Deborah Renshaw, Shawna Robinson and Erin Crocker are just a few of the female drivers who tried to make it in NASCAR.
Twenty-year-old Alli Owens hopes her name doesn’t appear on that list.
“What I have seen in the past is the drivers didn’t let racing consume them,” said Owens, who is driving on the ARCA Series. “You can’t be on the fence. You got to be full force.
“I’m in a sport where there are few women to be found. So you have to be determined and let everyone know you are here to stay and advance.”
Owens is definitely committed and isn’t lacking confidence when competing against the boys, which she has done for most of her life.
“It was mud puddles and rocks for me,” Owens said. “Anything the boys wanted to do, I wanted to do.”
After attending Lyn St. James Academy driver development program, she moved up to racing Mini Stocks and Late Models at New Smyrna Speedway in Daytona Beach.
In her first Late Model race, she finished second and won Rookie of the Year honors in 2005.
After racing in the Whelan All-American Series in 2007, Owens ran 12 races last season for Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing and had three top-15 finishes.
Last winter, Owens moved from her parents home in Daytona Beach, Fla., to North Carolina to race for D’Hondt Motorsports.
The company is run by Eddie D’Hondt, who was a general manager with several NASCAR teams, including Robert Yates Racing and Evernham Motorsports.
“Eddie takes it to a different level,” Owens said. “He is not just doing it for a paycheck. He also has done a great job providing guidance.”
Owens is starting to make her mark on and off the track. She is the first female race car driver to serve as a spokeswoman for the National Council of Youth Sports.
Owens also hosts a weekly radio show on the Power Up Network and writes a column for RacingOne.com.
On the track, she has backed that up by recording back-to-back 10 finishes, including last week at Pocono, and will be driving in Friday’s ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Owens said. “We are getting a chance to run more and are running well. Everyone has stepped up their game.”
And Owens knows she needs to have those kind of results to move up in the NASCAR ranks.
Owens plans on running most of the rest of the ARCA season and hopefully a few Nationwide Series.
Next year, the plan is to run Owens in 16-20 Nationwide races and then go from there.
“This is a lot more than Alli Owens,” she said. “It is representing females and giving them inspiration.
“Once a girl wins and is successful, doors are going to open.”
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