Milka Duno headed into the last race of her historic first NASCAR Nationwide Series season at Homestead-Miami Speedway with two goals – to learn and to finish – and that she did.
Duno had earned some respectable stats during her time in the ARCA Racing Series in preparation for her entry into NASCAR – but the jump from ARCA to NASCAR is a big and difficult one with a steep learning curve.
In her first Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway race Milka qualified well and had a very good start but the car went away from her in very early laps and ended her debut prematurely.
With two wins at Homestead in the Grand American Rolex Series this would be her first time on the track at Homestead in a stock car – and she had much to learn – and she was doing just that by improving and getting faster in each session.
In the qualifying session leading up to the race an underperforming car placed her 39th on the starting grid for what would be an ultra-competitive season finale competition.
When the green flag waved on race day Duno started to move and by lap 120 she was in 36th. But Duno was not done yet – and she would advance another two positions to 34th in the last 20 laps of the race – and setting her fastest lap of the race on lap 201 of the extended 206-lap competition.
“This was only my second NASCAR Nationwide race” said Duno. “For this race I was trying to be more patient because at Kanas I was feeling that the car was so good I became overconfident and as a result of this it taught me a valuable and important lesson. We came to Homestead with a definite set of goals and we accomplished all of them. At the start of the race the car was not so good, but as the race progressed we were able to make changes to the car during each pit stop. With good communication between us those changes were heading in the right direction so I was able to prove what I’m able to do when the car is performing.”
“We came to Homestead with the intent to have Milka complete a Nationwide Series race and provide her an opportunity to get that done, said RAB Racing owner Robby Benton. “She learned a lot in this race and I think she earned some respect as well. She ran a good race with no incidents or issues. Competing at this level at this track is not a small accomplishment and I’m proud that Milka was able to take the checkered flag respectfully.”
Duno’s first season in NASCAR saw her achieve three historic Hispanic sports history milestones. When she debuted in her first Nationwide race at Kansas Speedway in October she became the first Hispanic female driver to compete in a NASCAR Nationwide series race in the USA and when she competed in the Camping World Truck Series at Talladega Superspeedway she became the first Hispanic female driver to compete in the USA in that series also. By leading laps at Talladega she also became the first Hispanic female driver to lead laps in a NASCAR national series race in the USA
“It has been a great season on many levels,” added Duno. “My sponsors gave me the incredible opportunity to fulfill a big dream of mine – to compete in NASCAR and I am supremely thankful for their support. Along the way we all made some significant Hispanic sports history as well. Many thanks also to the RAB Racing organization for signing me and giving me the chance to make my NASCAR debut with them.”
Milka Duno PR
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