Phoenix, Arizona (November 13, 2023) –
Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) is proud to celebrate their successful sold-out third annual Women with Drive III (WWD III) Summit – Driven by Mobil 1 last week at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
Over 450 women and men from all disciplines of the motorsports industry came together for two full days of sessions with over 96 speakers, 58 sponsors and numerous award announcements.
The livestream of the event, courtesy of Gainbridge®, a Group 1001 company, was viewed around the world as it allowed people who could not attend the event to have the opportunity to virtually attend. The summit was part of Parity Week supporting three women’s sports pioneers, Billie Jean King, Annika Sorenstam and Lyn St. James and their respective events.
The WIMNA SHEro Award, presented by Jostens, invited nominations of exceptional contributions by women in motorsports from tracks, race teams, and other organizations. Abigail Hempy, the 2023 SHEro award winner, is a powertrain engineer at NASCAR’s Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina. To learn more about the SHEroAward and Abigail Hempy, visit WomenInMotorsportsNA.com.
WIMNA also presented a HEro Award to long-time NASCAR executive and board chairman of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, Ken Clapp, who has dedicated his life to promoting NASCAR and is a strong supporter of WIMNA.
For more about WIMNA, visit: https://womeninmotorsportsna.com/
You can also follow along on social media, including:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womeninmotorsportsna
X Corp./Twitter: @WWDSummit and @_WIMNA
Instagram: @WWDSummit and @womeninmotorsportsna
LinkedIn: Women in Motor Sports North America
YouTube: @WomenWithDriveSummit
About Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA)
Women in Motorsports North America is a community of professional women and men devoted to enabling opportunities for women across all motorsport disciplines. Founded as a 501c3 in April 2022, WIMNA is quickly establishing its positive impact on motorsports, supporting and creating resources that enable women drivers, technicians, engineers, operations staff, business-related, media, and more to thrive in the industry. Best known for its Women with Drive Summit held each year, WIMNA also provides resources, mentorship, coaching, career connections, and more. Learn more at womeninmotorsportsna.com/.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT THE WOMEN WITH DRIVE III SUMMIT
Judy Kean, EPARTRADE:
“The 3rd Annual Women in Motorsports NA was such an outstanding event, congratulations to all of you. That is the buzz I’m hearing from others too. Great panels and topics. Amazing turnout of attendees. Fabulous Sponsors. And sounds like they are all coming back next year! Proud of the entire team at WIMNA. Your organization will only blossom more.”
Mia Walsh, Porsche Club of America
“Words cannot express the ‘high’ I was on and continue to be after the WWD III Summit. I just wanted to say a giant ‘thank you’ for continuing to build the community of women in motorsports.”
Gill Campbell, Aero Marketing Group
“When I first got into the motorsports industry 25 years ago there were approximately 35 women in leading roles in the industry in this country. To have witnessed the more than 400 women at the Women With Drive Summit blew me away.”
Lisa Boggs, Director of Motorsports, Firestone
“Just want to say WOW. The hard work and dedication all really shined these past two days. You should be quite proud.”
Dicky Riegel, President/CEO, Lime Rock Park
“What an amazing WWD III conference. Thank you for the opportunity for the Lime Rock Park team to participate. Our team thoroughly enjoyed our participation. Many thanks again for the collaboration.”
Melissa Paris, MP13 Racing
“I wanted to thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of the WWD Summit. I really didn’t know what to expect and I was totally blown away by the amazing ladies (and gentlemen) that I was able to share the room with. It definitely left me feeling re-energized and ready to keep fighting forward. I’m already making my list of two wheeled friends to invite for next year.”
Lindsay Hofferberth, Belmont Abbey College
“I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for allowing myself and our four students to attend Women With Drive this year. We had an amazing time, and we spoke at length about how much we learned from the experience. The girls could not stop talking about all of the connections they made, and they are already asking me about how they can attend next year. I have already spoken to our Professor about how to make this an annual event for our program, and I look forward to being in Indianapolis next year.”
Cindi Lux, racer and WIMNA board member
“I wasn’t able to attend but watched the entire live streaming. It was awesome! We had it on in the shop and played it in the background instead of watching racing or listening to music. We have about 30 people in the shop and even the guys said, ‘this was fantastic; what a safe environment; cool to see men as part of the deal’.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Barbara J. Burns, Communications/Media Relations
BurnsGroup PR for WIMNA
770.329.7134
barbara@burnsgrouppr.com