BARBER DODGE: Sarah Senske Makes History at Chicago
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 28, 2001LADY LYNX ON PODIUM AT CHICAGO
Lynx Racing driver Sara Seske, 23, of Kennewick, Washington, made auto racing history today by becoming the first female driver to start on the front row and score a podium finish in a race sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART).
On Friday, Senske, 23, of Kennewick, Washington, qualified second in her #19 Lynx Racing Reynard 98E for Saturday's 45-minute Barber Dodge Pro Series support race at the Target Grand Prix of Chicago. In Saturday afternoon's race, under cloudy skies, she ran second for the entire race, fighting off challenges from several drivers, to finish second by just one car length behind pole-sitter Nicolas Rondet.
"It's a proud moment for me, as both a woman and a driver," said Senske, now in her fifth year as a Lynx Racing driver and her second season in the stepping-stone Barber Dodge Pro Series. "I was accustomed to qualifying up front and running for the win in every series I competed in before this, but it's been a struggle to get back to that level of accomplishment in a series as competitive as this one. I think I'm finally there, and I'd like to thank Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty of Lynx Racing for having faith in me and bringing me to this point in my career."
2001 marks the 11th anniversary of Lynx Racing, one of the most unique organizations in auto racing today. Created and owned by two women, Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty, Lynx is both a championship winning racing team and a uniquely successful driver development program that focuses on a driver's mental, psychological and spiritual growth in addition to their on-track skills.
The Lynx mission is to seek out young drivers with the desire and potential to become champions at the highest levels of the sport and provide them with the funding, equipment and training to take the last step toward realizing that potential, a process the team calls 'Destiny by Design.'
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