and in August she made a deal with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, (three time championship team). Her debut at Kentucky Speedway was on August the 11th 2007 saw her qualify in 5th position, then have trouble with the restart she dropped back to 13th only to race her way back to the front of the field. Passing five cars in a lap and a half with a speed of 192.399 mph, she was about to pass for fourth place when there was a multi-car accident. Champions such as four-time Indy 500, Rick Mears and IndyCar driver Jacques Lazier spoke very highly of her performance during her debut. These days she lives in North Carolina and lives for NASCAR. She drives the cars, works as a crew member and is a correspondent for NASCAR.com

Leilani on the set of her shoot for Lucky Jeans, Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles

Having said that Leilani isn’t afraid to call herself a “tree hugger” or a “Vegetarian hippie chick” because her real passion in life is environmentalism. Leilani is trying to create a balance between racing and green living and is intent on changing the public’s perception of eco-friendly behaviour. She uses racing as a tool to voice her opinions on these issues and to encourage fans and people involved in racing to become more environmentally aware and address their carbon footprint. Not only does she use only sponsors that are working hard to be environmentally responsible but also those who try to spread environmental awareness to the millions of race fans in the USA she also adopts an acre of rainforest every time she drives and she promotes green companies on her car. This is her passion! Leilani ‘s accomplishments have led to many features in top journals such as USA Today, Reader’s Digest and Glamour has been named “America’s Sexiest Race Car Driver” by Men’s Journal magazine as well as “The Hottest Woman in NASCAR” by FHM. This woman has no plans to slow down and is committed to the track. She married Craig Davidson in a seaside wedding on New Zealand’s Cathedral Cove beach on the 17th of March 2009. Incidentally, her middle name is Maaja and according to Greek mythology it means “the mother of the god of speed” when spelt “Maia”. Were her parents psychic?

Patty Moise

Born in Jacksonville, Florida on the 29th of December 1960 Patricia Moise-Sawyer was brought up in a racing family. Her father, Milton Moise, was a road race car driver in the International Motor Sports Association Series (IMSA) but Patti wasn’t really interested in the sport until she obtained her licence at the age of sixteen and then it all changed. She went out of control!

“I guess I didn’t really ever think about racing until I got a street car, a ’75 Camaro,” Moise began. “Dad helped me fix it up. It had headers, mag wheels and big, fat tires. I didn’t jack it up, though. So there was some class involved. It had a custom pin striping job on it. I went berserk, crazy, racing and chasing, just stupid high-school stuff. I was really lucky not to get killed. Played chicken … every bad thing you don’t want your kid to do in a car that was me. I really got in a lot of trouble, got a lot of tickets, had a few wrecks.”

To channel her driving into something more positive her father persuaded her to take up racing so Patty made her debut in the IMSA Series in 1981 after graduating from university. She also drove in the Kelly American Challenge Series, running in some twelve races a year from Florida to California. Eventually, she entered the Busch Series, making her debut at Road Atlanta, driving the #47 Citgo/Red Roof Inns Buick Regal for Randy Hope. She qualified in 3rd place and finished, after engine problems in the first lap, at 30th. She remembers it well, being the only female to enter the race.

“The very first Busch race I ran was actually on a road course, at Road Atlanta,” Moise said. “I can remember when I showed up at that racetrack, I was the only female driver entered. You would’ve thought I was an alien that had showed up and landed. Now, a woman comes in the sport, she will not be made to feel quite like that, so I’m guessing that might be a change.”

In 1987 she had her own team, the #37 Red Roof Inns Buick, making twelve starts with two Top 10’s and six DNF’s, finishing at 31st in the point standings. This season she made her NASCAR Nationwide Series Cup debut at Watkins Glen where she finished 33rd after a crash, she drove in the #89 Butter-flavoured Crisco Chevrolet owned by Marc Reno and Ernie Irvan. 1988 she ran in two more Cup races for Randy Hope, the Pepsi 400 and at Watkins Glen, giving her best finish at 26th. She changed cars in 1989 to the #45 Buick with sponsorship from Amway/Freedom Fuels Additive, posting two 16th positions and 35th in the point standings.

She sold her team in 1990 and made twenty four starts, the most in her career, finishing a career best of 22nd in points. Patty also married her husband, Elton Sawyer, this year and joined him as a team-mate with Dilliard Racing in 1991 when she finished at 15th at Dover International Speedway. 1994 saw her racing for Doug Taylor who signed her to drive for the next season where she had a 7th place run at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing the season at 37th in the point standings. She was released at the end of the season and her husband started a team for her. She raced in eighteen races in her #14 and finished at 37th. Her team was sold in 1998 to Michael Waltrip Racing and she was signed to race the #14 but although she had a top-ten at Bristol Motorspeedway she was finding it difficult to make races and finished at 37th in the point standings.

She made her last Busch Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November 1998. She decided to go back to her other horse-power love, the four legged kind, “eventing” two of them by performing dressage, cross country and show jumping in competition.

“My mom was watching the Olympics one time, and they came up with the stat that [horse eventing] is six times more dangerous than auto racing,” Moise said. “She was just so thrilled. It fulfils that side of my personality. It’s a real teamwork with the horse. It takes a very talented horse and a very athletic horse to do that, and a very brave horse.”It also takes a really good communication and partnership between you and the horse. There’s a real trust factor there, because the horse doesn’t see any of the jumps ahead of time. … You jump in and out of water. He really doesn’t know if it’s over his head or not, other than you’ve never, ever asked him to jump into anything that wasn’t safe for him.”

One of the First Ladies of NASCAR, Patty has several “firsts” under her belt. At Road Atlanta, in her first NASCAR Busch Series attempt in 1986, she became the first woman to lead a Busch Series race. This came shortly after she won a qualifying race, another female first in NASCAR. In 1988 she qualified on pole for a Busch race, the first woman to do so. Two years later she broke the lap record there, with a brilliant 217.488 mph run. She also broke the qualifying record at Atlanta in 1995. She took part in 133 Busch Series races during her twelve years of NASCAR competition, 24 of which were in 1990.

References

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/features/06/08/pmoise.where.is/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/news/features/women.patty.moise/index.html

http://speedqueens.blogspot.com/2010/07/patty-moise.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Moise

Danica Patrick is the daughter of T.J., a racer who raced midgets, motocross and snowmobiles, and Beverley Patrick. Danica was born on the 25th March, 1982 in the town of Beloit, Wisconsin. Her love of speed was not apparent when she was a younger child and she discovered it by chance at the age of ten when she went with her sister, Brooke, to a go-kart lesson at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Her sister soon gave up the idea of karting but Danica loved it and went on to join the World Karting Association (WKA) where she went from strength to strength becoming the WKA Grand National Champion in 1994 in the Yamaha Sportsman class. She won more karting titles in 1995 and 1996, continuing to rise through the ranks in various racing leagues.

Desperate to improve she moved in 1998 to Milton Keynes in England at the age of sixteen, imagine the disappointment when she found that she was too young to drive on British roads and, added to this she had to sell her beloved Ford Mustang Cobra that she had been driving “totally illegally” in America since she was fifteen.

Turning seventeen the best she could afford to buy in a car was a Fiat Punto which she says, “I got up to 108mph with the wing mirrors tucked in. Wheeeee!” After the Punto she had a Vauxhall Vectra, “and then a Granada or something awful. An old brown thing, about 20 years old. I remember having to drive from Birmingham to Silverstone racetrack and you could never let off the throttle or it would just die.” During her time in England she raced in British National Series events and raced against such drivers as future Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button. During this time she raced in Formula Ford, Formula Vauxhall and gained a second place, the highest finish for a woman in the event, in Britain’s Formula Ford Festival.

She stayed in Britain for three years, returning to drive for Rahal letterman Racing of the Indy Racing League, where she trained in the lesser league but when Danica became the first woman to win a pole position and took a top three finish she was promoted to the IndyCar Series. As she was the only woman in this exclusive league at this time, (she was actually the fourth woman to compete in this league, after Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher), she attracted a lot of attention, especially on the 29th of May, 2005 when she became the fastest driver during the pole runs and entered the record books as being the first woman ever to lead the Indy 500 in which she led for nineteen laps.

In April 2008 Danica became the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race, the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan. She joined drag racer, Shirley Muldowney who won three NHRA Top Fuel Championships. In 2010 she ran a limited schedule in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports with her sponsor, GoDaddy.com, driving the #7 Chevrolet in an ARCA race on the 6th of February at Daytona International Speedway when she finished in 6th position and again on the 13th February when she was involved in a twelve car accident, she started at 15th and finished at 35th. Danica had her best NASCAR Nationwide Series result in her final race of the season, the 29th of November when she finished 19th at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford 300 event, giving her 43rd overall in the point standings. During her short life she has been involved with many other adventures apart from racing. Danica has hosted many TV shows on Spike TV, she has been involved with taking part in commercials, modelling, featured on the front cover of the June 2005 and February 2009 issues of Sports Illustrated, has published her autobiography, Danica: Crossing the line and made her debut in acting in the 10th of February, 2010 episode of CSI: NY. She has had some criticism though, apparently one driver has claimed that because she is small and has a lower body weight it affects the inverse proportionality of the combined mass of a car and it’s driver, and its maximum velocity but after her win there were many drivers who had nothing but praise for her, including NASCAR driver and former IRL champion, Tony Stewart, who said, “I think she’s got talent; she’s been successful in every form of racing she’s been in so far and I don’t see why she wouldn’t be successful here (in NASCAR)”.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danica_Patrick

http://uk.askmen.com/celebs/women/models_250/292_danica_patrick.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/danica-patrick-ive-stopped-driving-my-lamborghini-to-dinner-1984915.html