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MoneyLion backing for Simona De Silvestro at Indy 500

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | March 8, 2021 6:01 AM

Paretta Autosport has revealed the first sponsor for Simona De Silvestro’s Indianapolis 500 entry.

Financial service provider MoneyLion will serve as an associate partner on the No. 16 Chevy, and have its name featured on the nose and engine cover as part of an expansive involvement. At the heart of the relationship, team owner Beth Paretta and MoneyLion will amplify the brand’s ‘Women Who Roar’ campaign, which includes creating a new STEM program under the ‘Play Like a Girl Mentorship’ banner with the Play Like a Girl 501(c)3 charity, plus a Women Who Roar LinkedIn group and conversation series.

“MoneyLion is committed to providing the financial products, educational resources and mentorship that’s much needed to level the playing field for today’s workforce and future generations of female leaders,” said Samantha Roady, MoneyLion Chief Operating Officer.

“Beth Paretta has built an incredible, inspiring team with Simona as the driver. We’re proud to support a female-owned and operated business and to shine a light on inspiring women’s professional achievements through our sponsorship. We look forward to working closely with the team to bring Women Who Roar to life. This partnership with Paretta is a first step in that wider campaign.”

For Paretta, the alignment with MoneyLion is a perfect fit for the on and offtrack goals established for her team.

“What a way to start things off with MoneyLion,” she told RACER. “It’s such a proof of concept; these are the type of programs I had on my whiteboard. As a businesswoman, this is the kind of marketing and brand building I wanted. There are such great stories to tell with MoneyLion and all they’re doing to support women through education and providing tools to create the skills for improving your personal finances. If women have the skills to control their own finances, that leads to employment, and financial strength and independence. This is real.

“The Play Like A Girl program is meant to get to younger women — how to save money, how to build credit, and prepare for school. But the first steps are to create the financial independence so young women can choose which classes and which school they attend. That’s a powerful thing to possess.”

Being involved with a race team at the Indy 500 offers the Play Like A Girl organization to reach a valuable new audience.

“We welcome the support of finance and technology giants like MoneyLion to help us advance our mission to drive diversity and meaningful change for girls and women,” said Play Like a Girl founder and CEO Dr. Kimberly Clay. “Building a diverse pipeline of young women in STEM is a major priority for us. We’re thrilled to partner with MoneyLion and Paretta Autosport to support this work and our community.”

​Additional associate sponsors and the primary sponsor for the No. 16 Chevy are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

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Getting to know Jamie Chadwick

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | March 8, 2021 8:03 AM

Get to know Jamie Chadwick, the inaugural champion in the W Series, co-driver of the new Veloce Racing Extreme E entry, and Williams F1 development driver.

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Women in Motorsports Initiative carried on to 2021 MX-5 Cup Shootout

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emailBy RACER Staff | March 8, 2021 12:19 PM

Introduced at last year’s MX-5 Cup Shootout, Mazda has announced that its Women in Motorsports Initiative will be continued for the foreseeable future.

The Japanese automaker has long recognized the need for programs that support female drivers, and utilizing its MX-5 Cup shootout to support emerging women in the sport was an ideal way for the company to contribute to this directive.

“It’s fantastic to see the motorsports industry creating more and more opportunities for women to advance their racing careers,” said Mazda North American Operations Motorsports Program Manager Jonathan Applegate. “With the MX-5 Cup Shootout, we saw the perfect method to contribute to the movement with a scholarship recognizing the top female participant. I’m happy to say that Mazda has committed to continuing this program moving forward.”

The Shootout was created in 2008 to give Mazda drivers the opportunity to earn a scholarship for a full-season of MX-5 Cup competition. Last year, Mazda added a separate $75,000 scholarship for an outstanding female driver taking part, and it was awarded to Savanna Little, who currently drives the No. 63 Hixon Motor Sports car.
2020 Mazda Women in Motorsports Initiative scholarship winner Savannah Little.

“Earning the scholarship from Mazda Motorsports was the kick start I’ve been needing for years to begin my career in professional sports car racing,” said Little. “Many aspiring pros know that it’s a game of hundreds of ‘no’s’ trying to break into pro racing without being self-funded or coming from a racing family. Sometimes all it takes is one ‘yes’, or a few people believing in you. I put my faith in Mazda’s grassroots racing ladder system to help me develop the fundamental skills – not only on track, but off track as well – to one day be able to sustain a career in professional racing.

“I am still on cloud nine every time I step behind the wheel of my ND2 Global MX-5 Cup Car,” the Texan continued, “and I am looking forward to every challenge and opportunity to develop myself further this season.”

“In my opinion, support in the grassroots to the semi-professional racing is vital for women to get to the next level,” said Hixon Motor Sports Team Manager Shea Holbrook. “Mazda remains focused on fostering development, working with the driver, team, even providing mentorship, coaching and media. There’s been wonderful opportunities for women in racing but, the disconnect has also been, it stops where it started. Mazda furthering their support shows the commitment they have not just to women but to grow the industry.”

In the 2021 MX-5 Cup season opener at Daytona, Hixon Motor Sports fielded four female drivers and Mazda hopes to see this trend continue. Next on the schedule is Sebring International Raceway, March 17–19.

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Women racers surprise De Silvestro ahead of Indy 500

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | May 29, 2021 4:53 PM ET

A group of women racers arrived early at the residence of Leigh Buttera in Speedway, Indiana. They were there, waiting to surprise Paretta Autosport’s Simona De Silvestro.

As part of a recent tradition started by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500 drivers pay a visit to fans at their homes to view the race-themed decorations and thank them for supporting the event during the pandemic that left grandstands empty in 2020.

And it was here, at the Butteras, where De Silvestro arrived Saturday afternoon to find an unexpected gathering of her peers who wanted to share their love and support for the driver of the No. 16 Chevy.

De Silvestro was met by Eloisa Garza, the composites specialist who helped build Johnny Rutherford’s 1980 Indy 500-winning Chaparral. The esteemed Vicky O’Connor, creator, owner, and manager of the Toyota Atlantic Series that propelled an untold number of drivers to IndyCar, was there along with seven-time Indy 500 starter and 1992 Rookie of the Year Lyn St. James. Legendary mechanic Anita Millican, in South America, joined in via FaceTime.

Barbara Butz, the COO of Firestone Racing service provider Performance Tire, Marti Humphrey from Keco Coatings, a familiar IndyCar sponsor since the 1990s, and former IndyCar team co-owner Lee Anne Patterson were also there to lavish De Silvestro with respect and adoration.


Across multiple generations and more than 100 years of combined open-wheel experience, women racers assembled to infuse the 34-year-old from Switzerland with messages of strength and power.

“First and foremost, every woman that was there today, they all were so thankful to get a chance to connect with Simona and have her meet more of the women who’ve been working in racing for a long time,” Patterson said.

“There’s a lovely respect among all of us, because we’ve walked in the same shoes, and there a sisterhood that comes with that. And Simona’s part of that sisterhood, so we wanted to make sure she knew it.”

Patterson chuckled at one of the first topics that came up, which also helped illustrate how far the Indy 500 has come since some of the women in the group began competing at the Speedway.

“Right away there with Simona, one of the women said, ‘Did you know for a long time there were no ladies’ rest rooms in Gasoline Alley?’” she added. “’Yeah, and we had to get a guy to stand in front of the door at the men’s’ room and keep everyone out while we used it!’”

With De Silvestro’s pit crew and race team filled with more than a dozen women, the open-wheel veterans wanted to leave a message for their favorite Indy 500 driver to pass along to the new generation of talent attached to the No. 16 Chevy program.

“Eloisa said it best: ‘We’re so proud of Simona, and we’ve always been proud of her; but this isn’t her first time at Indy,” Patterson said. “But now, we get to see her, and all the young women on her team who, for many of them, are doing this for the first time. And we see ourselves in them. So go show everyone what all you can do.”

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Automotive Hall of Fame to host Women In Motorsports Symposium

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emailBy RACER Staff | May 10, 2022 2:53 PM ET

The Automotive Hall of Fame (AHF), the automotive industry’s premier institution for collecting, celebrating, and sharing the global mobility industry’s stories, is holding an event to support the first Women in Motorsports Symposium.

Women in Motorsports North America is a community of professionals devoted to supporting opportunities for women across all motorsport disciplines by creating an inclusive, resourceful environment to foster mentorship, advocacy, education, and growth, ensuring the continued strength and successful future of the sport. The organization was founded by Lyn St. James and Beth Paretta and was launched April 20, 2022.

The event will celebrate the history and future of women in motorsports, with film screenings, panel discussions, vehicle displays and an afterglow event. All proceeds will benefit WIMNA, a nonprofit organization.

Date:

Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 4 – 9 p.m. Doors open at 3:30 pm.

Program Activities:

• The first theater screening of Boundless: Betty Skelton and the first installment of the documentary series Left Behind. “First Lady of Firsts” is what the headlines called fearless Betty Skelton. Post-World War II, she became one of the most admired women in America. Her breathtaking stunts in the air made her an international aviation legend, but her success in grabbing the wheel of a racecar started a movement.
• Panel Discussion #1: The Making of Boundless.

Panelists include:

• Pam Miller – 8-Time Emmy-Award Winner and Producer of FOX NASCAR Cup races
• Cindy Sisson – CEO, GSEvents
• Lyn St. James – Co-Founder WIMNA, Representative at FIA Women in Motorsports Commission, and 2022 Automotive Hall of Fame Inductee

• Panel Discussion #2: Women in MotorsportsNorth America.

Panelists include:

• Lyn St. James
• Beth Paretta – Co-Founder WIMNA and CEO, Paretta Autosports
• Taylor Ferns – Racecar Driver and Law Student
• Laura Wontrop Klauser – Sports Car Racing Program Manager, General Motors
• Vehicle Display:
  • Lyn St. James’ Racecar – 1989 Ford Thunderbird
  • Taylor Ferns’ Racecar – USAC Silver Crown Sprint Car
• Hagerty Afterglow – Panelist meet & greet, book signing and autograph session. Lyn St. James: An Incredible Journey will be available for purchase. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Sponsored by Hagerty.

In-Person Location:

Automotive Hall of Fame, 21400 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, MI 48124

Virtual Option:

This event is also being live streamed virtually. For those attending virtually, a meeting link will be sent to your email address on May 25.

Tickets:

Tickets range from $25-$75 and can be purchased at https://automotivehalloffame.givecloud.co/wimna

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The Producers of Betty Skelton: Boundless Share Their Inspiration From this Racing Pioneer

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Mar 17, 2022

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Hemmings
The achievements in any one of Betty's Skelton's passions—flying, driving, and even automotive advertising—easily qualify her as a trailblazer. Put them all together and there are few who compare in terms of breaking down gender barriers in her time. Known as The First Lady of Firsts, Betty Skelton racked up an astounding number of achievements, including several land speed

records. To share Betty Skelton's story with a larger audience, FS1 will broadcast the one-hour documentary "Boundless: Betty Skelton" presented by NASCAR Race Hub on March 23 and re-air on April 9. In our Lap 15 edition of our Women Shifting Gears Driven by Hemmings virtual and from the FOX Sports studio in Charlotte, host Amanda Busick sat down with the documentary

executive producers Pam Miller, Cindy Sisson and Lindsey Mandia as they shared the inspiring stories of Betty, how this documentary came to pass and how persistency became the theme for getting this film across the finish line.

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Celebrating 50 Years of Owning the Betty Skelton 1956 Corvette NASCAR Racer

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Dec 24, 2021

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Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle
6.77K subscribersFormer GM engineer Bill Tower and his wife Betty were honored earlier early December 2021 as friends and family gathered at Stingray Chevrolet in Plant City, Florida to celebrate their ownership of the 1956 Corvette NASCAR racecar

that was famously driven by the "First lady of firsts," Ms. Betty Skelton on the beaches of Daytona. On display in the dealership next to a giant Christmas Tree was the 1956 Corvette driven wearing its original NASCAR livery.

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MICHÈLE MOUTON: The Greatest Female Driver in History (FULL STORY)

TheRUB
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158,150 views Premiered Apr 12, 2023
This is a very special video for the incredible achievement of this channel reaching 100k subscribers, thank you very much! The video contains all the career of Michèle Mouton, the black volcano (also nicknamed "La femme qui dérange"):

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PAULA MURPHY:UNDAUNTED PREVIEW

GSEvents
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1,005 views Premiered Apr 3, 2023
During the turbulent '60's, the quest for women's rights was invigorated. In motorsports, where names like Andretti and Petty transcended the racetrack, a lone woman emerged from their shadow - Paula Murphy. Fast, fearless, and versatile - auto racing had never seen anyone like her. Dubbed the "World’s Fastest Woman on Wheels," Murphy was more than a speed demon. When she hit the throttle, attitudes toward female drivers changed forever.

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Paula Murphy Festival MASTER

GSEvents
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258 views May 15, 2023
Paula Murphy defied odds and stereotypes as she carved her way to becoming the Andy Granatelli-sponsored "Miss STP" by setting speed records and competing in various race categories. While gaining fans, she also drew ire from the NHRA in 1967 when they rescinded her license. A die-hard supporter of her career, Granatelli fought for her place in the sport and was soon reinstated. Despite setbacks and wrecks, Paula did not stop moving and lived on to be known as "the fastest woman on wheels" who broke records, and barriers, for future women in motorsports.