Ashley Freiberg facts for kids

Ashley Lynn Freiberg (born November 22, 1991) is an American race car driver. She has competed in different types of racing. These include open-wheel, sports car, and endurance racing.

Ashley made history several times. In 2010, she was the first woman to win a championship title in the Skip Barber Racing series. She also became the first woman to win races outright in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge in 2013. A year later, in 2014, she won a race in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.

Ashley started her racing journey with karting at age 13. She quickly found success, winning five championships. Later, she moved into car racing. She raced in Skip Barber and Formula Mazda series. In 2010, she won 25 races and two series titles in Skip Barber.

She faced money problems in 2011, which made her stop racing for a bit. But she returned in 2012 with JDC MotorSports. She finished ninth in the points standings in the 2012 Star Mazda Championship. In 2013, Ashley switched to sports car racing. She joined the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. Then, she moved to the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in 2014 and 2015. There, she earned two big wins.

Ashley started racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016. She raced part-time in the Prototype Challenge and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes. Her best finish was second place in GTD at the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 2017, she also got podium finishes for DAC Motorsports in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Championship.

About Ashley

Ashley Freiberg was born on November 22, 1991. She grew up in Homer Glen, Illinois. Her parents are Chuck and Donna Freiberg. No one in her family had been involved in car racing before her.

Ashley finished Lockport Township High School early in 2010. She did this because she was a very good student. To stay fit for racing, Ashley enjoys many outdoor activities. She does cyclo-cross, hiking, rock climbing, and skate skiing. She does these activities in the mountains of Vermont.

Her Racing Journey

Starting with Karting (2004–2008)

Ashley first got interested in racing when she was ten. Her two older brothers started karting. At first, she didn't think girls could compete in racing. But after trying skateboarding, basketball, soccer, and karate, she felt drawn to it. When she was 11, she helped with timing at a local kart track.

Ashley started go-karting at age 13. In 2004, her father took her to the Jim Hall Karting School in Ventura, California. In December 2004, Ashley raced nationally for the first time. This was at a World Karting Association (WKA) event at Daytona International Speedway. Her father helped pay for her racing.

In her first year, 2005, Ashley finished fourth in a regional series. She also placed seventh in the national WKA points. In 2006, she raced in the Junior Sprint class. She was too young for other classes. Ashley won her first races in regional and national karting series. She won every race in the regional Championship Enduro Series (CES), taking two championship titles. She also won her first WKA title in 2006. Over the next two years, she won two more karting championships.

Racing Open-Wheel Cars (2007–2012)

Because of her success in karting, Ashley joined the Skip Barber Race Schools. This was the start of her open-wheel racing career. Soon after, she joined Lyn St. James's Women in the Winner's Circle Driver Development Academy. Her goal was to reach the IndyCar Series.

In 2007, Ashley finished fourth in her first Skip Barber race. In 2008, she was on the podium six times and had nine more top-five finishes. Ashley also placed fourth in her first Formula Mazda race in 2008. Mazda Motorsports then invited her to a Skip Barber National Championship race, where she finished sixth.

In 2009, Ashley won races at Sebring International Raceway, Road America, Road Atlanta, and Carolina Motorsports Park. She also raced in the 2009 Skip Barber National Championship. She became the first woman to get on the podium in that race. She finished sixth overall in the points.

In 2010, Ashley won 25 Skip Barber races and two series championships. This made her the first woman to win an overall Barber Series title. She was also the first woman to win a Skip Barber National Championship race. Ashley was the first woman to win a Skip Barber National Series feature race at New Jersey Motorsports Park. She was also the first to win a race in the Skip Barber Mazda MX-5 Sedan Championship. Her great results led to her getting the Coach's Choice Award. This award recognized her as "the best all-round driver in the series." She was also the second woman, after Danica Patrick, to be nominated for the Team USA Scholarship that year.

In 2011, Ashley won four races. But she had to stop racing because she ran out of money. She visited race tracks and talked to team owners herself. She couldn't afford a publicist. Late in 2011, a program called Women Empowered Initiative contacted her. They had seen her race in the Skip Barber championship. This led to JDC MotorSports signing her for the full 2012 Star Mazda Championship. She raced alongside Juan Piedrahita. Ashley had six top-ten finishes. Her best result was sixth place at the Grand Prix of Baltimore. She finished 11th in the final points standings.

Sports Car and Endurance Racing (2013–present)

Ashley wanted to race another season in the Star Mazda Championship. But she also looked into racing sports cars. In 2013, she raced for EFFORT Racing in the GT3 Cup Challenge. At the first race in Sebring, she finished in the top five twice. She took second place at the first Laguna Seca race. This tied her for the championship lead.

On June 29, Ashley became the first woman to win a North American GT3 Cup Challenge race outright. She led every lap of the Watkins Glen International race. This win helped her take the championship lead. However, after an accident at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, her contract was ended. That year, Sports Illustrated featured her in their "Faces in the Crowd" section.

The No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW that Freiberg shared with Jens Klingmann and Bret Curtis on her way to second in her class at the 2016 12 Hours of Sebring.

In 2014, Ashley started racing in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. She shared the No. 48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 with Shelby Blackstock. They won the first race, the BMW Performance 200. This made her the first woman in the series to win a race overall. She was also the first to win outright at Daytona International Speedway. She raced in four more events until her sponsorship money ran out.

In 2015, Ashley was named a BMW North America Scholarship Driver. She rejoined Fall-Line Motorsports. She partnered with Trent Hindman in the No. 46 BMW M3. After a tough start, they finished second at Watkins Glen. They were third overall at Road America. They also won the final race of the season at Road Atlanta. Ashley finished eighth in the GS drivers' championship.

In 2016, Ashley co-drove the No. 96 BMW M3 for Turner Motorsport in the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship. She also shared the No. 88 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09 car for sprint races. She debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona. She finished 22nd in her class. During that race weekend, she got support from the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission. This made her the first North American female driver to get this recognition. Two months later, she finished second in class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. She also had good finishes in other races that year.

After looking for sponsors for months, Ashley signed with DAC Motorsports in 2017. She raced in some events of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Championship. She finished third in class twice at the Circuit of the Americas. She was also third overall at Watkins Glen. This made Ashley the first woman to stand on the overall podium in any of Lamborghini's Super Trofeo series worldwide.

In 2018, Ashley and Audi Sport TT Cup driver Gosia Rdest formed the first all-female team in the GS class. They raced an Audi R8 LMS GT4 at the BMW Endurance at Daytona. They finished 23rd overall. In December 2018, Ashley was part of an all-female team at the 2018 25 Hours of Thunderhill. They finished second in their class.

In September 2020, she raced in the 2020 Michelin Pilot Challenge at Road Atlanta. She drove a McLaren 570S GT4. For the last race of the season, she drove a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. She finished 14th in that race.

Ashley joined the All-In program by tire maker Yokohama. This program helps promote diversity in racing. In 2023, she drove a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup car in the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America. Ashley won the class title with seven victories and twelve podium finishes. She earned 671 points over the 14-race season.

In the Media

Ashley Freiberg is the focus of a three-part documentary series. It is called "In the Machine: Ashley Freiberg." It aired on MAVTV in 2024.

Images for kids

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  The No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW that Ashley Freiberg shared with Jens Klingmann and Bret Curtis on her way to second in her class at the 2016 12 Hours of Sebring.