Tammy Jo Kirk

Infobox_NASCAR_driver
Name = Tammy Jo Kirk
Birthdate = birth date and age|1962|5|6
Birthplace = Dalton, Georgia
Best_Truck_Pos = 20th - 1997 (Craftsman Truck Series)
First_Truck_Race = 1997 Chevy Trucks Challenge (Disney World)
Last_Truck_Race = 1998 Sam's Town 250 (Las Vegas)
Years_In_Truck = 2
Total_Truck_Races = 32
Updated_On = February 27, 2007

Tammy Jo Kirk (born May 6, 1962 in Dalton, Georgia) is a racecar and motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and later returned to NASCAR to run the Busch Series. She hasn't driven in NASCAR since 2003.

Early life

Kirk began her racing career in motorcycles. In 1986, she made history by winning a Class C flat track race in Knoxville, Tennessee. She would eventually become a member of the American Motorcyclist Association. After she retired from motorcycle racing, she moved on to late model racing, where she became an eventual winner of the Snowball Derby. In 1994, she was named the Most Popular Driver in NASCAR's Slim Jim All Pro Series, and would finish sixth in that series' points two years later.

Craftsman Trucks & Busch Series

In 1997, Kirk made the next big step as she moved to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. She signed with Geoff Bodine Racing with Loveable as the sponsor of her #7 Ford F-150. She made her debut in 1997 at the Walt Disney World Speedway, qualifying 9th and finishing 24th. Two races later at Portland Speedway, she qualified 3rd. Her best finish that year was an 11th at Heartland Park Topeka. After the Federated Auto Parts 250, she was released, but was able to run one race apiece with MacDonald Motorsports and Circle Bar Racing. When the season was over, she had run 19 races and had finished sixth in the Rookie of the Year chase.

For 1998, she started her own team. Unfortunately, she only made thirteen starts because of a lack of sponsors for her #51 Ford. The season was marked with 6 DNF's. Her best finish that year was 13th at Bristol. She finished 29th in points that year. Unfortunately, she still did not acquire any sponsors, and she shut down her team in 1999. She would not race in the Truck Series again.

In 2003, she returned to NASCAR, driving the #49 Advil Ford Taurus for Jay Robinson Racing in the Busch Series. In 15 races, her best finish was 21st at the Trim Spa Dream Body 250. After the season was over, she was released.

External links

* [http://www.nascar.com/2002/kyn/women/02/02/Kirk/ nascar.com biography]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=kirkta01 Driver's statistics at racing-reference.info]