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Joy Wilkerson-Female Race Car Driver
Long before there was Sarah Fisher in the Indy Racing League, Shawna
Robinson
in NASCAR, there were several ladies who made inroads into the "man's" world
of
racing. Shirley Muldowney, in drag racing is perhaps the most well know,
but no
less loved was Joy Wilkerson.
I had first heard of Joy through her husband, Tony Cardoza's racing
newspaper
column, Hollywood Pitstop. Truth be told, I was more enamored with Tony's
sauve
picture at the top of the column, and his great writing about all the goings
on
in Southern California racing...including the racing career of his wife, Joy
Wilkerson.
In the late 1960s and early '70s, my dad used to take my younger brother
and
myself from Seattle all the way down to California for a week of watching
racing.
We would watch Marshall Sargent destroy the competition at San Jose, watch
the
Golden State 100 at Sacramento, and sometimes venture to Los Angeles to the
then
sprint car Mecca...Ascot!
I believe it was at Ascot (although after nearly 40 years, I'm a bit hazy
on
locations) that I saw Joy race. I don't remember all that much about the
race
itself, but the reaction of the crowd stands out in my mind. When she was
introduced, the crowd went wild! Everyone around me loved her. It was just
electrifying.
After actually seeing her race, I was a fan. Each week when "Racing
Wheels"
neewspaper came in our mailbox, the first thing I would do would be to turn
to
the "Hollywood Pitstop" column to see what Joy was doing.
After all these years, a lot of people in the racing world still remember
Joy
and the touch of class she brought to auto racing. Thanks for the memories,
Joy.
You are truly one in a million!
Jim Hancock
Nome, Alaska
Forever a fan of Joy (and Tony too)
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