Tomorrow morning will mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for one ever-growing part of the Drift Indy community of drivers: our kick-ass group of women. Girls Gone Drifting is an all-women event, from the organizers to the grid workers to the drivers.
In recent seasons, it’s become more and more common to see girls getting behind the wheel at our events, including competing at Drift Indy Street League. What’s less common, though, is having more than 3 or 4 girls per event on the drivers list. Still, the interest was obviously there, and Edgar Sarmiento recognized that. He sat down with three of our most experienced women drivers at PRI last year to put a plan for an all-girl event in motion.
“Us ladies were obviously really stoked about the idea,” said Deidra Drake, one of the three ladies spearheading the event. “It’s a really cool feeling to have a day just dedicated to us. So, so cool.”
She’s joined at the helm by Miranda Davis and Grace Prescott, two other very familiar faces to our events. All three have an obvious love for drifting and a passion for getting more women behind the wheel.
From the beginning, the event was meant for ladies of all skill levels. They’ll have a dedicated donut area early in the day for the ones that are brand new or still figuring things out, but will have a full layout available for the more experienced drivers as well.
From the ground up, GGD has been by the girls, for the girls. Drift Indy has lent some promotional muscle and Edgar greenlit the project, but Deidra, Miranda and Grace have handled the marketing, organization, media and communications. They’ve built a welcoming environment to help get women in the door of a motorsport that’s largely male-dominated.
Girls Gone Drifting’s inaugural event kicks off Friday, June 14 at 8:00 a.m. The three organizers will be joined by around 20 other women as they take the track for eight hours of all-female shredding around Kil-kare.