MILKA DUNO - 04/22/1972
(home - Caracas, VEN)
Duno is a former model and has thus attracted much attention. Her racing career is unusual because of her late start. She was introduced to the sport when she was invited to a driving clinic by a car club in Venezuela and did not start racing until she was 24. Duno began her career as a driver in Venezuela in 1996, finishing 2nd in the Venezuelan GT Championship. In 1998, she placed fourth in the Venezuelan Porsche Supercup Championship. In 1999, she moved to the United States, attended advanced racing schools, and drove in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2000. Duno was the first woman in history to win a Ferrari Challenge Race in the USA. Later in 2000, Duno made her American Le Mans Series debut; she was the first woman to finish in a class podium on this championship. She made her 24 Hours of Daytona debut the next year and her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut a year later. In 2001 and 2003, Duno also competed in the World Series by Nissan open-wheel series in
Europe; she became the first woman to score points in this championship. Also in 2001, she was crowned Vice-Champion Driver in the LMP 675 Class of the American Le Mans Series. She scored an impressive four wins in this class, including the prestigious 10 hours Petit Le Mans, becoming the first woman to score a class win in this major international sportscar competition. In 2004 she scored yet another LMP 675 class win in Petit Le Mans.
Beginning in 2004, Duno competed full-time in the Rolex Grand-Am series driving a Pontiac-Riley Daytona Prototype for the Howard-Boss Motorsports team. For the 2007 24
Petit Le Mans win 2001
Petit Le Mans 2004
Hours of Daytona, Duno teamed up with Ryan Dalziel, Darren Manning, and her regular driving partner, Patrick Carpentier; with a second-place finish, Duno became the highest-finishing female in the history of the prestigious race and highest placing Venezuelan driver, eclipsing Ernesto Soto's 5th-place finish in 1982. In the Rolex Sports Car Series Duno scored three impressive and historical overall wins – twice at Homestead-Miami
Speedway and once at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec: With her first Rolex Series won at Miami she became the first woman in history to win overall a major international sports car race in North America, Duno was also the first woman to pilot the fastest car in the series – the Daytona Prototype. During her time competing in the Rolex Series Duno earned three overall wins, seven podium appearances, ten top-five finishes, and eighteen top-ten finishes. On March 23, 2007, Duno and her Grand Am Series team, SAMAX Motorsport, sponsored by CITGO, announced that they acquired the equipment to run a 10 race IndyCar series schedule in 2007, including the Indianapolis 500. On April 26, 2007, Duno successfully
Rolex 24 Daytona 2006
Indy 500 start 2007
passed her IRL rookie test at Kansas Speedway. When Duno made the field for the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 (also held at Kansas Speedway) on April 29, 2007, it marked the first time in North American open wheel history that three women (Duno, Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher) ran in the same race. Duno stayed out of trouble and finished 14th. Duno successfully completed her rookie test for the Indianapolis 500 race. This 91st running of the "Indy 500" was the first where three women were included in the 33
car field. In 2009, Milka qualified for her second Indianapolis 500 on the second weekend and finished 19th. Duno made her stock car debut in the ARCA Racing Series' season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway driving the #90 Stringer Motorsports Toyota. She started in 41st place and had picked up 10 positions before being swept up in a 14-car accident. In 2011 at winter testing at Daytona in January, she was seventh fastest in the first morning of testing, and fifth fastest that afternoon. For the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona one month later, Duno qualified 23rd. She had moved up to 12th place with only 16 laps to go when Duno was caught up in a 9-car crash that ended her day and relegated her to 31st place. 2013 saw her first full season in the ARCA Racing Series, Duno finished the 2013 season seventh in driver championship standings, becoming the second
Indy Car Series Watkins Glen 2010
ARCA Series - Pocono 2010
highest finishing female driver in ARCA's 61-year history. In August 2014, it was announced that Duno had signed with RAB Racing to drive the team's #29 Toyota on a limited basis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. She ran two races at Kansas Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, crashing out at Kansas and finishing 34th at Homestead. She also competed in one Truck Series race, in 2014 she ran MAKE Motorsports' #1 truck at Talladega Superspeedway, leading two laps and finishing 25th. Just a few of Milka’s “first” include: First Hispanic female driver to compete in a NASCAR national series. First Hispanic woman, in the 103-year history of the race, to compete in the Indy 500. First Hispanic woman to lead an IndyCar Series race. Historic 2nd place finish and highest finish ever by a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona in it’s history. First woman to win at Petit Le Mans – has won
twice. Three wins in the Rolex Grand American Series. Five wins in the American Le Mans Series. In only 2nd year of racing won first racing championship – Panoz GT Series. First woman to win a Ferrari Challenge race in the USA; and the list goes on and on… Prior to racing, her background was primarily academic. Duno holds master's degrees in organizational development, naval architecture, maritime business, and marine biology, and she has prior experience working as a naval engineer. Some info from Wikipedia
Xfinity Series - Kansas 2014
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