Women slowly breaking barriers as IndyCar mechanics, engineers

Via USA Today

At one of Jessica Mace’s first jobs working on cars in the racing industry, her crew chief told her it probably would be a good idea if she changed professions. You know, because she’s a woman.

Kate Gundlach recognizes that whenever she’s out at the track doing her job as an assistant race engineer, all eyes are trained on her. “Everyone knows the one girl in the paddock,” she explained.

And just the other day, Anna Chatten was carrying a couple of heavy buckets at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on her way to fulfill her duties as gear box mechanic for Townsend Bell, when a fan called out to her.

“Hey, maybe you should get a man to do that for you!” the fan bellowed.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Chatten silently fumed. “You do know this is 2015, right?”

It might be 2015, but in the auto racing world, change still is coming slowly. Chances are, Indianapolis 500 fans have heard of Simona de Silvestro, Pippa Mann and Sarah Fisher. They’re the women breaking barriers by having driven the cars, the faces everyone recognizes in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

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