Instead of the glass ceiling, in the racing world the ceiling is referred to as “asphalt.” Only one woman has secured a top-five finish in a NASCAR Cup series race and that was a fifth-place spot in 1949 held by Sara Christian.

Janet Gutherie and Danica Patrick are two women who have been close to winning a Cup series race and are the only women who have started more than a dozen Cup races.

However, Danica’s effect on racing may influence the future of women in racing and certainly began to change people’s perceptions of women in racing.

Patrick retains a special place in American motorsports history because she is the only woman to win an IndyCar race.

Patrick is scheduled to race for the final time in this year’s Indianapolis 500, closing her driving career in the event in which she made big news with strong runs before detouring to NASCAR.

Toyota is one company that is recruiting top female drivers. However, in the National Hot Rod Association, numerous women drivers, nine to be exact, have won championships, when only few if any wins have happened by women within the NASCAR and INDY Cups.