drivers

And because the Pomona races are worth 30 points per round, four other drivers — 2021 winner Steve Torrence, 2022 titlist Brittany Force, defending champion Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican — still are mathematically in contention.

If blond-haired drivers and female racers didn’t have to hide who they were, why should Shumake, who has been open about his sexual orientation since high school?

The support of the NHRA, the first U.S. motorsports series to welcome female drivers in large numbers — women have won 23 drag-racing championships, dating to Shirley Muldowney’s top fuel title in 1977 — was especially helpful, Shumake said.

His drivers have won the Indy 500 a record 20 times, which may be one reason he decided to buy that track as well.

While violence and persecution and economic opportunity remain the primary drivers pushing migrants into the U.S., the evidence increasingly also points to climate change as a growing factor.