Duno and Mitrisin to be named
02/07/07 Duno and Mitrisin posed together for this IRL media shot so it looks like they are expected to race in the IRL this year. That will give the IRL three women – Patrick, Fisher and Duno. Expect Duno to run dead last most of the time, Fisher is so bad she won't run any of the road races (takes too much skill) and Patrick struggled to keep pace with her Andretti Green teammates at the recent Homestead test. With that said, this is primarily a 100% throttle series where driving talent is not necessary to go fast – ya just need to be brave.
01/27/07 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today. Reached by phone, Steve Kaminski, vice president of Marquis Marketing Sports, the marketing arm of Cahill Racing, confirmed that Duno and driver Jeff Mitrisin are both signed to two-year, two-car deals. "Milka is signed for a two-year agreement and so is Jeff. We're looking at 17-18 races this year. She's being very kind and doing the right things," Kaminski said. "We've had to work around three different entities so we can make everybody happy. Milka is very aware of the contract and knows what is in it. As of midnight (Friday) I would tell you that all of the Ts are being crossed and all of the Is are dotted and we're ready to go." More at Daytona Beach News Journal
01/11/07 The Cahill announcement was delayed due to illness in the family of one of its drivers. All "system are go" and an announcement will be made in the coming days.
01/09/07 Wednesday's announcement with Cahill Racing has been postponed due to a family emergency with one of the scheduled participants. Information regarding a rescheduled date will be released at a later time.
01/09/07 Officials from Cahill Racing will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to announce plans for the 2007 IndyCar Series season. As expected, Milka Duno and Jeff Mitrisin will be announced as drivers for Cahill Racing's 2 car effort.
12/03/06 A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Milka Duno may indeed "drive like a brick on road courses," but what the IRL is undoubtedly more concerned about is that physically, she makes Danica Patrick look like a brick! Along with the fact that the IRL is starving for drivers and teams, imagine the PR if they can get Patrick and Duno on the track at the same time! Hmmm, it's certainly sexist, but imagine a head-to-head tour of cities ahead of the races… maybe featuring them racing in bikinis on karts or some such. Can you say, "back in the spotlight?" Tony George must be smiling just thinking about it. DL, from LA, CA
Dear DL, Sarah Fisher is also trying to put together an IndyCar ride for next year, so maybe Tony will have three women to exploit. No other "professional" sport has three women at the top level. In fact in most sports women have their own league. Mark C.
12/02/06 We've got conversations with four to six people that have potential of fielding teams, including one that was here before – Larry Cahill trying to assemble a package for female sports car driver Milka Duno. Brian Barnhart in Indy Star interview
[Editor's Note: She's as slow as a brick on road courses, but she may be good at 100% throttle IRL racing.]