Catchfence

It was another day at the office for Tammy Jo Kirk at her motorcycle shop in Dalton, Ga. earlier this week when word arrived that 18-year-old Johanna Long had won last Sunday’s Snowball Derby Super Late Model race in Pensacola, Fla.

It was welcome news to the 48-year-old Kirk, the 1994 winner of the Derby. But Long’s win means Kirk is no longer the only female winner of the Derby.

“That is so cool,” said Kirk, when told about Long’s victory. “I had heard that girl was the track champion down there last year. Congratulations to her.”

Kirk’s racing career was hatched on motorcycles. She competed in the AMA National Dirt Track Series during much of the 1980s in an era when men had a difficult time accepting women as competitors.

“I was the only female and you would have 100 riders at most events,” Kirk said. “And to make the main event, you had to make it in the top 15. The last year that I raced (motorcycles), all of the nationals that I went to I made the main event.

“But I quit racing motorcycles because I couldn’t find parts. If you’re a female and you outrun some of the factory guys, you really couldn’t get any parts. I was so discouraged with motorcycles. The last year I raced I made seven main events and didn’t finish one because the motorcycle blew up. We couldn’t get parts to make it last 25 laps.”

- Fox News