TrueCar, an automotive pricing information and analysis company that creates a better buying experience for dealers and consumers, today announced the 2013 TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative all-female racing team.
This season, the program will focus on supporting up-and-coming drivers at a grass-roots level as they continue to advance through the motorsports ladder. Ashley Freiberg, IMSA GT3Cup Challenge; Shea Holbrook, Pirelli World Challenge; Verena Mei, Rally America and Emilee Tominovich, Mazda MX-5 Cup will all be returning to the program for a second consecutive season.
“We are proud to announce the continuation of our Women Empowered Initiative and its re-positioning as a grass-roots program designed to support promising young racers who are in the early stages of their careers,” said Scott Painter, Founder and CEO of TrueCar. “We had some great success in our inaugural season in 2012. We captured one National Championship (Verena Mei in Rally America), two podium finishes (Shea Holbrook in Pirelli World Challenge) and ten top-five finishes. We look forward to continuing to succeed both on and off the racetrack.”
Freiberg makes her sports car racing debut as she competes with Effort Racing in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. Holbrook returns for her third consecutive season in the Pirelli World Challenge driving the #67 Honda Civic SI for Shea Racing, where she finished fourth in the Championship last season. Mei, who captured the 2012 Rally America B-Spec National Championship with teammate Leanne Junnila and became the first all-female team to win a Rally America Championship, is returning to the Series to defend her title, while Tominovich, in only her second season of competitive racing, will return with CJ Wilson Racing in the Mazda MX-5 Series.
“Serving as Ambassadors for the TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative, these four racers embody the attributes that TrueCar Racing represents – dedication, passion and perseverance, and we look forward to supporting them as they continue their motorsports career,” said Susan Bradshaw Crowther, director for the TrueCar Racing Women Empowered Initiative. “By changing the focus of the program to a scholarship model, we hope to continue to support young women in motorsports and use our ambassadors as role models to demonstrate that with hard work, focus and determination, women can succeed in any field they choose.”
Source: Racer Magazine