On the surface, motorsports appears to be a male-dominated domain, but there have been plenty of women who have made their marks on the scene and behind the scenes, especially within the Ford sphere (or oval) of influence.

Often left unreported, women have been involved in automobile racing from the beginning of racing’s early days -- on the track, in the pits, and behind the scenes. From Detroit to Daytona, and from Indy to Le Mans and Sebring, women have earned their stripes and checkered flags, and the list reads like a motorsports who’s-who regardless of gender. Drivers such as Michele Mouton – World Rally Championship and Le Mans; Vicki Wood -- The first female to ever to drive in NASCAR; Maria Teresa de Filippis – Formula One; Sara Christian – NASCAR; Janet Guthrie – Indy and NASCAR; Sarah Fisher – Indy car driver and team owner; Donna Mae Mims – SCCA; Brittany, Courtney, and Ashley Force – NHRA; and many more.

Among those women who have been pioneers and winners on the track are a slew of Blue Oval drivers who brought thrills and skills to races while driving Fords.

There are many Blue Oval racing women who have earned due respect, but a few of the most memorable and skillful drivers include the following.

Danica Patrick -- Arguably one of the faces of motorsports in the first two decades of this century, Danica Patrick drove Formula Fords and NASCAR Fords, was 2005 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and raced in 191 NASCAR races. She was the first female to win an Indy Car series race, first female to win a pole position in both Indy Car and NASCAR series, and one of only 14 racers, male or female to lead a both the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. She got her start with Ford backing in the United Kingdom, racing Formula Fords, and drove Ford Fusions in NASCAR races, including the No. 10  Ford Warriors Pink Fusion NASCAR racecar for Breast Cancer Awareness month, marking Ford’s decades-long commitment to raising awareness and funds in the fight against the disease.

Lyn St. James – The first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year Award, Lyn St. James raced SCCA TransAm, IMSA GT, CART and Indy Racing League races and won at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours at Sebring. She is the only woman to win an IMSA GT race driving solo, when she won in 1988 at Watkins Glen, and she became the first woman driver to reach over 200 mph on a racetrack. For the majority of her career she drove a Ford Mustang, and she used a Ford Thunderbird to break a closed course record for women with 227.32 mph. She often raced driving Mercury Capris Ford Cosworths, and Ford Mustangs.

Shirley Muldowney – “The First Lady of Drag Racing” in the NHRA, Shirley “Cha-Cha” Muldowney began street racing in New York as a teen-ager and competed in Top Gas dragsters before switching to Funny Cars. She won the International Hot Rod Association Southern Nationals in 1971, and she was a three-time NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Champion in 1977, 1980 and 1982. Her first nitro car was a Mustang-bodied, Chrysler-powered Funny Car she bought from Connie Kalitta and raced Mustangs and Mustang bodies for most of her career.

Denise McCluggage – A driver who fought for equality in motorsports and automotive journalism as well, Denise McCluggage, wearing her iconic polka-dot helmet won her class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1961, driving a Ferrari 250 GT SWB. McCluggage also scored another class win at the Monte Carlo Rally in a Ford Falcon in 1964 with her teammate, English rally driver, Anne Hall. She also helped launch Autoweek magazine and won the Ken W. Purdy Award for excellence in automotive journalism, among other journalism awards.

Hailie Deegan --  One of the new faces of racing is female driving phenom Hailie Deegan, who was signed by Ford Performance for ARCA racing. The 19-year-old Deegan is currently driving Ford F-150s in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, piloting the No. 1 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing. Deegan grew up racing off-road and on dirt, but transitioned to competing on asphalt in 2016 to pursue a career in stock car racing. She began her career in NASCAR in 2018 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and she became the first female driver to win races in the West Series, doing so in 2018 and 2019. To date, Hailie Deegan is the ONLY female ever to compete in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series and in 2016, she was named the circuit's Driver of the Year.

Deegan, will be making an appearance at Carlisle Ford Nationals on Saturday, June 5. You can meet Deegan and get her autograph at the Carlisle Ford Nationals presented by Meguiar's.  As noted, she's at the event on June 5, while the full event itself runs June 4-6 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. The Carlisle Ford Nationals is the largest all-Ford show in the world, and features more than 3,200 cars – Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Euro Fords -- on National Parts Depot Showfield. Deegan is scheduled to appear Saturday, June 5.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

 

The automotive industry lost another icon, and Carlisle Events had to say goodbye to another friend, when Bruce Meyers, father of the modern-day dune buggy, passed away Feb. 19 at his San Diego-area home at the age of 94.


 
Meyers built thousands of dune buggies in his lifetime, and as an artist, designed boats and surfboards. He worked as a commercial artist and a lifeguard, traveled the world surfing and sailing, built a trading post in Tahiti and survived a World War II Japanese kamikaze attack on his Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Bunker Hill. “He had a life that nobody else has ever lived,” his wife, Winnie Meyers said.

Growing up near such popular Southern California surfing spots as Newport, Hermosa and Manhattan beaches, it was wave riding, not cars or sand surfing, that initially captivated Meyers, who liked to refer to himself as an original beach bum. Following his WWII service, Meyers served in the Merchant Marine and attended the Chouinard Art Institute, now part of the California Institute of the Arts. 



His experience designing lightweight boats out of fiberglass drove him to improve early versions of dune buggies. These “water pumpers” were crude and heavy so Meyers took it upon himself to design a lightweight version that would be fun on the beach or in the wilds of Baja. After modifying a VW Kombi bus with wide rims (called “Little Red Riding Bus”), he used his expertise in boat building to design the first fiberglass-bodied dune buggy, the Meyers Manx, created in his garage in 1964.

Meyers borrowed the "Manx" name for the shortened, taller-wheeled, more maneuverable VW Beetle mods and is derived from the comparably stubby Manx cat breed. The tailless cat in the logo, as featured on the hood ornament, is stylized after a passant heraldic lion, its right forepaw brandishing a sword. 

Featured on the April 1967 cover of Car & Driver magazine, the buggy drew national attention, but proved too expensive to be profitable, and only 12 kits of the monocoque Manx were produced. So Meyers went off-road racing, and he and a buddy off-roaded the Ensenada run and their 39-hour run broke the existing record by four hours. 

Buggies became such a hot seller in Southern California that they spawned “The Buggy Boom” of 1969, and while Meyers, over the years, put out some 7,000 buggies, perhaps as many of 250,000 look-alikes may have been created by others. 



During the 1970s, Meyers and his company built the Manx 2, Meyers Tow’d, Manx SR and Resorter/Turista. His company also built two utility buggies for the LA County Life Guard contingent and one for the California Forest Service. 

In 1976, Road and Track Magazine called the dune buggy “a genuine sculpture, a piece of art.” Meyers reflected on the honor saying, “Its form was fun. Big wheels on small cars, no doors.”

In the 1990s, dune buggies enjoyed resurgence and by 2000, Bruce Meyers was back in business with a new series of vehicles, including the Kick Out Manx SS, a direct descendent of the original Manx, the new Manxter, and its sibling the Manxter 2+2.



A frequent guest star at Carlisle Events shows Meyers made his Carlisle debut at the 2008 Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals and was such a hit that the Carlisle Team insisted he come back in 2009 and many shows thereafter. He was an annual celebrity guest who also displayed his legendary work nearly every year after.

Some of his most memorable appearances include:

2008 – Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals  -- Appearing with his 2006 Meyers Maxter 2+2 Dune Buggy with Manx builder John Denmat. The two conducted the final assembly of the very first Manx Kick Out SS.

2009 – Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals -- Showcasing his Meyers Manx fiberglass dune buggy

2010 -- Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals -- Present weekend to sign autographs and pose for pictures along with his works

2012 -- Carlisle Import and Kit Nationals -- A meet and greet and part of the show’s “Living Legends” presentation …lines around Building T to get his autograph

2015 – Carlisle Import and Kit Nationals -- After more than fifty years in the business, Meyers appeared as part of his “51 Years and Counting” tour, swapped stories signed autographs, interacted with Manx owners and offered kit and car building advice.

2016 – Carlisle Performance and Style Show -- Presented history, gave autographs and brought a slew of his creations with him.



To celebrate Bruce Meyers’s life, this year’s Carlisle Import Performance Nationals, May 14-15 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds has teamed up with The Manx Club for a tribute. Meyers’ wife, Winnie Meyers will be in attendance for the weekend and a special display of Manx dune buggies will be displayed in Building T all weekend as well as a banner that guests can sign and which will be presented to Winnie Meyers after the show. There will be a parade of dune buggies around the show on Friday at 4pm, and at 8pm on Friday, there will be a presentation with a video at the Grandstand. A wide variety of dune buggies will be parked around the stage.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

Carlisle Events has always been an affordable destination for family fun when it comes to car shows.   Many discounts have been in place for various forms of access for spectators over the years, but despite the close proximity to such rich military history, a military discount was not one of the options…UNTIL NOW!  Carlisle Events is excited to share that beginning immediately, a military discount will be part of the admissions process for those looking to walk the grounds and enjoy the sights of the car shows.

The ALL NEW $5 military discount will be applied for active (including reserves) or retired military members who purchase a single day spectator ticket in person at the venue.  This new discount perfectly complements one of the marquee fairgrounds backdrops, the U.S. Army War College as well as the thousands of active and retired service personnel who call the Cumberland Valley home.  The $5 off savings is valid with military ID and is for only the ID holder and their singular entry.

In addition to the U.S. Army War College, the facility is regionally close to the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon and closer yet, the Naval Support Activity facility in Mechanicsburg.  The Pennsylvania National Guard even has a “Readiness Center” just outside of Gate 5, one of the main points of entry for the grounds.

This discount is yet another way to never pay full-price when attending a car show at Carlisle.  Non-military members can purchase discounted tickets online in advance of the show, while everyone is eligible for discounts on full-event or season pass spectator access.  Further, kids 12 and under are always admitted FREE when accompanied by an adult.

“Central Pennsylvania is rich with military history,” noted General Manager Scott Amig.  “We see the facilities all around us and frequently interact with the men and women past and present who sacrifice so much for our freedoms.  As a company, we are grateful for all that they do and are excited to offer this new discount to them.”

As of this release, Carlisle Events has seven events remaining on its 2021 schedule, including the Fall Carlisle Collector Car Auction at the neighboring Carlisle Expo Center.  Admission to any Carlisle Events promoted weekend on grounds yields reciprocating access to ticketed events that may be taking place at the Carlisle Expo Center.  This happens twice annually, as part of Spring Carlisle in April (and its auction) and Fall Carlisle in September (and its auction).

Carlisle Events is COVID-19 compliant and follows current guidelines suggested by state officials as well as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  A detailed Health/Safety Measures summary is available on CarlisleEvents.com.  While on the web, be sure to learn all about each car show or call 717-243-7855 today!

A long-time friend of Carlisle Events, and a beloved icon in the automotive industry has passed away. Norm Kraus, affectionately known industry-wide as “Mr. Norm” and “The High Performance King” died on February 26, 2021 at the age of 87.

Known for his sales and promotion of Dodge muscle cars and his nationally popular club, his legendary status ranged from high-performance Mopars to funny cars, to die-cast cars, to his co-ownership of Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago from 1962 through 1977, which became the No.1 Dodge dealership in the world.

His dedication to high-performance Dodges was embodied in his efforts in bringing Dodge vehicles to another level. He got his start and his nickname, in the 1950s, when he and his brother Lenny began specializing in selling used performance cars. They employed the tagline "Call Mr. Norm" in their classified ads, and the name stuck. Soon, Dodge offered the brothers an opportunity to open a new car dealership. Promoting muscle cars and exploiting his nickname, Kraus explained, “’Mr. Norm’ was an image that was built into the dealership. When I walked out at the end of the day, I wasn't ‘Mr. Norm’ anymore; I was Norm Kraus. I learned to be a humble winner on the track and a gracious loser. I'm just glad I didn't have to be gracious too much."

According to Kraus, one of his proudest accomplishments, was when he sought to install a 383ci V8 engine in a compact Dodge Dart body. He was positive that this combo would be a great sell, since a lightweight Dart with a powerful 383ci would be competitively fast. However, Dodge's engineering team turned him down; saying it placing a 383ci V8 in Dart’s engine bay couldn't be done. Undeterred, in 1967, he ordered a new Dart and a crate 383 V8 engine, and after a few days' work, the Dodge Dart Grand Spaulding Special (GSS) was born. Soon, the dealership was offering GSS conversions involving larger 440ci engines. With this focus on performance and ingenuity, Kraus was able to make Grand Spaulding Dodge the largest Dodge dealership by 1972.

Kraus took his car work racing, and after a minor sponsorship one weekend turned into five sales by Wednesday, he was ready to go racing in a big way. Not wanting to compete against his customers, he decided to build a match-race car. He recalled that his first 1964 supercharged car “became one of the first Funny Cars in the country, because when we went out racing, we were running against all the gassers and the rails. There weren't any other Funny Cars to run." A 1965 ex-factory lightweight car allowed them to run well into the eights when the competition was in the nines, putting ‘Mr. Norm’ on the map nationwide.

The Kraus brothers grew their dealership selling trucks, vans and standard cars along with the high-performance models. And when others were turning away the younger crowd, Grand Spaulding courted them. In 1977, Norm sold his share of the dealership, which closed within a couple of years. Still in his forties, he wanted to spend more time with his family, something not possible when on the showroom floor from Monday through Friday and then at the race track all weekend. He later had a furniture business on the site of one of the dealership buildings and then sold used cars again. He followed that up with two decades of marketing products in his name under license and he continued to appear at shows, promote Mopar and keep his hand in funny cars.

Recognized for his efforts, Kraus was inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame in 1989, and then in 1996, was inducted into the A/FX Funny Car Hall of Fame

A celebrity guest and supporter at many Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals over the years, some of his more memorable appearances at Carlisle include:

1998 – He was the featured guest celebrity of the event.

1999 – The return of Mr. Norm's Sport Club, after nearly a 30-year hiatus. Launched at the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, the gathering saw support from hundreds of loyal fans from around the United States and Canada. Kraus signed limited-edition lithographs of the legendary Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge dealership circa 1970, at the height of the muscle car era. The artwork was created by David Snyder.

2007 – Kraus’ 1968 GSS Hemi Dart was displayed at the event.

2008 -- Mr. Norm’s Dodge Ram Super Truck was displayed with Kraus at the show.

2010 – A dozen of Kraus’ high-performance Dodges were displayed and he was on-hand at the Mr. Norm’s Garage exhibit.

2011 – Kraus oversaw a Sport Club exhibit featuring his 2011 GSS Super Charger, the Mr. Norm’s Ram Red Xpress Truck and two Super Challengers.

2012 – A full display of fully equipped current-day vehicles from Kraus’ stable were shown, with ‘The High Performance King’ on hand to answer questions and sign autographs.

Norm Kraus … Mr. Norm …“The High Performance King – 1934-2021. He is already missed.  He will be remembered at this year’s Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, July 9 – 11 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. The largest Mopar event in the world, it features more than 2,800 vehicles from all eras of the Chrysler brand. Classic, muscle cars and high performance new models are all showcased at this Mopar-lover's paradise.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>