Gracie Trotter, 19, Becomes the First Female to Win in ARCA Racing History

Over the weekend, race car driver Gracie Trotter became the first woman to win the ARCA in its racing history. The young girl is just a teenager who is 19-years-old.

On Saturday, September 26, 2020, NASCAR took to its Instagram page to celebrate a win by one of its drivers. The page shared an image of Gracie Trotter in her racing gear.

She also wore a face mask to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease. NASCAR tagged Trotter in the caption revealing she had made history by:

“Becoming the first woman to win an ARCA-sanctioned race.”

ANOTHER HISTORY-MAKING WOMAN

The racing organization also clarified in the comments section that there was another woman who also made racing history in the past. NASCAR revealed that the woman was Hailie Deegan.

In 2017, she made history again when she became the first female to win the Young Lions Legends Cars division.

When the sportswoman won her three ARCA Racing West Series races, it was under NASCAR sanction. However, Trotter’s win was sanctioned, for the first year, by ARCA and not NASCAR.

TROTTER’S RECENT WIN

Trotter won the ARCA Menards West race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Celebrating her first series win, the race driver said:

“I’m at a loss for words right now. My first year in ARCA, out West, far from home – it just really means a lot to me.”

WHO DOES GRACIE RACE FOR

The star is a 3rd-generation racer who drives for Bill McAnally Racing. She actually started racing by competing in go-karts when she was just 8-years-old.

In 2017, she made history again when she became the first woman to win the Young Lions Legends Cars division. At the time, the event was held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

WHO SHE BEAT

Trotter beat Gio Scelzi, her teammate, winning by 0.821 seconds. The series points leader and her other teammate, Jesse Love, only managed to finish third.

Trotter is part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program and also competes for Rev Racing. On September 13, 2020, she won her first Late Model race at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

HER OTHER WINS

For that race, Trotter became the fourth woman to win the Late Model Series race. Fans can watch a replay of this weekend’s ARCA Menards West race at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, on NBCSN.

Another female racer who made history in 2009 at the ARCA test at Daytona was Alli Owens. She was the one female driver who consistently remained in the top three in test speeds.