PNC Bank Aims To Spread Careers In Motorsports For Women

A longtime partner of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NTT IndyCar Series program wants to see more women in motor sports.

Ahead of the 106th Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 29, PNC Bank launched its Women in Motorsports campaign. The campaign’s goal is to increase awareness and support for gender equality and economic inclusion for women in racing, and it starts now.

Danielle Shephard, one of the few female engineers in the NTT IndyCar Series and in IMSA, is one of the faces of PNC Bank’s campaign. Her main focus is serving as a simulation engineer for Chip Ganassi Racing, having also led the team to a 12 Hours of Sebring victory in her second race as a lead engineer earlier this year. She’s only the second woman to lead a IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team to a victory in two decades.

“It’s great to see women have more opportunities to get into the sports industry and motorsports, specifically,” Shephard said. “I’m appreciative that PNC and Chip Ganassi Racing have put this program into place so that women can come into our shop, and we can spend time with them, mentor them and help them grow as individuals.

“It’s great to have the young women step into a variety of positions, too, to gain that exposure in areas that may not necessarily be female-oriented.”

Shephard hopes her success encourages other young women to follow her path in the motor sports realm.

“The best advice I’ve ever been given has just been how my parents raised me and what they’ve showed me,” Shephard said. “They made it clear that I could go in whatever direction that I wanted with my career, that there were no limits and nothing holding me back.”

PNC’s campaign isn’t just about increasing conversations about women in motor sports. The firm is launching a video series that highlights Shepherd and fellow CGR employees, including engineer Angela Ashmore and mechanic Anna Chatten.

“Teaming up with PNC to launch Women In Motorsports reflects our commitment to help advance opportunities for women in the sport,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “We’re excited to highlight the achievements of our team members and share a behind-the-scenes look at their contributions to this championship organization, which will hopefully help pave the way for female students to develop specialized skills in areas such as racing operations and engineering to information technology and athletic training, to name a few.”

Chip Ganassi Racing is also facilitating the inaugural Women In Motorsports internship program. The program will engage a select group of female college students in on-site learning and career-development experiences during the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season.

The internship is open to eligible women attending a university, college or other higher education institution in the U.S. and it includes a paid stipend and academic credit where applicable. The application portal is open until March 22, with cohort participants notified by April 1

“Nothing is more important than making sure that everyone has an opportunity to pursue their dreams,” Debbie Guild, PNC’s head of enterprise technology and security, said. “Diversity in talent, especially in fields related to technology, is incredibly important for correcting the imbalance in gender representation in the workforce.

“This is one of the reasons that PNC is dedicated to cultivating future female leaders across the bank’s footprint of communities. Representation is critical for success — not just ours at PNC, but everyone’s. This initiative is a great way to drive the conversation forward.”

Moving forward, the goal is not only for Chip Ganassi Racing to have more women on its team, but to make women across the sports realm know that motor sports is a viable career option.