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You know...as a woman who absolutely loves Nascar...well any auto racing for that matter, I was really excited that finally a woman was able to hold her own in this sport. Unfortunately, the hype and publicity and apparent "segregation" is becoming tiring. I think that if women truly want equality in the field, then maybe we all better start acting equal!! The sport is about driving not about what gender you are!!!

I don't think it's segregation so much as simple logistics. I've run a couple of mass autograph sessions myself working on sci-fi conventions, and one of the keys to making it go smoothly is to figure out if you've got one person that's seriously more popular (like a good 30 to 50% of your autograph seekers will be gunning for just that person's autograph and nobody else's) and put that person on an edge where they won't interfere with the traffic to everybody else and won't make a line of people passing by and ignoring your other autographers (talk about a slap in the face, try offering autographs to a bunch of people who don't want them from you they're just waiting for the line to get them to the person they want). Your three primary goals when setting up one of these autograph sessions are: get it over with as quickly as possible, give every fan an opportunity for every autograph they want, make it as painless as possible for your signers. A seperate line does a good job of handling all three.

I am also a female race fan. Grew up at both drag strips and road racing courses. Was really impressed with what I saw of Erin Crocker this past weekend at Pocono. This intelligent young lady may be able to compete with the big boys in the heavy cars given the right development opportunities.

If she stays focused she should have those opportunities with Evernham Motor Sports.

Unfortunately, the hype and publicity and apparent "segregation" is becoming tiring.

I'm just curious...would the same hype and publicity and apparent "segregation" be "tiring" if all the fuss was over a popular male driver with a separate line for fans?

If someone is in demand, it seems logical they might receive more promotion and their fans might receive some accommodation in the interest of traffic and time. Organizers would likewise be foolish not to capitalize on any racer's popularity while it lasts. Factors such as race, gender, age, and personality/charisma, can all play a role in an athlete's popularity and eventually, when novelty wears thin or successes fade, that spotlight always shifts to another person.

discostu wrote: I don't think it's segregation so much as simple logistics.

I agree this might be a factor...Hype might actually be playing a role, but I still don't believe it is necessarily a bad thing if it brings attention to the sport, giving the other racers at least the opportunity to grab some of that limelight with fans who might not otherwise have learned about them.

I hope you are a better driver than my wife. I simply am scared to death with I ride with her. I come home a trembling nut every time I ride with her driving. She tries hard, but just is not a good driver. Rides the break all the time. You'd think she was going down hill all the time with the break on so much. Wears break pads out by the dozens. :>)