Women Riders

Born on April 21, 1964 in Minden, Nevada, Karen Stoffer has had a large interest in motorsports her entire life. Starting her professional career in 1990 she was proclaimed rookie of the year at the Los Angeles County Raceway. She is very a very driven individual (no pun intended), and holds a steadfast belief in setting attainable goals. She has made herself known in the NHRA pro class and was among the first women licensed for this type of racing. For five consecutive years, Karen has been able to finish in the top 10.

Recently, she earned her first #1 career qualifier in Sonoma, CA. She has a total of 5 career wins, out of the 10 final rounds she has made it to. Her best time on the drag track is 6.880 seconds and her top speed is recorded as 194.30 miles per hour. She has gained the media’s attention as well as sponsorship by GEICO Powersports Suzuki.

Karen and Angelle savoie have had some heated competition going on between them since they are both females racing in the pro stock category. In 2002 they went head to head in the first all-female final round and she was able to score runner up right next to Angelle. Karen set her goal to be the best in her league and has progressively worked towards attaining this goal since the start of her career in 1990. She has definitely made a mark for herself in the industry and we look forward to seeing her race in the future to see what this adrenaline junkie has in store for the motorcycle racing world.

Elena is another young woman who is taking the professional motorcycle world by storm. She is only 16 years old, and is the youngest female pro to ever compete at Daytona International Speedway. She isn’t working with kid gloves either, shes right there in the belly of the beast with the rest of the cutthroat professionals in the 600cc sport bike class. She started her career at a very young age; 8 years old! She has won races all over the USA which include first and second place finishes in Las Vegas for WERA. Elena has definitely caught the attention of the limelight and has been featured on television like SpeedTV’s Kawasaki Test Drive. That is no small feat for someone so young! Elena Myers has her own website as well as videos of her performance posted on the popular video sharing website- YouTube. You can get a look at what she does behind the scenes and discover the fire that drives such a young professional.

Elena Myers has definitely overcome the obstacles that have traditionally been set in front of females in the male-dominated racing industry. Because she is so young she is very resilient. She suffered a nasty crash when she was only 14 years old but that didn’t stop her! She got right into (and out of) rehab and back onto the track in a matter of weeks! She is definitely a professional that you should keep your eye on in the coming years to see her development take shape. I am sure that this is going to be one young woman who will leave a lasting mark on the professional motorcycle industry.

Born on August 07, 1970 in New Orleans, Angelle Sampey is a veteran in the professional motorcycle racing profession. She has competed in many races and has a career best time of a whopping 6.871 seconds on the drag track and a top speed of 194.21 miles per hour. Her record is quite impressive by the standards of any professional racer. She has 41 career wins, and has made it to the final round 68 times! She has the most career wins of any female motorcycle driver in history and the second most wins in pro stock motorcycle history. That is quite an accomplishment! Angelle Sampey has definitely made her mark on the industry and carved her name in stone. She started her professional career in 1996 when she made her debut at the Denver races, where she advanced to the semifinals. She was able to win her first final-round event, the fourth of her career wins.

Her record is quite impressive and in the year 2000 she was able to earn her first NHRA championship title. A year later, she became the most revered female in the motorcycle racing world by surpassing Shirley Muldowneys 18-win-record. She also won her second consecutive NHRA championship. She won that same championship 1 year later for the third time in a row! That is quite an accomplishment for any professional in the racing industry! Her record is very impressive, she has finished in the top 5 for 15 years in a row and in 2008 finally broke her 12 year winning streak. These are some amazing accomplishments for someone who entered the racing industry at a time when attitudes towards women in male dominated sports may have caused tensions. She was able to overcome all obstacles and cement herself as one of the most respected female riders in the industry.

Competing in the pro motorcycle circuit is a very challenging and cutthroat career. Racing has been mainly dominated by men for years, but in the past 30 years much has changed and women have been able to make their mark on the industry by competing, qualifying and winning events, sometimes even more frequently than men! It is doubly as hard to break into the profession if you are a younger woman.

Often the stigma of being a woman in a male dominated sport can cause friction between other riders, but Kate Sullivan has been able to rise above these attitudes and make her mark on the motorcycle racing profession. She has a career best time on the drag track of 7.093 seconds and a top speed of 188.52 miles per hour. She was born in Corning, California and only recently started her career. Even though she is new to the racing world, its in her blood. Her father, Charlie Sullivan also serves as her crew chief, ensuring that all of her needs are met so she can perform to the best of her ability on and off the track. She has gained sponsorship by Sullivan Racing Buell.

Kate Sullivan is a very active female and enjoys outdoor sports like Basketball, soccer, track, and tennis. In 2009 she was able to make her mark on the motorcycle racing profession by becoming the youngest female in history to qualify as well as win a round in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. That is no small feat considering she basically just started her career! She is definitely a gem to keep your eye on!

Peggy was born on December 26, 1972 in the town of San Antonio, Texas. She has made her mark on the motorcycle racing world and even attracted sponsors. She is currently sponsored by Buell. Her career best time on the drag track is 6.928 seconds and her career best speed was 193.24 miles per hour. Her love of outdoor sports has led her to pursue a career in motorcycle racing, which started in 2001 when she signed up for and participated in six motorcycle racing events. That is quite ambitious for the first year out of the gate for any professional racer!

Peggy Llewellyn refined her skills for years and practiced nearly every day, which paid off because in 2007 she was able to win her first career final round appearance. In 2007 she also made history by becoming the first black woman to win an NHRA POWERade event, which was hosted in Dallas. Because of her performance she landed a spot in the inaugural countdown to 4 races, as well as the countdown to 1 race.

She finished in the top five standings in the POWERade races and was also able to record her best time as well as speed. That is quite a busy year for any racer! But that’s not all, Peggy Llewellyn’s grueling practice paid off and in 2008 she was able to advance to the semifinal rounds in Denver, in which she qualified for five out of the six available races. She has definitely been able to leave her mark on the industry and keeps racing to this day. You go girl!

Born on June 14, 1979 in Winston-Salem, N.C., Angie Smith started her professional motorcycle racing career in the year 2000. Her career best time on the drag strip is 6.95 seconds and her career best speed is 190.19 miles per hour. That is pretty fast! Women have left their mark on many different professions that were first thought to be only accessible to males, and racing is most definitely one of them. Full devotion to the sport often impacts directly on the success of any rider. In 2003 Angie Smith placed third in the MIRock Series Championship, which was quite a victory for her in that she had only been racing for three years prior to placing in the top three in the competition. In 2004 she qualified at the GatorNationals, and placed fifth in the MIRock Series championship standings.

In 2005 Angie was able to place fourth in the Outlaw Pro Street Division championship standings. In 2007 she was able to qualify at the NHRA World Finals in Pomona, California. No small feat for someone who has only been racing motorcycles for 7 years. To place in the world finals is very hard as it is an extremely competitive sport. In 2008 Angie Smith went into high gear, she competed in 14 races and was able to reach the semifinals in both Dallas and Memphis, which led to her qualifying for the last 7 races consecutively. More recently, in 2009 Angie Smith was able to set her career best time as well as career best speed while advancing to the NHRA semifinals. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the world of professional motorcycle racing!