September 19th 2024

NHRA unveils new driver replacement policy amendment for female racers

For more than seven decades, the NHRA has been at the forefront of championing women in motorsports, and that mission continues with the introduction of a groundbreaking policy — the first of its kind in motor racing — designed to support female racers who are starting a family.

No other motorsport has seen women achieve as much success as they have in NHRA Drag Racing, where female competitors have consistently won championships and events. The newly introduced policy, championed by Top Fuel star Leah Pruett and a coalition of women racers from the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, is an amendment to the current overarching driver replacement policy and marks another significant step forward. Pruett, who achieved a career-best third-place finish in 2023, opted to sit out the 2024 season to focus on starting a family with her husband, Tony Stewart. She is expecting their first child in November.

“I was looking at my own situation a couple of years ago after I got married and knowing that I wanted to have children,” she said. “It was a very uneasy time when you have something you’ve done your whole life, which is to concern yourself with your team, your partners, your fans, and everything surrounding racing. I had to make what I considered one of the hardest decisions of my entire life, and that was to not race in 2024.

“I was having to make those decisions and have hard conversations with my team. I had just signed on to be their driver and just come the closest I had ever been to a world championship. I felt I’m not the only person that has felt this or is going to feel this. Something needs to change.”

So, Pruett teamed up with the likes of Erica Enders, Angie Smith, Julie Nataas, Jasmine Salinas, and Ida Zetterström to help nudge the NHRA in the right direction. “I was very open and transparent about what all the possibilities are that females would be going through, whether it's being able to even sit in a race car and fire it up,” Pruett said.

Early this season, NHRA consulted with its chief medical officer, Dr. Phil Surface, and various experts, including Dr. Peter Weiss and Dr. Carolyn Alexander, to address the intersection of drag racing and pregnancy. They held a call with the female racers to discuss their preliminary thoughts and findings and provide a forum for questions on pregnancy and fertility.

“Dr. Alexander and I were honored to collaborate with NHRA and its women racers to develop this policy,” said Dr. Weiss. “NHRA’s forward-thinking approach ensures that its women racers can compete safely without being disadvantaged by pregnancy or fertility-related concerns.”

Following these discussions, NHRA and the racers worked together to revise the existing replacement driver policy to accommodate pregnancy and fertility issues.

“The NHRA took it upon themselves, invested their time with many doctors and OB-GYNs across the country to get their professional opinion with the sport, to come out to the races, do the research, and they spent quality time on this policy,” said Pruett.

Initially, NHRA proposed that female racers would earn points for the season even if they only participated in a single race. However, the coalition, spearheaded by Pruett, advocated for a more balanced approach. They proposed a system where points from both the pregnant racer and their replacement driver would be compared, with the higher total being counted toward the season championship.

“The first draft was absolutely way more than generous,” she acknowledged. “Myself and Erica and Angie tried to put ourselves in our competitors’ shoes and go, 'What is this?' We didn’t want anyone to think it’s not fair, that it’s not right, and how would we feel? So, we said, 'No, I think it should be who gathers the most points.' If I start the season and I end up pregnant in May, and Tony came in and finished the season out for me, and he’s in the Countdown [to the Championship] and went through the pressure and everything that it takes at the end, he should be the champion. If I gather the most points and somebody came in and finished the season for me, but I did the majority of the heavy lifting, well, then it would be in my name, and we all agreed that’s where it should be.”

The development of this policy is a great example of the collaboration between NHRA and its racers.

“It not only identifies that motorsports are becoming more diverse, but it acknowledges that women are not just competing, but we’re winning national events and winning world championships, that we’re building our careers on it, but no one ever acknowledged the one thing that really stops that career, and this speaks to that,” Pruett said.

“I really hope that this policy not only changes what happens on the track in regard to females but changes the conversation in the boardroom to better prepare for stronger relationships. I really want to acknowledge Glen Cromwell, Josh Peterson, and Dr. Surface for their help to navigate it through, and a tip of a hat to Richard Freeman for encouraging me to pursue this. I look forward to this new policy making a positive impact on the women in motorsports as a whole, short term and long term.”

Below is the outline for the new policy:

Participating While Pregnant

Participants who wish to participate in drag racing while pregnant must request a Pregnancy in Drag Racing information packet from the Racing Administration department. The participant’s OB/GYN provider must review and complete all forms provided in the information packet and return them to NHRA for review and approval by NHRA and its chief medical officer. Participation in drag racing while pregnant is completely voluntary and subject to the processes and policies described in the Pregnancy in Drag Racing information packet.

Stopping Participation

If, after having participated in one (1) or more races after the start of a season, a participant who is pregnant (or undergoing fertility treatment in advance of pregnancy) wishes to stop participating as a result of her pregnancy (or fertility treatment), the following rules will apply:

1. Upon submission and NHRA’s acceptance of a pregnancy verification letter signed by the participant’s OB/GYN provider, the pregnant driver may be replaced by a replacement driver.

2. The replacement driver must have proper credentials and meet event entry criteria.

3. For purposes of the series championship:

a. if the replacement driver earns fewer overall series points than the driver who stopped participating as a result of her pregnancy (or fertility treatment), all series points earned by the replacement driver will be credited to the driver who stopped participating as a result of her pregnancy (or fertility treatment); and
b. if the replacement driver earns more overall series points than the driver who stopped participating as a result of her pregnancy (or fertility treatment), all series points earned by the replacement driver will be credited to the replacement driver.

4. For purposes of calculating the points earned by each driver for this policy, NHRA will count only those points earned by each driver in connection with Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events (including qualifying bonus points, but not including points earned in specialty races such as the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge). Points credited to a driver as a result of points adjustments for the Countdown to the Championship will not count for purposes of this policy.

5. In the event the replacement driver and the driver who stopped participating as a result of her pregnancy (or fertility treatment) earn the same amount of points, the driver with the most rounds won during the regular season will be credited all series points.

6. Any event prize monies will be paid to the payee as designated on the original entry form.

Returning to Participation
If, at the start of a season, a participant chooses to refrain from participating in drag racing, or is not authorized to participate in drag racing, in each case as a result of a recent pregnancy, then the following rules will apply:

1. If the original participant (i.e., formerly pregnant participant and medically cleared to participate) competes in one (1) or more national events prior to the first event of the Countdown to the Championship, all points earned by the replacement driver will be credited to the original participant.
2. If the original participant (i.e., formerly pregnant participant and medically cleared to participate) does not compete in one (1) or more national events prior to the first event of the Countdown to the Championship, then all points earned by the replacement driver will be credited to the replacement driver.

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