Menstuff® has compiled the following information on racer
Milka Duno.
Milka Duno’s Stock Car Racing Debut
Affected By Power Issues And Major Pile-Up
Milka Ready for Daytona Test
Milka Duno to test stock car at
Dayton
Triple Rolex Series Race Winner Featured in
CITGO Billboard Campaign
Milka Duno’s Stock Car Racing Debut
Affected By Power Issues And Major Pile-Up
CANTV was on-board as primary sponsor and Celebrity Jazz as associate sponsor for Duno’s first effort in today’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona.
At the ARCA Series open test at Daytona in December, and in her very first time in a stock car, Milka was the fastest stock car rookie on the second day of the three-day test. On the third day of the test the car developed a loss of power which ended her session early.
The engine was replaced for a test session at Talladega in January – but the car didn’t seem to have the power it had at Daytona. Subsequent dynamometer testing showed that the new engine had 15 less horsepower than the Daytona test engine – and was shipped back. A new engine arrived just in time for the team to install it in the No. 90 Toyota before departing for the race – but not with enough time to test it on the dynamometer.
In Thursday’s practice session Duno quickly noticed that this engine also did not have full power – evidenced by reaching only 6800rpm rather than the normal 7200rpm. Her practice times and qualifying times were further indications that something was not right. Nonetheless, out of 56 cars entered, Duno was one of 43 cars making it into today’s race.
“We had a good December test and the team had provided me with a good car,” said Milka. “We noticed at Talladega that the car just wasn’t performing as well as it did in December and the team did everything they could to solve the problem. But during our first practice session here at Daytona we noticed that we were still experiencing the same issues – and it was a major disappointment for me and the team as well. There’s not a lot we can do to solve this issue here – so we’ve done the best we could and we’re in the race,” added Duno.
Duno started the race in 41st and utilized both skill and the draft to advance her position. By lap five she had already advanced as many as ten positions when an accident ahead on the track began to collect cars in its wake – a total of fourteen. Duno was set to clear a disabled car when another car coming very fast from behind veered left and pushed her into the disabled car – which then damaged her car to the point that she was unable to re-renter the race. Duno was taken to the infield medical center along with the other drivers involved and left the center unhurt – but disappointed.
“It ended up being a pretty tough week for us – we were handicapped with power issues – but we were determined to do the best we could under the circumstances, said Duno. “As soon as the green flag waved I knew that in order to advance I would need to be very careful in selecting when to pass and when to draft – and it was working. In only a very short time we had advanced something like ten positions and it felt good – it felt that despite the power issues we may be able to have a fairly good race. Then there was an accident up ahead and everyone was going everywhere to avoid contact. I was just about clear when I was caught up.”
“We had to deal with some adversity in our first race,” added Duno. “But we just kept working on things – working together as a team – and we weren’t going to give up. We were going to have to run our race smarter due to the lack of power and that’s just what we were doing. It’s too bad that we got caught up in the early race pile-up – it would have been interesting to see how we might have finished had we not been collected in the accident.”
Concerned about the plight of the people in Haiti, Duno’s effort today included a special message to the fans encouraging them to support the American Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief efforts.
“Haiti has been hit with devastating earthquakes and the people there need our help now and will need our help for sometime,” said Milka. People involved in racing are some of the most generous people I have ever met and I’m hoping that they would be willing to help the people in Haiti during this incredibly difficult time.”
Duno was inducted into the Latin American International Sports
Hall of Fame last Saturday, January 30, 2010. Milka was selected for
her racing achievements, her personal excellence in education and her
passion in stressing the importance of education to students of all
ages through her “Milka Way” program.
Source: ow.ly/1okoiu
Milka Duno is ready and looking forward to her stock car debut at the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards open test at Daytona International Speedway December 18, 19 and 20, 2009. Milka will participate in the test behind the wheel of Braun Racing’s No. 90 Toyota.
“I’ve been excited about driving a stock car for years and to do so at Daytona makes it even that more special,” said Milka. “I know it won’t be easy my first time in the seat of a stock car and I know that there will be much to learn.”
“Stock car racing is very exciting and the fans are fantastic,” added Milka. “I can’t believe how many emails and messages I have received from fans and people involved with stock car racing with their welcome and good wishes. Thank you!”
Milka, who has achieved many historic “firsts” as both a female racer and as a Hispanic woman, will be the first Hispanic female driver to test in ARCA Racing.
In 2007 Milka became the first Hispanic woman, in the 93-year history of the race, to qualify for and compete in the Indy 500. She’s also the first Hispanic woman to lead an IndyCar Series race.
In 2004, Milka became the first woman in history to win a major international sportscar race in the USA when she won the Rolex Series Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Milka is also the first woman to: earn a class win at the
prestigious Petit Le Mans, compete in the Daytona Prototype category
– the fastest and highest class in the Rolex Grand-Am Series,
compete in the Le Mans Prototype 900 category – the fastest and
highest class in the American Le Mans Series, compete in Formula
Nissan - the fastest and highest category in Europe’s World
Series Championship, score points in Europe’s World Series Light
Championship and to win a Ferrari Challenge race in the United
States.
Milka Duno to test stock car at Dayton
While no stranger to the Daytona Beach, FL-based track, this will be Milka’s first opportunity to go around the 2.5-mile tri-oval in a metal-skinned stock car. Her No. 90 Camry will have less downforce than either the IndyCar Series cars she’s driven the past three seasons, or the Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes that she competed in for the three seasons before that.
“This will be a new challenge for me and one that I’ve been looking forward to,” said Milka. “I know it won’t be easy – it will be hard work – but work that I’m ready to take on.”
With a second-place finish in 2007, Milka holds the record for the highest finish ever by a female driver in the 45-year history of the 24 Hours of Daytona at Daytona International Speedway.
Starting with her four-win season in the American Le Mans Series in 2001 and continuing through her three-win Rolex Series years, Milka has been offered opportunities to compete in stock cars and in the NASCAR Series virtually every season since.
“My goal was to reach open-wheel racing in the United States and the Indy 500,” said Milka, “I just completed my third season in IndyCar and this year I decided not to once again pass on an opportunity to get behind the wheel of a stock car.”
The most successful independent team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Braun Racing began as an ARCA Racing Series team in 2002. Team owner, Todd Braun, found immediate success in the series, capturing an impressive four wins in his first season. The following year, he moved into the Nationwide Series and has since grown into a four-car operation. Still, Braun keeps an eye on drivers coming through the series in which he got his start.
"When Milka and I met, I expressed an interest in testing her in a stock car,” said Braun. “The interest was mutual and we were more than happy to make it a reality. We discussed that in order to compete in NASCAR a driver must first participate in an ARCA Racing Series test. She is a very talented driver and has experienced success in both sportscar and open-wheel racing. The natural progression would be for her to drive a stock car. I have always enjoyed working with drivers new to stock car racing and I look forward to the ARCA Racing Series test with Milka."
Braun Racing is a leading team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series that was handpicked four years ago by Toyota to help lead their entrance into the series. The team is proud to have claimed Toyota's first Nationwide Series pole on February 24, 2007 at California Speedway and their first win at O'Reilly Raceway Park on July 28, 2007. Founded by team owner Todd Braun in 2002, the team is in its eighth season of competition in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and is expanding into a four-car operation in 2010 with an all-star driver line-up that includes Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, Jason Leffler, Reed Sorenson, David Reutimann and Brian Scott. Braun Racing's marketing partners includes Great Clips, Dollar General, Beringer Vineyards, AccuDoc Solutions, Fraternal Order of Eagles, ABF, Northeastern Supply, SEM and Safety-Kleen.
For more information about Braun Racing, please visit www.braunracing.com
Triple Rolex Series Race Winner Featured in CITGO Billboard Campaign
Duno appears on a total of 46 billboards at multiple locations in each of the cities. There are five in Miami, two in Houston, five in Orlando, twenty-three in Tampa, two in Atlanta, three in Chicago and six in Boston.
"I live in Miami and it is a fun but different feeling when I'm driving and all of a sudden I look up and see myself on a billboard," laughed Duno. "I feel very lucky and honored that CITGO has given me the opportunity to represent them both on and off the track."
"Milka Duno's accomplishments are an example of what a Latin American woman can achieve in a sport dominated by men," said CITGO Petroleum Corporation President and CEO Félix Rodríguez.
The billboards feature Duno in her CITGO Racing driver's uniform along with her signature and the statement "YO CITGO A LA CARRERA" - which translates to "I'm still running" or "I'm still in a hurry."
Duno adds, "Fans that have seen the billboard, when they spot me somewhere, come up and say to me 'Yo CITGO las carreras por ti!' It's really a compliment that they have seen the sign and that they are interested."
Duno competes with CITGO Racing for their second consecutive season in the 2005 Rolex Sports Car Series. She is the first woman in history to race in the highest class - the Daytona Prototype - in the #2 CITGO Pontiac Crawford. In her first season with CITGO Racing Duno became the first woman in history to win a major sports car race in North America when she won the 2004 Grand Prix of Miami. Duno scored her second Rolex Series win at the same venue seven months later. She recently scored her first win of the 2005 season and her third Rolex Series win at the Circuit du Mont-Tremblant in Canada.
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes, asphalt and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information on CITGO visit www.citgo.com .
Milka is also currently featured in Pontiac's largest ever Spanish
language advertising campaign launching an all-new sports sedan - the
Pontiac G6. Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation
(NYSE: GM) and markets the Bonneville, GTO, Grand Prix, Grand Am, G6,
Vibe and Sunfire. In 2003, Pontiac sold more than 475,000 vehicles,
ranking third among GM divisions in total sales. 2004/2005 will see
Pontiac launch an exciting new range of vehicles including the
Montana SV6, G6 coupe, G6 convertible and the Solstice roadster. More
information on Pontiac and its products can be found at
www.pontiac.com . Information in Spanish can be found at www.pontiac.com/sp
