By Tina Barnes-Budd, Producer, Women with Drive – Driven by Mobil 1
It was 2021 when the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix was announced to run in the streets of Nashville. With the buzz and hype circling the new IndyCar street race, Cindy Sisson's phone rang. The race CEO, Matt Crews, was on the other end. Sisson and Crews had been longtime friends through their many years in motorsports. Sisson, who has had a celebrated history in sports marketing and, more specifically, racing, answered Crews' call in more ways than one. She agreed to produce a one-day event for women in racing during the early part of Crews' event week. There were just two problems… a continued Covid scare and no funding.
Sisson, known to many as “The Super Connector," started dialing and smiling. Before you knew it, she had limited funding and a place to host the event - The George Jones Museum and Bar near the famed Broadway Street in downtown Nashville.
As Covid continued to linger, the big question was – Would anyone venture out of their comfort zone to attend this first-time event? Sisson called upon two of her longest friendships – racing legend Lyn St. James and Tina Barnes-Budd – a sidekick of Sisson's for numerous events over many years. Cindy and Lyn began working on an agenda to discuss the current state of women in motorsports and the challenges they face in racing. Diversity, equity, and inclusion had become a hot topic, and the summit was designed to create conversation around DEI as well as give the attendees inspiration and networking opportunities. This event wasn't just for females; it was also a chance for their male counterparts to join the conversation.
The next question? Will we have enough funding? Sisson pulled out her American Express to start paying deposits, and everything needed to pull off a first-class event. While it was a personal risk, Sisson felt we were on to something.
She was right. While the event space on the third floor of the George Jones honkytonk could accommodate 100 people, we were overcapacity at 110. There was a buzz in the air, and we knew we were on to something.
Shortly after the Nashville summit, Lyn St. James and Beth Paretta started a charitable organization called Women In Motorsports North America (WIMNA) - a community of professional women and men devoted to enabling opportunities for women across all motorsport disciplines, all while creating a positive impact on motorsports, supporting, and creating resources that will allow women drivers, technicians, engineers, operations staff, business-related, media, and more to thrive in the industry. With this new initiative, everyone knew it was a perfect fit for WIMNA to take ownership of the Women with Drive summit.
Cindy could put her credit card back in her wallet and breathe a sigh of relief.
After the first successful installment of the Women with Drive summit in Nashville, plans began for the second edition. Barnes-Budd designed a new logo with a torch flame and a Roman numeral to differentiate the event for years to come (think the Olympics and Superbowl). The hope was for the “torch” to be passed to different race locations to host future summits.
Charlotte Motor Speedway and its beautiful Speedway Club facility were the first location to accept the torch. Mobil 1 became the presenting sponsor, and companies signed up in droves to participate in this special event. The Speedway Club had a capacity of 300, and 340 were in attendance. We were growing.
Next location to “accept the torch”? Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Women with Drive III – Driven by Mobil 1 was held in their famed "Barn" with a sold-out crowd of 450 attendees.
We’ve sold out every year.
In 2024, the fourth edition of Women with Drive will be held in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center from December 9 to 11 as part of PRI week with our host, Performance Racing Industry. This year's capacity? 600. Help us reach our goal by heading to WomenWithDriveSummit.com and join the craze to support women in the motorsports industry that has formed over the last four years.
Let’s keep the flame burning. We'll see you in Indy!
