Female racing duo launches initiative to empower women in motorsports, art

Aurora Straus and Zoë Barry, co-founders of the DART Car team, are making history by combining motorsports and fine art to empower women in both fields.

SONOMA, Calif. - Aurora Straus and Zoë Barry are making history as the first female-led, mission-driven professional motorsports team, combining racing and fine art in an unprecedented way.

Their initiative, DART Car, aims to elevate female drivers and artists in fields traditionally dominated by men.

From dreams to reality

Straus, a Harvard graduate and one of the top female professional race car drivers, is forging her own path in the sport.

"I first got behind the wheel when I was 13 years old. Most pro drivers... all those guys started go-karting between ages 3 and 6, so I had no concept of the fact that I could be a professional race car driver. I got behind the wheel with my dad, mostly in parking lots... and I went over 100 mph for the first time, and my 13-year-old brain was like, ‘wow, this is amazing.’"

Barry, an entrepreneur and racing teammate, joins her in this groundbreaking venture.

The two women met at a racetrack in New York. Barry had never raced before.

"I didn't realize that women could be race car drivers," she said. "But I always wanted to as a little girl, because my mother favored the gas pedal and not the brake, but I didn't know that that was a career path, so meeting Aurora changed that."

The duo’s debut at Sonoma Raceway features their custom-designed McLaren Artura GT4, competing in the GT World Challenge America.

The car's design, including hand-painted helmets and bespoke driving suits, was created by acclaimed contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas. The custom wrap and the helmets reflect the team’s mission to embrace femininity in a sport often seen as masculine.

"We're going in the opposite direction," said Barry. "A lot of women race car drivers will shy away from leaning into feminine colors, pinks and reds and elements like that."

Breaking barriers in motorsports and art

By the numbers:

Their car number, 44, symbolizes the fact that women make up just 4% of drivers in top racing categories, while artwork created by female artists accounts for only 4% of global auction sales.

"The car doesn't know the difference, right, so there's nothing physiologically barring us from competing against men on equal footing," Straus said. "If we win, we're winning against everyone."

The duo is racing against 30 cars in Sonoma this weekend.

Empowering the next generation

Their mission goes beyond racing, with plans to sell the custom-designed helmets, car, and suits to fund the next generation of women in motorsports and art.

"I’m so proud to be running this helmet," said Barry. "And I love the mission that we are going to ultimately sell the helmets, sell the car, sell the suits and that will enable us to fund the next generation."

Straus credits her success to the sponsors who took a chance on her early in her career.

"At every fork in the road, I had major imposter syndrome of like, ‘what if I can’t do this, and it kept working’," she said. "Now I'm hoping that the next generation of women can avoid that pitfall of ‘why me? Why do I belong here?’"

The Source: KTVU Interviews

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