Editor’s Notebook, January 1, 2008
by Karen Salvaggio
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Welcome to Thunder Valley Racing, the premier online site for women in racing. I can hardly believe it’s been eight years since my first conversations with our founder, T.W. Theodore, which set my course with the TVR site. In those days, Thunder Valley Racing was just moving from a bulletin board style community (one of the first of its kind), to an actual website featuring race reports and full feature stories from women drivers in a wide range of racing venues. Through T.W.’s vision, an amazing group of talented women racers had been assembled, and were regular contributors to the site. As a former NASCAR dirt track driver, vintage racer, and performance driving enthusiast, I was indeed honored to become a contributing editor with the site. As I look back over the years, a number of the women we followed and featured in those days, such as Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, Leilani Munter, and Alli Owens, have continued to advance their careers in motorsports. Ah, but our work has just begun.
| watershed year for … |
I believe 2008 will be a watershed year for Thunder Valley Racing. My racing career has provided me with a unique opportunity to drive some of the greatest racetracks anywhere. Perhaps even more exciting (if that’s possible), has been the opportunity to meet so many people (both racers, manufacturers, and racing enthusiasts) who collectively and enthusiastically encourage me to continue our efforts in advancing the role of women in racing. Over the next few weeks and months, our site will take on a new look, one through which we will continue our work of building a true “community of racers.” Plans include a dedicated forum featuring drivers and racing enthusiasts from a wide range of racing venues: Stockcars, Drag Racing, Open Wheel, Sports Cars, Karting, and just about anything that has wheels. We will also continue developing our relationships with automotive and racing equipment manufacturers in our quest to connect women racers with the highest levels of safety and performance driving equipment. Additionally, we will focus our efforts upon connecting women who are new to the sport, or those seeking to advancing their racing careers, with opportunities through which they can develop and refine their racing or performance driving skills.
| advance the work of Thunder Valley Racing … |
As I mentioned, my own racing career continues to develop, and the New Year brings many opportunities to advance the work of Thunder Valley Racing both on the track and here on the site. Like every racer, I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of dedicated individuals who have encouraged me over the years, and who continue to provide unrelenting support (in the ups and downs) in my racing adventures. Special thanks to:
Factory Five Racing: Dave Smith, Jim Schenck, Mark Weber, and Mark Dougherty (www.factoryfive.com)
Gordon Levy: Levy Racing (www.levyracing.com)
Jody DeVere: AskPatty.com (www.askpatty.com)
Ed Boothman: Boothman/Eves Racing
National Auto Sport Association (NASA): Jerry Kunzman and Gary Felton (www.nasaproracing.com)
Danny and Chris Puskar, and all of our friends at Carbotech Brakes
I wish each of you and all of our drivers continued racing success in the New Year. These are exciting days at Thunder Valley Racing. I look forward to building our community of racers, and to connecting women racers with the best safety and performance/racing resources available in the industry today. Finally, our work here at TVR would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of our talented webmaster Bev Randall, whose commitment, enthusiasm, and awesome editing skills make an immeasurable contribution to the quality of our site. Kudos, thanks, and hat’s off to you, Bev!!!
Good luck and safe racing everyone!
Happy New Year!
