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Tammy Jo Kirk

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Tammy Jo Kirk
Tammy Joe Kirk in 1997
Born (1962-05-06) May 6, 1962 (age 62)
Dalton, Georgia
Achievements1994 Snowball Derby Winner
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
15 races run over 1 year
Best finish45th (2003)
First race2003 New England 200 (New Hampshire)
Last race2003 Ford 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
32 races run over 2 years
Best finish20th (1997)
First race1997 Chevy Trucks Challenge (Disney)
Last race1998 Sam's Town 250 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Tammy Jo Kirk (born May 6, 1962) is an American stock car racing and motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and later returned to NASCAR to run the Busch Series. She has not driven in NASCAR since 2003.

Early career

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Kirk began her racing career in motorcycles at the age of 9,[1] moving up through the ranks of the sport during her teenage years and finally reaching the peak of the sport, the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. She became the first woman in history to reach a Grand National Championship final when she earned a spot in the 1983 Knoxville Half Mile event.[2] In 1986, she made history by winning a Class C flat track race in Knoxville, Tennessee.[3]

After Kirk retired from motorcycle racing due to frustration about the refusal of companies to provide spare parts to a female competitor,[4] she moved on to late model racing in 1989.[5] Kirk joined the NASCAR Winston All-American Challenge Series in 1991, becoming the first female driver to compete in the series.[3] In 1994, she was named the Most Popular Driver in the series, which had been renamed the Slim Jim All Pro Series, and would finish seventh in series points two years later. Kirk became the second woman to win a NASCAR touring series event (the first being Shawna Robinson in 1988, in the Goody's Dash Series[6]) when she won the 1994 Snowball Derby, which was at the time a points race in the All Pro Series.[3]

Craftsman Trucks & Busch Series

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Kirk's 1997 truck

In 1997, Kirk made the next big step as she moved to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. She signed with Geoff Bodine Racing with Loveable, a lingerie company, as the sponsor of her No. 7 Ford F-150;[7] the sponsorship was reported to be worth $1.2 million USD.[1] She made her debut in 1997 at the Walt Disney World Speedway, qualifying 9th and finishing 24th; she was the first female driver to compete in the series.[3] Two races later at Portland Speedway, she qualified 3rd.[5] Her best finish that year was an 11th at Heartland Park Topeka. After the Federated Auto Parts 250, she was released, but was able to run one race apiece with MacDonald Motorsports and Circle Bar Racing. The race with Circle Bar came to a premature end when Kirk became uneasy in the driver's seat, claiming the pillows she was sitting on made it feel like she was "falling out of the seat" in the turns.[8] When the season was over, she had run 19 of 26 races and had finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year chase.[3]

For 1998, she started her own team.[3] Unfortunately, she only made thirteen starts because of a lack of sponsors for her No. 51 Ford. The season was marked with 6 DNF's. Her best finish that year was 13th at Bristol. She finished 29th in points that year. Despite her best efforts, she still did not acquire any sponsors,[9] and she shut down her team in 1999. She would not race in the Truck Series again; her best career finish in the series was 11th, at Heartland Park Topeka in 1997.[3]

In 2003, she returned to NASCAR, driving the No. 49 Advil Ford Taurus for Jay Robinson Racing in the Busch Series. In 15 races, her best finish was 21st at the Trim Spa Dream Body 250.[4] After the season was over, she was released from the ride; she retired from racing, and currently works as a motorcycle dealer in her hometown of Dalton.[4]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 NBSC Pts Ref
2003 Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA
34 		PPR
21 		IRP
29 		MCH
39 		BRI
37 		DAR
25 		RCH
22 		DOV
24 		KAN
33 		CLT
27 		MEM
28 		ATL
35 		PHO
33 		CAR
32 		HOM
32 		45th 1062 [10]

Craftsman Truck Series

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NCTC Pts Ref
1997 Geoff Bodine Racing 07 Ford WDW
24 		TUS
DNQ 		NSV
14 		20th 2174 [11]
7 HOM
23 		PHO
12 		POR
14 		EVG
16 		I70
25 		NHA
13 		TEX
13 		BRI
19 		NZH
16 		MLW
16 		LVL
14 		CNS
17 		HPT
11 		IRP
34 		FLM
19
MacDonald Motorsports 72 Chevy GLN
DNQ 		RCH
30 		MAR
DNQ 		SON MMR
Circle Bar Racing 74 Ford CAL
35 		PHO
RGR Racing 27 Ford LVS
DNQ
1998 Kirk Motorsports 51 Ford WDW
17 		HOM
15 		PHO POR EVG I70
19 		GLN TEX
15 		BRI
13 		MLW
DNQ 		NZH
16 		CAL
32 		PPR
34 		IRP
31 		NHA
34 		FLM NSV
26 		HPT LVL RCH
DNQ 		MEM
21 		GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS
36 		29th 1296 [12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Brinster, Dick (August 7, 1997). "Female driver no pushover". Star-News. Wilmington, NC. p. 5C.
  2. ^ "The smokin' Camel Pro Series". American Motorcyclist. 37 (9). Westerville, OH: American Motorcyclist Association: 13. September 1983. ISSN 0277-9358.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Tammy Jo Kirk". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. December 22, 2002. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  4. ^ a b c Hood, Jeff (December 12, 2010). "Tammy Jo Kirk Was A Racer". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  5. ^ a b Rockne, Dick (May 10, 1997). "Tammy Jo Kirk Won't Dim Her Lights -- First Woman In Truck Series Breaks Ground". The Seattle Times. Seattle, WA. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  6. ^ "Shawna Robinson Becomes First Woman to Win a NASCAR Race". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. June 11, 1988. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  7. ^ "NASCAR Notebook". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, TX. March 31, 2005. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  8. ^ Ryan, Nate. "Irvan, Irwin wage war of words". Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  9. ^ Miller, Henry (June 13, 1998). "Kirk's doing all she can to run races - with or without a sponsor". Lodi News-Sentinel. Lodi, CA. p. 30.
  10. ^ "Tammy Jo Kirk – 2003 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  11. ^ "Tammy Jo Kirk – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  12. ^ "Tammy Jo Kirk – 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tammy Jo Kirk.
Achievements
Preceded by Snowball Derby Winner
1994 		Succeeded by
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