UpbeatSix women, one starting grid: Phoenix sets a first for its racing series
Six drivers walked to their cars at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, and together they set a record before the lights even changed. Taylor Reimer, Hailie Deegan, Jade Avedisian, Quinn Davis, Mia Lovell and Dystany Spurlock made the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 the first race in ARCA Menards Series West history with six women on the grid — one more than the previous mark of five, set in 2021. Spurlock's presence carries firsts of its own: earlier this year she became the first Black woman to compete on ARCA's regional and national platforms and to qualify for a NASCAR national touring event. Nobody won a barrier-breaking trophy at Phoenix — this was a participation record, not a victory — but barriers in sport usually fall exactly this way: not with one star, but with a grid where talented women are no longer a novelty act of one.
SDG 5 · Gender equality — Mechanism: individual leader