Female NASCAR Racers Are Often 'Pushed Over' for Male Drivers. Now, They're Getting the Spotlight in New Docuseries (Exclusive)
Mazda USA
Heather HadleyA new sports docuseries premiering next week will highlight the women leading a changing culture in American racing.
The new series, First to the Finish, premieres Tuesday, March 25 on Prime Video and will follow drivers Heather Hadley and Sally Mott as they compete throughout the Mazda MX-5 racing season. PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the trailer for the upcoming series, which will also highlight Shea Holbrook, the owner of BSI Racing, one of the teams competing in the racing league.
The Mazda MX-5 series is part of NASCAR and serves as a stepping stone for up-and-coming drivers looking to transition from amateur racing to the top professional level.
Hadley, for example, is 22 years old and still a student at the University of North Carolina, though she has five national and world racing championships under her belt and is eyeing the next steps in her career.
“The attention around being a woman in the industry has its positives and negatives,” ays Holbrook, whose split role as a team owner on the track and a mother of two off of it is a key focus in the series. “I think the hardest part is the expectation others set, and the fact that women are always under the magnifying glass.”
Related: NASCAR Gets F1 Treatment with Full Speed Netflix Docuseries: Watch the Teaser Trailer (Exclusive)
The new racing show will follow Hadley, Holbrook, 34, and Mott, 20, throughout their lives on and off the racetrack.
Prime Video says cameras will follow Hadley at her graduation and visit Holbrook at home with her two children, allowing viewers to “get an intimate glimpse into the challenges, sacrifices, and triumphs that shape the athletes' journeys.”
“When I started my journey in motorsports, on paper, it really didn't look good for me, and a lot of people agreed,” Holbrook says about the historically male-centered sport. “I had to ruffle some feathers along the way to prove I couldn't be pushed over.”
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Holbrook is considered a trailblazer in the sport, becoming the first female driver to win a Touring Car race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and proves to be a mentor for younger women in the racing business like Hadley and Mott throughout the series.
“I didn't always get as far as I wanted to because I didn't take any shortcuts,” she says of her own career. “I kept my head down and grinded. I did make it impossible for people to forget me though.”
Prime Video’s First to the Finish begins streaming on March 25.
Read the original article on People
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