Lipstick, skirts and pink might evoke stereotypical images of women, but if you've ever been passed as though you were sitting still by a female racer, that cliched ideology may certainly have suffered a severe blow. Don't worry, you are not alone. The days of ATV racing being a guy's-only game are over, and more guys are finding themselves outpaced by some ponytailed speedster. Yet it's a sport still dominated by male enthusiasts; however, a handful of gutsy fems are challenging those norms and pushing the envelope to declare themselves capable of not just surviving a race but outright winning it.
Regardless of the fact that ATV racing is a physically demanding and speed-driven sport with inherent dangers, more and more female enthusiasts are flocking to it to have their chance at proving that women can race, too. The growth is starting to accelerate-just a short time ago this class delivered slim numbers, but now the ranks are filling out to respectable levels that provide good competition and an intense event for fans. We're talking national-level contests of skill and determination. Stephanie Parton and Traci Cecco's fierce battles in the Grand National Cross Country series and the phenomenal bouts between Heather Byrd and Angela Butler in the ATVA National Motocross Series have generated tremendous amounts of momentum to women's racing. As any racer can attest, it's not an easy trip to the podium, and these women and their female colleagues have overcome obstacles most guys don't even know exist, in addition to the normal challenge of being the fastest rider. We were curious about the view from the other side, so we broke out the microphone and spent some time with the fast fems to hear their story and learn what makes them tick.
Mountainous Obstacles
There's no doubt that women racers face an uphill battle when explaining to friends and family that they want to race, not to mention simply being taken seriously by their male competitors. Denial and gender-role pigeonholing were common themes we uncovered in our interviews with many of these female athletes. It must have been reverse psychology at work here. Every woman we'd talked to who said she'd been told women just don't have what it takes to race quads, was on the starting line on a quad-often outrunning the large field of men behind them. Nothing fires up the competitive spirit more than being told you can't. Just ask Angel Atwell, who is currently rounding out her sixth year in competition. She received the "girls can't do that" dismissal from a brother. Determined to prove him wrong, she tackled her first race in 2002 and was immediately hooked. "When I first started, I was lapped out on the track, but I pressed on and have become one of the leaders," Atwell said. She has even taken home class wins when competing against guys in local races that only further legitimize the fact that women racers are willing to work hard and gain respect from the naysayers.
Four-time women's GNCC champ Traci Cecco's dad, Ivan Lenig, did the opposite, though; he encouraged her. "You don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something because you're a girl," was the advice he gave her, and it still fuels her today. This year marks Cecco's eighth year racing GNCC, and she has been able to secure a full factory ride from Yamaha.
For some, racing was pretty much a family weekend activity. "I grew up in a family where both my father and mother raced every weekend," Stefanie Verkade said. "I've been riding ever since I could walk, and racing since I was about eight years old." The GNCC racer was born into the ATV racing world, but that didn't grant her immunity from the usual gender barriers. Verkade admitted that she still encounters the occasional "girls can't do that!" attitude and men who feel that she shouldn't be racing. "I've been racing my whole life, and it still gets discouraging. But this is a huge part of my life. Everything revolves around racing," she explained. Verkade added, "A lot of people just don't understand." Which is surprising since most women racers are out there for the same reasons-the thrill of competition and the hope for glory-as their male counterparts. The only difference is they might smell nicer.