by Jane Lightbourn The Hastings Star-Gazette
Hastings racecar champion Molly Rhoads has been invited to the “Women in the Winner's Circle” celebration luncheon Thursday, July 24, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The luncheon is a celebration of the progress women have made in this demanding sport and a recognition of the challenges that still are ahead.
Rhoads has been racing in various divisions from Bomber cars to “Super Late” models since 2000.
In her rookie year – 2003 - in “Limited Late” models she finished fourth in points and was a contender for the win in every race.
Rhoads moved up to the “Super Late” model division in 2004 and ran three different tracks, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She was named the “Rookie of the Year” at one of NASCAR’S finest short tracks -- Raceway Park, Shakopee. She also finished fourth, seventh and eighth.
In 2006 she was also chosen out of over 300 applicants to compete in the Drive For Diversity Program. This national level program is a partnership between NASCAR and Access Marketing and Communications. During this program, Rhoads “tried out” against 16 other people, for a driver position with some of NASCAR’S finest teams. In 2007 Rhoads did not race on a weekly basis, but she was still at the track every weekend as she worked as crew chief for Bryan Roach in the ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour.
As crew chief, she was in charge of spotting, tires and setup changes for this team. In the few races Molly did compete in she had ongoing success. In her first trip to Dells Raceway Park- Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, she won her semi feature. She also was awarded the “Hard Charger Award” for passing 23 cars at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway (started 37th finished 14th).
Because of her accomplishments and hard work off the track she was accepted into the Drive For Diversity Program for the second time. Throughout the years Molly has been voted “Most Popular Driver” and “Sportsman of the Year” many times.
Tim Olson, ASA Midwest Tour president, describes her as “one of the most tenacious female drivers, and a fan favorite where ever she goes.”
Rhoads owns and maintains her own cars and equipment (Molly Rhoads Motorsports). Towing her own cars to the track and also working on them at the shop and track has helped her to gain valuable experience about the cars and the racing business in general. She often is at the track without any crew members.
She recalls that year, she competed three nights a week and raced in more than 60 events. “I had one crew member and that was my black lab/malamute mix, Morgan.”
She is at the track every weekend helping race teams, learning as much as she can. She has participated in many different driver development seminars such as the Lyn St. James Driver Development Program, Mike Calinoff’s driver development clinic, Motorsports Marketing seminar and NASCAR media training. She also has attended Freddy Query’s and Race Car Engineering’s setup seminars.
Rhoads competed in varsity sports at Hastings High School, and also graduated in 2004, with honors, with a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.
She will compete for a championship in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series at Raceway Park in Shakopee, and several of the ASA Kwik Trip, Midwest Series races this summer.
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