Tammy Jo kirk

Touted by a sponsor as "A woman with a lot of drive", Tammy Jo Kirk received a lot of attention, simply for being a female racer. Despite this fact, she soon displayed her immense talent for the sport and went on to become the first NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series driver in 1991, the series was known as the NASCAR Winston All American Challenge Series. She kept creating history by becoming the first woman to win a NASCAR Winston All American Challenge Series, as well as the Busch Pole Awards in 1996. She further finished seventh in the 1996 Championship points race, in the series and also clinched the "Most Popular Driver Award".

Kirk began racing at the young age of 9, beginning with motorcycles in motocross events and also flat-track competition, and then moving on to oval dirt-track racing, at the age of 18. Kirk, moved to NASCAR Weekly Racing series competition in Lanier National Speedway, outside Gainesville, GA, later in her career.

Owner of a motorcycle shop in her hometown, Kirk graduated to NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series in 1991, which was a touring division for Late Model cars. In the year 1994, Kirk won the end-of-season Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway, held in Pensacola, Fla.

Right from the beginning of her racing career, Kirk made history, even while on two wheels. Entering an all-male world of AMA flat-track motorcycle racing, she became the first female rider to gain an impressive Expert status. In 1986, Kirk won an event at Knoxville, Tennessee, once again creating history.

In 1997, she was the first woman to compete in the NASCAR event, Craftsman Truck Series, and she qualified for the Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World Speedway, in a Ford which had been prepared by Geoff Bodine Racing. Even though she could not manage a top-10 finish at the event, she did manage to qualify third for the Craftsman 200 at Portland Speedway and scored an impressive number of leap-lap finishes.

Due to a shortfall in sponsorship, Kirk was able to compete in only 19 of the 26 events in the series, but she won more than $134,000 as prize money. Finishing in the 20th position at the final Truck Series championship, Kirk was ranked seventh among the 29 rookies of the year.

"I just want to be a racer and just another driver", said Kirk, adding "There are a lot of nice people in the garage area and NASCAR had really accepted me well." Kirk late co-owned a Truck Series team, and retired from racing after a final race in the 1998 season finale.