Breaking Barriers: Women Drivers Pushing Boundaries In NHRA Drag Racing

The roar of the engines shakes the grandstands, each blast of nitromethane cutting through the thick air. Behind the helmets and fireproof suits, it is impossible to tell who is strapped into the cockpit, only that they are ready to rocket down the strip at more than 300 miles an hour. 

In drag racing, the starting line is the same for everyone. 

“The cars don’t care who’s driving it,” said professional drag racer Jasmine Salinas, echoing a common saying within the sport that has helped make drag racing one of the most level playing fields in motorsports.

Salinas and her younger sister, Jianna Evaristo, compete in the top categories of the National Hot Rod Association, the largest auto racing organization in the world. Although they grew up racing in junior categories, neither initially envisioned a career in racing. Both pursued college degrees — Salinas in international studies with aspirations for the Peace Corps, and Evaristo in child development with plans to become a therapist. But, their perspectives shifted when their father, Mike Salinas, began his professional racing career in 2011.

Jasmine Salinas spent a year working behind the scenes with her father’s team.

“By the end of the year, I was rebuilding superchargers and turning the car around after each run,” she said.

The hands-on experience reignited a passion for the sport.

“I loved the concept of being able to build a rocket ship, send a human in it and then have them run down the race track and shake the Earth for three and a half seconds,” Salinas said.

She made her competitive debut in 2021 in the Top Alcohol Dragster category. Then, at the start of the 2024 season, an unexpected turn of events accelerated her career. After the first race, her father had to take a temporary medical leave, and she stepped into his place for the remainder of the season, making her Top Fuel debut.

Entering the sport, Salinas was fortunate to have grown up watching women already breaking barriers in drag racing. She saw drivers like Brittany Force and Leah Pruett compete in person and watched Courtney and Erica Enders’ story portrayed in Disney’s film “Right on Track.” Salinas credits the representation of women racers before her as pivotal in shaping her belief that she belonged in the sport.

“I’m very thoughtful and appreciative to all the women that came before me because they really paved the path to make it a very enjoyable and pleasant experience for me.”

While Salinas took the traditional dragster path, Evaristo took a different route. She began her NHRA career in 2019, choosing to race motorcycles — a class known for its high intensity. When she heard it had a reputation for being “crazy,” she was determined to find out why. 

What she discovered was more than just adrenaline. Racing motorcycles gave her confidence and a newfound sense of freedom.

“I just remember feeling like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it. This is where I need to be in life,’” Evaristo said. “I wanted to inspire more women to experience what I was experiencing, and the freedom and enjoyment of just feeling free and so powerful.”

As she spent more time at the track, Evaristo also found something else: a surprising sense of belonging. Though motorsports has a reputation for being male-dominated, she found the drag racing community to be more welcoming than she expected.

“This sport is a very inclusive sport,” Evaristo said. “I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it was definitely a lot more accepting than I thought it was going to be.

“At the end of the day, it’s just whoever is a better racer and whoever has the better equipment, and I feel like that is the most equal playing field ever.” 

Still, she knows the work isn’t over. Women in motorsports often battle outdated stereotypes suggesting they aren’t as skilled or haven’t earned their place. She emphasized that many women racers have to go above and beyond — mastering not just racing, but the technical work behind the scenes — to prove they belong.

“I think that a lot of the female racers out here have to work almost twice as hard, not just to be competitive, but also ensure to uphold a reputation,” she said. 

When mistakes happen, Evaristo said, women often face harsher judgment than their male counterparts, with critics quick to blame their emotions rather than the circumstances of the race.

“That’s like every sport, and I feel like that’s just being a woman in general,” she said. “You have to be hyper-aware of that.”

“[Smith] is probably one of the most hardest working, not women, but racers in general,” Evaristo said.

Smith, who Evaristo calls a “pillar of greatness,” has played a pivotal role in her career, showing her everything from bike maintenance to managing media and sponsor duties.

“She’s such an inspiration,” Evaristo said. “She’s just like the whole package.”

Evaristo’s admiration for Smith’s mentorship and the lessons she has learned from her are clear. It is a reminder of the strength women bring to the sport, and a strength Evaristo carries forward in her own way. When asked about the idea that motorsports is a “man’s world,” she does not hesitate. For her, it is not just a challenge to the stereotype, it is an open invitation to prove it wrong.

“I’d probably just laugh,” she said before challenging the skeptics. “I have a pretty badass motorcycle that I would love for you to come ride and try to take down that track. And by all means, if you think you’re better than me, or you think you can outdo any of the racers out here, please come and show us.”

For Evaristo, that challenge isn’t just about proving herself, it’s about encouraging others to see the truth about drag racing, no matter their gender.

“That’s something all racers feel, male and female,” she said. “We get a lot of people who say drag racing is easy, or that it’s not real racing because you just go in a straight line. It’s so funny because the response is always the same: ‘OK, if you think you can do it, come out here and do it.'”

But beyond the bravado, Evaristo offers a reminder that the racing world should never be underestimated.

“If I’ve learned anything,” she said, “it’s do not mess with the racers out here, especially the females, because they are badass.”

As conversations about women’s experiences in racing continue, new efforts aim to drive change. One of them is More than Equal, a global motorsport initiative dedicated to developing the first female Formula 1 world champion, co-founded by former F1 driver David Coulthard. In December, the organization partnered with Santa Pod Raceway and Women in Motorsports North America to release a report on gender inclusivity in drag racing.

The report, titled “It’s Never Been a Thing: Lessons in Gender Equality from Drag Racing,” highlights the female trailblazers, cultural values and inclusive environment that have made drag racing the most gender-equal motorsport. 

What sets drag racing apart is that female drivers not only compete, but also consistently succeed at the highest levels alongside their male counterparts — a rarity in motorsport, where women make up just 4% of elite competitors across disciplines.

Born at a time when drag racing was considered a man’s sport, Muldowney faced significant resistance both on the streets and from the NHRA as she fought to pursue her racing dreams. In the documentary “Legend: The Series,” she recalls losing count of how many times she was denied the chance to race. Yet, her relentlessness and passion paid off in 1965, when she became the first — and, at the time, the only — woman to earn an NHRA professional license. 

In 1973, she became the first woman licensed to drive a Top Fuel dragster. Muldowney went on to win the NHRA Top Fuel championship three times — in 1977, 1980 and 1982 — becoming the first driver to win three titles in the class.  

Her signature hot-pink hot rod became a symbol of changing times for women in the sport. Muldowney remains one of the most successful women in all of motorsports. 

“The fact that I was a woman was a terrible challenge,” Muldowney said in an interview with Julie Chapman for Spectrum News. “I climbed the ladder, I fell down, I climbed it again and I won races. I delivered the goods, and that’s the most important thing to me.”

One of the defining moments of Muldowney’s career came when she won the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis — a groundbreaking victory that shattered gender barriers at the World’s Biggest Race. To this day, she remains the only female driver to claim a Top Fuel victory at the prestigious event. 

“It’s much easier for women now, the doors are wide open,” Muldowney said. 

Last year, 20-year-old Maddi Gordon became the 100th female racer to win an NHRA event with her victory in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Northwest Nationals.

Gordon’s victory marked a milestone in NHRA history, adding to a growing legacy of women success in the sport. Among the 100 women race winners, six-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders leads the way with 49 wins. She is followed closely by Angelle Sampey, a dominant force in Pro Stock Motorcycle with 47 victories. Muldowney and multi-class competitor Pruett each hold 18 wins. Brittany Force, a standout in Top Fuel, has secured 17 victories and rounds out the top five most successful female drivers in NHRA history.

This month, Brittany Force shattered the record for the fastest speed in drag racing history, reaching an astonishing 341.59 mph during the qualifying runs for the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at Zmax Dragway in Concord, N.C. Notably, this was a record she had previously set herself in 2022.

These remarkable achievements highlight the growing presence of female drivers in NHRA, an accomplishment that remains rare in many other major motorsports.  

In NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series, only 17 women have competed, and none have won a race. In IndyCar, just nine women have raced in the Indianapolis 500 throughout its century-long history. Danica Patrick is the only woman to have won an IndyCar race, claiming victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300. In Formula 1, only five women have entered a Grand Prix. Desiré Wilson remains the only female driver to win an F1 race, triumphing in a non-Championship round of the 1980 British Aurora F1 Championship. None of these series have a female world champion, and, none feature a full-time female driver. 

While women continue to make significant strides in drag racing, their journeys can be marked by challenges that extend beyond the track. Sampey, a three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, recalls the discrimination she faced early in her career.

“When I first started competing, women definitely were not accepted like they are today,” she said. “I did experience a lot of hate, a lot of you know, ‘Why are you here? Go back to the kitchen where you belong.’”

Sampey helped pave the way for women in Pro Stock Motorcycles. After attending Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, she began her professional career in 1996 and secured her first victory at just her fourth start in Reading, Pa. In 2000, she made history as the first female champion in the class.

“It was really bad in the beginning. It took a lot to gain the respect of my peers,” Sampey said. “It really took them to see that I could physically handle it, and then all that I was put through, they saw that I could mentally handle it as well.

“And after lots and lots of time, I slowly became accepted.”

As more and more girls showed up, attitudes began to shift that drag racing is a sport for anyone and everyone.

“The motorcycle doesn’t know who’s on top of it. It doesn’t care,” she said. “As long as you can get it down the racetrack, you can win.”

“Now any woman that shows up is welcomed with open arms, and no one ever questions or doubts a woman’s ability anymore in drag racing,” Sampey said. “Shirley opened that door first, and I helped to keep it open, and Erica did. And you know, every other girl after that.”

“I don’t think women are equal anywhere,” she said. “I think because something looks like we’re equal doesn’t mean that we’re equal.”

Clontz has spent nearly two decades balancing careers in both construction and racing — two traditionally male-dominated fields. Having spent most of her life in these spaces, she said that while women are given opportunities, they are not always given the same respect as men.

“It’s not that we’re not allowed. We’re allowed to do anything we want to do,” Clontz said. “It’s just [about] people treating you with the same respect they would a man.”

Clontz thinks more women need to demand that kind of respect.

“Everybody’s going to tell you what you should do and what you shouldn’t do, and ultimately the only thing that’s going to keep you happy is what you feel in your heart is the right thing for yourself,” she said. “You need to learn to speak up for yourself and tell people when you’re not going to tolerate their behavior.”

She also pushes back against the notion that female racers are “too emotional” on the track.

“It takes a lot to be out here, so I think we just need to learn that who cares if somebody calls us emotional. It’s passion,” Clontz said. 

“You have to be passionate out here to be successful at what you’re doing. You have to be emotional or passionate, whatever you call it, or why even do it? Why are you even here if you don’t show that kind of emotion?”

For Clontz, passion is a necessity, not a weakness. She believes young women need to see that confidence that isn’t always inherent.

“There might be a slim percentage of women that grow up fully confident in knowing what they want and who they are,” Clontz said. “You just have to make a decision and then work toward it. One foot in front of the other.”

As the sport continues to evolve, one thing remains clear: While NHRA may provide one of the most level playing fields in motorsports, the fight for true equality isn’t over. But as more women take the starting line, they continue to reshape perceptions, inspire the next generation and prove that in drag racing, the car doesn’t care who’s behind the wheel.

“If you have reservations about men and women racing, I highly suggest you get to the track and you actually see everybody in action,” Evaristo said. “You’re going to learn real fast that the women out here are badass, both on and off the track.”