THUNDERCAR RACER REGINA DELOE IS JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THE GUYS
by Brian Spaid

July 15, 2005

   In the early years of auto racing, women were hardly ever seen in the pit area. There were a few female rebels, such as 1950s-era racer Sara Christian, that dared to run with “the big boys.”

   It was not until the 1970s that women were even allowed in the pit area at many tracks, such as Tri-City Speedway. Men controlled the sport and were considered to be the only people capable of driving race cars.

   Then, Janet Guthrie broke ranks with her competitive stints in the Indianapolis 500. More and more women began to consider racing careers. Even at the local level, the sport expanded its horizons.

   Upwards of 100 race cars are in the Tri-City pit area on an average Sunday night, including four women drivers. Sheila Rankin and her husband, Gary, compete in the Super Sprints. Chanda Reitz of Dempseytown has raced at Tri-City since the track reopened in 1996 and scored a Sportsman Modified victory in 1997. Kari Gasser also continues to impress and grow her fan base with strong showings in the E Mods.

   The fourth driver is Cranberry’s Regina Deloe. At 20, Deloe is the youngest of the female racers and started racing Thundercars at the Venango County oval in 2004.

   “I just want to be treated equal and not any different from the other drivers,” said Deloe, who plans on attending Clarion University as a criminal justice major. “All I ask is ‘treat me as equal as the next guy.’ Some people do treat me different. They don’t think a woman can compete with the rest of the men.”

   Female racers have come to the forefront this season with the rise of Danica Patrick and Erin Crocker. Patrick is quickly becoming the most popular driver in the IndyCar Series, especially with a strong fourth place finish in the Indianapolis 500 and national sports media exposure. Crocker, a former World of Outlaws Super Sprint racer, is on the rise through the stock car ranks with help from Ray Evernham. She scored a second place finish in an ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Kentucky Speedway this past weekend.

  “Women in racing are helped overall by racers like Danica Patrick. It helps all of us women just to see that another female can go far.”

   Deloe’s racing aspirations are not that high, however. She enjoys competing at the local level and hopes to do that for many seasons to come.

   “I’d like to be able to move up to the Pro Stocks in the next couple of seasons. I may even race in the DIRT Modifieds in the future.”

   Deloe is no flash in the pan. At 12, she started racing go karts and scored eight feature wins in her career at Race 1 Motor Speedway in DuBois and Pine Hill Speedway in Shippenville combined. She also ran many area demolition derbies. She befriended Don Blake Jr. of Titusville and Joe Blake of Oil City. The father and son helped Deloe in her demo derby efforts and convinced her father, Tim Deloe, to enter the Thundercars at Tri-City in 2004, especially after a demo derby victory at the fair in Wolf’s Corners.

   “The Thundercar was the first full-bodied car I ever raced. I think the division provides a great opportunity for rookie drivers and it’s a great learning class. There’s a lot more to it than I really thought.”

   Given her kart racing experience, Deloe is able to communicate with her crew about the handling on her Chevrolet Monte Carlo No. 22. The setup on the race car, however, is her current downfall.

   “That’s what’s holding me back from victory lane so far. I’ve been having some setup problems  I’m sure we’ll get it straightened out. I’d really like to win one.”

   To date, Deloe has four third place finishes as her top feature race performances in the last two seasons. She also won her first heat race this season. Although current point leader Chad Myers of Oil City beat her out for rookie honors last season, she believes she can score that first feature win soon.

   “Chad and Robby (Switzer) have really run well this season and they are both making all of the other teams improve. Last Sunday, Wearne Cook showed they can be beat and he’s shown a lot of improvement. Joe Blake beat them too a couple of weeks ago. Once we get the setup fixed, I know we can win too.”

   The “we” includes a lot of helpers. Deloe’s father and the Blakes are just a few. Charlie and Erin McMillen, Shannon and Devin Ziegler, Ed and Eddie Deloe and her mom, Brenda Gourley, make a large contingent from the Cranberry-Oil City area that assists and supports Deloe’s racing efforts.

   As Deloe continues her march toward the front of the Thundercar field, like her other female counterparts, she draws more and more interest from fans and other racers. She may not try to race NASCAR or Indy Cars, but she helps to prove that girls can race cars too.

   Deloe’s sponsors include Howard J. Deloe Inspection & Repair, Scribble Design and Gilbert Transport of Oil City, DCB Construction and Redfield’s Taxidermy of Cranberry, Clarion Cycles of Clarion, and Delp Salvage of Titusville.