Tammy Jo Kirk

Tammy Jo Kirk was a racer. A sponsor once touted her as "a woman with a lot of drive." And because she's a she, the driver received a lot of notice. Tammy Jo preferred to be considered as "just another driver."

That said, Kirk became the first female NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series driver (in 1991 when the series was known as the NASCAR Winston All American Challenge Series) and later, the first woman to win one, then two, Busch Pole Awards in the series in 1996. She also finished seventh in the series' 1996 championship points race, and was selected as the series' Most Popular Driver Award winner.

Kirk, who owned a motorcycle shop in her hometown, began racing at the age of 9, first on motorcycles in motocross and flat-track competition. At 18, she shifted to oval dirt-track racing. Later, she moved to NASCAR Weekly Racing Series competition at Lanier National Speedway outside Gainesville, Ga.

A year later, in 1991, she moved to the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series, a touring division for Late Model cars. Kirk won the end-of-season Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., in 1994.

Kirk made history from the beginning of her racing career on two wheels. Kirk entered the heretofore all-male world of AMA flat-track motorcycle racing and became the first female rider to gain Expert status. In 1986, Kirk went into the record book again as she won an event at Knoxville, Tenn.

She became the first female driver to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1997, qualifying for the Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World Speedway driving a Ford prepared by Geoff Bodine Racing. While Kirk failed to post a top-10 finish in 1997, she qualified third for the Craftsman 200 at Portland Speedway and scored a number of lead-lap finishes. A sponsorship shortfall meant she could compete in only 19 of the series' 26 events, but she still won more than $134,000 in prize money.

Kirk finished 20th in the final Truck Series championship standings and seventh among 29 rookie of the year candidates.

"I just want to be a racer and just another driver," said Kirk, who later co-owned her own Truck Series team before running her last race in the 1998 season finale. "There are a lot of nice people in the garage area and NASCAR has really accepted me well. I feel welcome and more accepted than in past situations. People who know me know I'm just another driver like the rest of them."