Interview with Angela Dmuchowski

My first interview with women in racing is with an amazing woman and racer. Angela was first introduced to the races at the young age of two years old. Her father Jack Caruso took her to the East Windsor Speedway in New Jersey. She wound up sitting in drivers race cars and a smile never left her face. It was love from then on. She had sat in a quarter midget when she was around 11, and a month later Jack and she were at Jay Butler's purchasing a used one for her to race.
Angela was 12 when she first raced a quarter midget. She raced from 12 to 16 years old and actually turned 17 at her last race in a quarter midget in December of 2000. Angela then turned to 270 micro sprints in 2001, she used a Hyper chassis bought from another racer Rick Agin. She raced at a now defunct Borger's Speedway in Pennsylvania, not far from Pocono Raceway. She then moved to 600 winged micro sprints and then wingless 600's. She has won many races and championships. One she mentions was 1999 Tri-Track Heavy Honda 120 at the Oaklane, Little Wall and Honeybrook tracks. Angela was also GSQMRC champion Heavy Honda 160 champion. She also won the Keystone Invitational at Honeybrook Speedway, set fast time and broke Dave Falini’s track record. That is impressive. Angela also recalls this great moment, "When I raced the 600s at Shippensburg, I received a trophy for Rookie of the Year. Something I am really proud of was being the first female to win in both the Rookie and Regular 270 microsprint division at Borger’s Speedway." And she should be proud of such an accomplishment. I asked Angela if being a girl and woman in racing, if it hurt her in attaining sponsors. She replied, "We didn’t really push hard for sponsorship. We had Kelly Racing Fuels help out as well as Dave’s NMT & Fitness. Otherwise, my dad’s wallet was my sponsorship. I am very grateful for all of the opportunities he provided me over the 18 years I competed." I also asked her if she had any women she looked up to in racing and she named a bevy of greatness, "Mares Stellfox, Becca Anderson, Sarah Fisher, Lyn St. James, and Judi Buckwalter-Bates." All of these women made a mark on the racing world in one division or another.
Angela does not race anymore but does not count out making a comeback although, "In regards to racing again, it isn’t a definite no, but probably not likely. I have had some bad crashes and probably shouldn’t push my luck." This is completely understandable, but last year she does help out Tom Carberry in his Mid-Atlantic 305 sprinter weekly along with her dad. This does keep her in racing.

We talked about women and their roles and how the media and fans treat women in racing. I asked her about women's roles and are they changing, and she replied "Yes, I feel more women are involved whether they are a race official, promoter, crew member or competitor. More women have become involved over the years and I hope that continues." I have to agree more women are involved in many aspects of racing than in years past. I then asked if she thought there should or could be more women in racing, "Yes, I feel more women are involved whether they are a race official, promoter, crew member or competitor. More women have become involved over the years and I hope that continues." True again, more women are becoming crew members, drivers, and in the business aspect of it. I also questioned whether she believed a woman could be competitive at the highest levels of racing besides NHRA where women are competing and winning. Angela replied, "I think so if they condition themselves to be fit and have good equipment." I also asked if she believed if a woman could own an elite series team or series, "Yes, I believe it is possible one day." That is when we discussed women and the media and fans. "It depends on the person. When I raced, I put a lot of pressure on myself because some people did not respect me. I would think if I had a bad day, some fans in the stands would think it was because I am a female not because the setup was off or my driving was really off. We all have bad days. For the most part, the competitors respected me. Being a female does make you a fan favorite,especially with kids," Angela notes. She goes onto say, " I feel the media shouldn’t just give extra attention because of being a female. They should be treated as another competitor and get recognition for their accomplishments. Something my dad always said to me was once that helmet is on you’re another racer...don’t make it a boy/girl thing. " That final statement is gold, and is possibly one of the truest racing quotes ever. Angela also mentioned an incident that bothered her for giving too much attention to a female racer for her accomplishments. This is what she said, " something that bothered me in professional racing was when Dan Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and Danica Patrick got more TV coverage than he did. Yes, she did well by finishing fourth and led laps as a rookie which was very impressive and should be recognized, however, the winner should have had more recognition and television coverage.Because the media focused on Danica show much when she was in NASCAR when she was getting the results, I feel contributed to some people not respecting her." I honestly could not agree with her more, just because we are women in racing does not mean that our accomplishments are better than others especially when they win the greatest spectacle in racing and they finish fourth.

Here are some of the photos Angela sent me to use.