Car racing remains a male-dominated sport, but there are signs that there could be change coming down the road.
Only five female drivers have entered a Formula One Grand Prix, ten women have entered an Indy 500 race, and 16 women have driven in a NASCAR Cup Series. There’s hope for change, though, in the Formula E all-electric vehicle competition, which has already featured three female drivers during its seven seasons.
“Aside from gender, we’re all our individual characters,” said ROKiT Venturi Formula E team principal Susie Wolff. “There cam be boys that prefer ballet and girls that prefer cars, and it's just making sure that we make sure that the girls that are interested in the sport are getting the opportunity to enter and be successful.”
In 2014 Wolff became the first woman to participate in a Formula One weekend in more than two decades when she drove in a practice session. She now leads ROKiT Venturi’s team and a third team's members are women.
“It's hugely advantageous for me in my role now, the fact that I was a driver, because I know what it's like for the drivers in the car and I know the pressures they're under,” she explained. “And I also, from my perspective now, see what it takes to get the right environment, the right people on board to create that energy in the team which can be be such an important part of success.”
Adding women gives teams another vantage point, added ROKiT Venturi head of partnerships Chloe Bearman.
“I think being a female adds a different perspective and definitely the team I’m at right now, with Venturi, we're leading the way,” she said. “And we're showing that a team that is diverse, there's real strength in that.”
Forty-eight percent of workers for Formula E and member organizations are women. With electric cars emerging as the future of the automotive industry, the organization is hoping it can pave the way for further gender equality.
“The great thing is when you walk up and down that grid is that more girls feel like they can take part,” said Formula E chief strategy and business development officer Hannah Brown.
Walker Ross, Assistant Professor of Sports Business Management at Florida Southern College, joins Business of Sports: The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, where he says that actions Beijing and other Olympic host sites have been implementing to combat climate change has simply not been enough to offset their carbon footprint.
Olivia Harlan Dekker breaks down Thursday's primetime matchup between the 76ers and Bucks, NBA champion Richard Jefferson sets the scene for this weekend's All-Star Game, and Alex Monaco discusses who he's bullish and bearish on for Thursday's action.
The 15-year-old Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva found herself at the center of a scandal after a positive test for a banned substance became public. Valieva fell out of gold contention in the women's free skate after falling, avoiding a potentially embarrassing situation, where a medal ceremony would have been nixed had she won. Scott Hamilton, the retired American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist in the 1984 Games, joined Cheddar to break down the scandal. “It’s a team competition and every member of the team participated in that score and hers should be disallowed”.
Alex Monaco, host of the “The Bettor Half Hour” on MSG Networks and the “Sports Gambling with Moneyline Monaco” podcast, joins Cheddar Bets to give his last-minute tips before tonight's slate of games starts.
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Richard Jefferson, host of the Road Trippin' podcast, NBA Today analyst, and NBA Champion, joins Cheddar Bets to break down All-Star Weekend festivities and to give his "Pick 6" for tonight.
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BetMGM Host Olivia Harlan Dekker joins Cheddar Bets to break down tonight's big Bucks-76ers matchup -- likely Philly's last game without James Harden.
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While many are excited to watch the final two NFL teams square-off and see which one ultimately takes home the trophy, some, on the other hand, are there for another mian attraction -- the commercials. Companies during this year's game are looking towards the future From electric vehicles, to robots, and crypto-currency, several first-time advertisers are expected to join long-time advertisers like Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos during the NFL's biggest game. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer at R/GA, joined Cheddar News' Big Game Special to discuss.
This week's Spring Training has been delayed as a result of the ongoing MLB Lockout. This past Saturday lead negotiators and lawyers from Major League Baseball and the players union met to discuss the economic hurdles needed to be cleared for a new labor deal, but from all accounts, it seems the sides are still far apart. Baseball Columnist and Publisher of "The Joe Sheehan" Baseball Newsletter, Joe Sheehan, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The Super Bowl might be over, but people are still buzzing about the players, commercials, halftime show, and more. Google tracks the top searches before and after the game every year, revealing the show-stopping moments of the biggest sporting event of the year. Sadie Thoma, Director of US Creative Partnerships at Google, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the top trends this year.
Private equity firms are taking a big interest in investing in NBA teams, the sports league showing the highest ROI over the last two decades according to Sportico, Forbes, and PitchBook. Wylie Fernyhough, lead analys for private equity at PitchBook joined Cheddar News to discuss the way firms are looking to get a piece of the action on the court. “There’s a certain amount of rarity, with these," Fernyhough said. "They’re not exactly printing new NBA franchises."
