Behind the Wheel, Behind the Eight Ball

“You could call it sexism, you could say it’s discriminatory, you could say many things,” she told the BBC, “but the fact is that we’re not privy to the room.”

In interviews, Heinricher carefully parses what she says, concerned that being outspoken might count against her as a team owner who needs to court sponsors. She even expressed reservations about being interviewed for this article, saying, “I don’t want this to become a controversy.”

Caterpillar did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Heinricher and the decision to drop her team.

But the 11th-hour lack of sponsors cost Heinricher: Her drivers were recruited to another team for this season.

Heinricher remains the only woman team owner in the International Motor Sports Association, one of the primary organizers of auto racing, and Exxon Mobil last month committed to the team, although all the drivers will be men.

Part of the difficulty Heinricher had in attracting sponsors could be that women remain a small percentage of the racing audience, and where there is diversity, it has not translated into significantly larger audiences. The National Hot Rod Association, for example, has a long history of female champions.

“There is not a more diverse group, and it hasn’t helped them,” said Ron Schneider, chief executive of Sport Dimension, which specializes in race marketing. “Why didn’t the N.H.R.A. take off if this is important?”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/sports/autoracing/heinricher-women-drivers-racing.html?emc=rss&partner=rss