Tammy Jo Kirk

Tammy Jo Kirk (born May 6, 1962) is an American stock car racing and motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and later returned to NASCAR to run the Busch Series. She has not driven in NASCAR since 2003.

Tammy Jo Kirk
Tammy Joe Kirk in 1997
Born	May 6, 1962 Dalton, Georgia
Achievements	1994 Snowball Derby Winner
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
15 races run over 1 year
Best finish	45th (2003)
First race	2003 New England 200 (New Hampshire)
Last race	2003 Ford 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
32 races run over 2 years
Best finish	20th (1997)
First race	1997 Chevy Trucks Challenge (Disney)
Last race	1998 Sam's Town 250 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Early career

Kirk began her racing career in motorcycles at the age of 9,[1] moving up through the ranks of the sport during her teenage years and finally reaching the peak of the sport, the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. She became the first woman in history to reach a Grand National Championship final when she earned a spot in the 1983 Knoxville Half Mile event.[2] In 1986, she made history by winning a Class C flat track race in Knoxville, Tennessee.[3]

After Kirk retired from motorcycle racing due to frustration about the refusal of companies to provide spare parts to a female competitor,[4] she moved on to late model racing in 1989.[5] Kirk joined the NASCAR Winston All-American Challenge Series in 1991, becoming the first female driver to compete in the series.[3] In 1994, she was named the Most Popular Driver in the series, which had been renamed the Slim Jim All Pro Series, and would finish seventh in series points two years later. Kirk became the second woman to win a NASCAR touring series event (the first being Shawna Robinson in 1988, in the Goody's Dash Series[6]) when she won the 1994 Snowball Derby, which was at the time a points race in the All Pro Series.[3]

Craftsman Trucks & Busch Series

Kirk's 1997 truck

In 1997, Kirk made the next big step as she moved to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. She signed with Geoff Bodine Racing with Loveable, a lingerie company, as the sponsor of her No. 7 Ford F-150;[7] the sponsorship was reported to be worth $1.2 million USD.[1] She made her debut in 1997 at the Walt Disney World Speedway, qualifying 9th and finishing 24th; she was the first female driver to compete in the series.[3] Two races later at Portland Speedway, she qualified 3rd.[5] Her best finish that year was an 11th at Heartland Park Topeka. After the Federated Auto Parts 250, she was released, but was able to run one race apiece with MacDonald Motorsports and Circle Bar Racing. The race with Circle Bar came to a premature end when Kirk became uneasy in the driver's seat, claiming the pillows she was sitting on made it feel like she was "falling out of the seat" in the turns.[8] When the season was over, she had run 19 of 26 races and had finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year chase.[3]

For 1998, she started her own team.[3] Unfortunately, she only made thirteen starts because of a lack of sponsors for her No. 51 Ford. The season was marked with 6 DNF's. Her best finish that year was 13th at Bristol. She finished 29th in points that year. Despite her best efforts, she still did not acquire any sponsors,[9] and she shut down her team in 1999. She would not race in the Truck Series again; her best career finish in the series was 11th, at Heartland Park Topeka in 1997.[3]

In 2003, she returned to NASCAR, driving the No. 49 Advil Ford Taurus for Jay Robinson Racing in the Busch Series. In 15 races, her best finish was 21st at the Trim Spa Dream Body 250.[4] After the season was over, she was released from the ride; she retired from racing, and currently works as a motorcycle dealer in her hometown of Dalton.[4]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	NBSC	Pts
2003	Jay Robinson Racing	49	Ford	DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	TAL	NSH	CAL	RCH	GTY	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA 34	PPR 21	IRP 29	MCH 39	BRI 37	DAR 25	RCH 22	DOV 24	KAN 33	CLT 27	MEM 28	ATL 35	PHO 33	CAR 32	HOM 32	45th	1062

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	NCTC	Pts
1997	Geoff Bodine Racing	07	Ford	WDW 24	TUS DNQ																NSV 14										20th	2174
		7				HOM 23	PHO 12	POR 14	EVG 16	I70 25	NHA 13	TEX 13	BRI 19	NZH 16	MLW 16	LVL 14	CNS 17	HPT 11	IRP 34	FLM 19
	MacDonald Motorsports	72	Chevy																			GLN DNQ	RCH 30	MAR DNQ	SON	MMR
	Circle Bar Racing	74	Ford																								CAL 35	PHO
	RGR Racing	27	Ford																										LVS DNQ
1998	Kirk Motorsports	51	Ford	WDW 17	HOM 15	PHO	POR	EVG	I70 19	GLN	TEX 15	BRI 13	MLW DNQ	NZH 16	CAL 32	PPR 34	IRP 31	NHA 34	FLM	NSV 26	HPT	LVL	RCH DNQ	MEM 21	GTY	MAR	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS 36	29th	1296

References

1. Brinster, Dick (August 7, 1997). "Female driver no pushover". Star-News. Wilmington, NC. p. 5C.
2. "The smokin' Camel Pro Series". American Motorcyclist. Westerville, OH: American Motorcyclist Association. 37 (9): 13. September 1983. ISSN 0277-9358.
3. "Tammy Jo Kirk". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. December 22, 2002. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
4. Hood, Jeff (December 12, 2010). "Tammy Jo Kirk Was A Racer". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
5. Rockne, Dick (May 10, 1997). "Tammy Jo Kirk Won't Dim Her Lights -- First Woman In Truck Series Breaks Ground". The Seattle Times. Seattle, WA. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
6. "Shawna Robinson Becomes First Woman to Win a NASCAR Race". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. June 11, 1988. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
7. "NASCAR Notebook". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, TX. March 31, 2005. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
8. Ryan, Nate. "Irvan, Irwin wage war of words". Retrieved October 18, 2020.
9. Miller, Henry (June 13, 1998). "Kirk's doing all she can to run races - with or without a sponsor". Lodi News-Sentinel. Lodi, CA. p. 30.

External links

• Official website
• Tammy Jo Kirk driver statistics at Racing-Reference