This past Sunday, there was a new voice coming through radios all over the nation during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire. Where you would normally find male voices coming across the airwaves, a fresh female personality took over. For the first time in history, a familiar face from pit road traded in her camera for a headset and Wendy Venturini became the first female to ever call a Sprint Cup Series race from the booth.
Growing up in the world of burning rubber and gasoline, Venturini has been a familiar face in the garage for years. Appearing on the pre-race TV show “NASCAR Race Day” and also as one of the Performance Racing Network’s (PRN) pit reporters, she has made countless connections between drivers and fans across the country. This isn’t the first time Venturini has made the history books. In 2004, she was the youngest pit reporter to ever work in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage. Just a few years later, she became the first female to call a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for DirecTV. In 2012, she joined PRN and Doug Rice in the booth calling her first Nationwide Series Race at Charlotte. Venturini has been a regular on PRN this season, calling each Nationwide Series Race this year. When offered the opportunity to try her hand at calling a Cup Series race with veteran play-by-play announcer Mark Garrow, she jumped at the chance. “PRN President Doug Rice called me and asked if I’d be interested in anchoring a Sprint Cup race with Mark Garrow,” Venturini told Fox Sports. “I laughed and said, “Yes.” Much like Danica Patrick on the racetrack, Venturini is breaking down barriers for female broadcasters and journalists striving to work in a male dominated industry. Her confidence and knowledge in the booth Sunday made for one of the best broadcasts of the season, one that will go down in NASCAR history. Whether she is in front of the camera or behind the mic, Venturini is right where she belongs; bringing NASCAR teams, drivers and fans closer to the sport than ever before.
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