Ever since NASCAR was born in 1948, its reach has been limited. Diehard stock car racing fans were mostly confined to the US, among white Caucasians, and among men. Even today, when NASCAR racing is one of the few national sports that allows men and women to compete at the same level, the glaring absence of women persists. That is due to pervasive gender stereotypes that dominate the racing series. What is more, they stem from the fandom, as well.
Several high-flying female racers dazzle us in the present day. Isabella Robusto, a 20-year-old ARCA Menards racer, notched 3 top-ten finishes out of 4 starts last year. Then Jade Avedisian became the first woman to win a CARS Tour race in March 2025. But even rooting for these speedster ladies is a task for their female fans.
The discrimination in NASCAR fandom
“It’s exclusively all white male, with no blacks and no women.” Janet Guthrie said this about NASCAR during a 1988 Charlotte Motor Speedway media tour. Guthrie finished 11th in the 1980 Daytona 500 and 9th in the 1978 Indy 500. Sadly, the sport has improved slowly since Guthrie admitted that bitter truth. NASCAR didn’t have its first female pit crew member, Christmas Abbott, until 2012. In 2017, Brehanna Daniels, an alumna of the Drive for Diversity program, became the first Black female over-the-wall tire changer in the sport’s history. We all saw how Hailie Deegan underwent a dishonorable discharge from the Xfinity Series last year for failing to put up strong finishes. Many veterans believed her switch from Toyota to Ford was a mistake.
The persistent disparity between men and women is not just limited to the racetrack. In a heartfelt message, an avid NASCAR fan confessed how deeply hurt she is that others do not believe in her passion. She wrote in a Reddit post: “I love the sport, but the community in general is horrible to its female fans. Not only do people assume I’m a man, once they find out I’m a girl- and a teenage girl- they start invalidating me. I can’t count the times I’ve been told to touch grass or that I’m mental. Yep, I enjoy watching JHN run well. Yep, I cried when Brandon Jones won Darlington. The amount of disrespect I get for these things is insane.” Even Danica Patrick, the 2008 Indy Japan 300 winner, had a special technique to cope with the discrimination she faced in NASCAR.
NASCAR has been implementing strategies to attract younger, diverse fans. Those strategies include a Netflix documentary and a Cup Series race in Mexico. However, that younger demographic may not involve teenage girls, as the Reddit fan stressed. She continued, “I also would not be surprised if this post was removed, downvoted, or ignored, because it’s “not news, updates, or directly related to the sport”, even though some kid (validly, great for him!) posted about how NASCAR saved his life this past week. I’m tired of people not taking me seriously because I’m a 16 year old girl, and frankly, I’m on the brink of just not caring what anyone says anymore.”
This emotional message was enough to send ripples of realization. NASCAR fans rallied to support the overlooked female section of their community.
Spreading awareness of the issues
Women drivers keep facing turbulence in NASCAR, mainly due to the fandom. Katherine Legge, a four-time GT category winner in IMSA, ran a Cup Series race in Phoenix. She became the first female to do so since Danica Patrick last raced in 2018. However, the wreck with Daniel Suarez elicited nasty reactions. She received thousands of hateful messages, death threats, and vulgar comments. So, in response to the teenage NASCAR fan’s Reddit post, a fellow fan asked her to simply shrug off the haters. They wrote, “You nailed it in your last sentence. “…I’m on the brink of just not caring what anyone says anymore.” Yep. You shouldn’t care what people think. Don’t let anyone influence or talk down on things that make you happy.”
A fellow NASCAR fan empathized with the Reddit user. They also happened to be a woman who has been following the sport for a long time. She wrote, “Female NASCAR fan in my 30’s – just go to the races and enjoy. You’ll meet cool, friendly and normal people there. I only got into the sport a few years ago, and the online community (mainly here and X) has turned me off to participating in any discussions and almost chased me out of being a fan completely – all while they’ll complain about not gaining new fans. Fortunately, the energy has never carried over in person for me! People are rude on the internet because they can be, and think there are no consequences for their words and actions.” Somebody else said that other sports are also involved. “I dont think its limited to NASCAR, pretty much sports Fandom in general.”
In a heart-warming move, male NASCAR fans also offered their support. Stock car racing usually caters to older men who have been following the sport since its golden age. One such fan penned the sweetest comment: “I’m very sorry that you have had this experience. As a father of a 16 year old girl, all I can say is, it’s not all of us. I WISH my daughter liked racing! Ignore the idiots. The world is full of them. Enjoy racing.” A male fan belonging to the present day also encouraged more female participation. They drew a parallel with their own teenage days: “Your opinion and thoughts of the sport is just as valid as mine (male) was as a teenager. Keep watching, love the sport the way you want to.”
Evidently, winds of change are appearing in NASCAR. Hopefully, they will become strong enough soon to overturn the tide in favor of more women racers.
The post NASCAR Community Called Out for Toxic Treatment of Young Female Fans appeared first on EssentiallySports.
