| Tammy Jo Kirk | |||||||
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| Born | May 6, 1962 Dalton, Georgia |
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| NASCAR Nationwide Series career | |||||||
| First race | 2003 New England 200 (New Hampshire) | ||||||
| Last race | 2003 Ford 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
| 32 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 20th - 1997 (Craftsman Truck Series) | ||||||
| First race | 1997 Chevy Trucks Challenge (Disney) | ||||||
| Last race | 1998 Sam's Town 250 (Las Vegas) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of 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 has not driven in NASCAR since 2003.
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Kirk began her racing career in motorcycles in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. She became the first woman in history to reach a Grand National Championship final when she earned a spot in the 1983 Knoxville Half Mile event.[1] In 1986, she made history by winning a Class C flat track race in Knoxville, Tennessee. After she retired from motorcycle racing, she moved on to late model racing. 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. Kirk became the second woman to win a NASCAR touring series event (Shawna Robinson in 1988) when she won the 1994 Snowball Derby, then in the All Pro 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.