CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After nearly two decades of NASCAR starts, Jennifer Jo Cobb will not make her debut in the sport’s top series at Talladega. NASCAR said Monday that Cobb was not approved to race at the superspeedway event, counteracting an earlier announcement by Rick Ware Racing that the 47-year-old driver would start for the team in the Cup Series this weekend.
That also means Cobb will not be poking her head through any glass ceilings previously shattered by women behind the wheel. She was slated to be the first woman to compete in the Cup Series since Danica Patrick in 2018, but the sanctioning body reviewed Cobb’s resume and deemed she wasn’t qualified to compete at the event.
What gives? Is it sexism? Ageism? Retaliation for an incident at Richmond last week involving Cobb and Norm Benning? NASCAR says no.
According to NASCAR’s rule book, a Resume Committee determines whether a driver is approved to compete in the series and, if approved, which types and sizes of racetracks the driver may compete. The committee, headed by former driver Brett Bodine and other competition officials, bases its evaluation on previous competitive performance.
“Any previously approved driver who has not competed for at least one year, must resubmit the Driver Information and Record application,” the rule states.
Cobb, a full-time Truck Series driver, was approved to race in the Cup Series in 2015, but she had to resubmit an application for approval this year given the rule. Team owner Rick Ware told The Charlotte Observer that Cobb informed the team that she was approved to race in the series prior to the announcement. It is unclear whether Cobb knew she was required to resubmit an application for approval or assumed she would be approved. Cobb declined to comment.
Ware said the team is very familiar with the licensing and application process, as they have worked with several Cup Series rookies in the past.
