Analysis: female trio make history

 With Milka Duno on course to join Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick in the field, the Kansas race will be the first time a U.S. open-wheel series will feature three women in one race.

On Friday, three women competed in an ARCA Re/Max Series race, and on Saturday evening another female driver will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Kansas.
 
While the weekend is being heralded as a positive step in racing's move toward diversity, the drivers involved don't consider it a big deal.
 
"That's the culture," Patrick said. "Culture is just evening out everywhere, whether it's ethnic differences, male-female, black-white. Women are doing more 'male' jobs.

"They're presidents of companies, they're competing against men, and I think that's a sign of the times more than anything."
 
Patrick and Fisher already were full-time competitors in the IndyCar Series, but the addition of Duno, who passed her rookie test Thursday at Kansas Speedway, made history. While others see it as a milestone, the drivers themselves don't.
 
"I don't race for that as a motivation," Fisher said. "I didn't get the others into racing. But I think it's neat, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Patrick had similar sentiments.

"It doesn't change my programme," she said. "It doesn't change my mindset. It's not something I really think about.

"I hope this doesn't sound wrong, but I don't really care. They're just racers to me."
 
Erin Crocker finished seventh in the ARCA race yesterday, and her rivals included Gabi DeCarlo, who finished 23rd, and Jennifer Jo Cobb, who finished 25th. Kelly Sutton was expected to compete in today's truck race, bringing the count for female drivers at Kansas to seven in three races.