Erika Monforte was born in 1989 in Zoppola, a commune in the Province of Pordenone, Italy. She displayed great promise as a racing driver from a rather young age and made her first attempt to compete in the amateur tracks more than 1o years ago Her father, Maurizio Monforte, was also a professional racing driver and retired back in 1998.
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The Italian race car driver got herself into a few serious races over the years, including the Abarth 500 Italia as well as the Mugello Circuit and the Superstars GT Sprint Championship with a Porsche 997. In mid-2014, Erika Monforte made her NASCAR debut and placed 9th, winning the female category. She’s also the proud mother of two daughters, Sofia and Matilde.
Kelly Sutton - Old Dominion Speedway Contender
Kelly Sutton began racing when she was just ten years old. Obviously back then she wasn't driving real cars, but as far as kids in racing karts go, she was outstanding. Ever since she was little, Sutton knew that she was going to be a great racing driver when she got older. This dream was delayed when the ambitious driver was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 16.
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A potentially crippling disease of the brain and spinal cord which causes a person's immune system to attack his own body. Through much commitment, optimism, and hard work, the athlete ultimately reached her goals. Sutton was able to begin officially racing in NASCAR a few years later when she competed in the Old Dominion Speedway race.
Erica Thiering - Alberta Star
Erica Thiering is a seven-time NASCAR Whelen All American Series Champion and started her racing career when she was just a teen. She began in the Edmonton International Raceways four-cylinder class. Her last stint was in the Canadian Tire Series in 2015. Thiering dedicates many of her races to her sister, Erica, who had passed away in 2016.
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The Canadian race car driver comes from Sherwood Park, Alberta. While she is passionate about raising, her real dream is to one day become an astronaut. It’s not every day that an unknown racer from Alberta makes it to NASCAR, which just goes to show that with enough talent, hard work, and dedication — anything is possible.
Ethel Mobley - Legendary Flock Family
One of the first female NASCAR drivers in the world, Ethel Mobley competed in over 100 NASCAR events throughout her long and successful career. She showed great promise from the very beginning, and would often end in the top ten. One of her best-known achievements was coming 8th at the Daytona Beach Road Course.
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Ethel was part of a legendary Flock racing family, with three of her brothers: Tim, Fonty, and Bob Flock making her one of the pioneers in NASCAR. According to Tim Flock, one of Mobley's NASCAR racing brothers, Ethel was actually named after the gasoline her father used for his car. In 1949, she became the first female racing driver to ever compete against male drivers in the state of Georgia.
Natacha Gachnang -Formula One Family
Natacha Gachnang is as talented as she is beautiful. Since 2009 she has been in 16 races. Her best one yet was when she finished at 23rd place in 2009, making her an extremely accomplished female racer. Gachnang is also the cousin of former Formula One driver, Sébastien Buemi. Perhaps car racing is in the genes.
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At age 22, Gachnang found herself the victim of a traumatic car accident when attempting to qualify for the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship race at Abu Dhabi. Fortunately, she didn't need any surgery and recovered quite fast. That same year, she became a member of the world's first all-female crew, and raced at the Le Mans 24 hours in 1991 and again in 2013.