10 Questions with Sara Senske

Sara
Sara Senske (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motorsports)
Sara Senske is one of the top female drivers in open-wheel racing today, and drives for the only championship-winning racing team/driver development program owned by women: Lynx Racing, a team owned by Peggy Haas and Jackie Doty.

Senske, whose father was the 1989 SCCA Production Class rally champion, began racing karts at age 7, won her first race at age 8 and won her first karting championship at age 9.

First signed to Lynx in 1997, Sara won the pole for her first-ever oval track race, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sara
When not behind the wheel of her racing car, Sara is racing between classrooms as a student of communications and sports marketing at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington.

Sara's favorite TV show is I Love Lucy and her favorite foods are Italian, Thai and Mexican. If she couldn't be a racing driver, she'd like to be on the U.S. Women's Olympic hockey team.

SportsHollywood interviewed Sara while she was in Long Beach, California, to race in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.


TEN QUESTIONS

Sara
SportsHollywood: What's the fastest you've ever driven outside of a race?

SENSKE: I don't know if I want to admit that... (looking around) ... Probably 115... 110.

SportsHollywood: Are you the only driver to ever be on the winner's platform who got more wolf whistles than the Tecate Girls did?

SENSKE: It makes me ask, hey, where are the 'Tecate Guys?' I want trophy guys!!!

SportsHollywood: What kind of car do you drive every day?

SENSKE: 1998 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT... with a spoiler -- it's gotta have a spoiler to look cool.

SportsHollywood: How did you get interested in car racing?

SENSKE: My dad got me started in Go-Carts, and it grew from there. It's still the same -- just a couple hundred mph faster. My dad was a rally racer, and he asked me if I wanted to do it. I asked, "Is it safe?" He said, "Oh yeah -- they give you a helmet."

SportsHollywood: Which is scarier: Going 100 mph on a track or going 5 MPH on the 405 freeway with all the drive-by's?

SENSKE: Definitely the 405. You have to use your peripheral vision out there. There are a lot more cars, and it's a lot more dangerous.

SportsHollywood: Favorite racing movie?

SENSKE: The Love Bug!!! They shot it at Laguna Seca.

SportsHollywood: Rate the competition here: Who are your biggest threats?

SENSKE: Well, they had to seperate Dara Torres and me because we're so competitive with each other...

SportsHollywood: How many speeding tickets have you gotten in the last year

SENSKE: I've only gotten one... I swear...

SportsHollywood: When you get a flat on you street car do you have to call on the pit crew?

SENSKE: Yeah, I get tire changes and refueling. They've gotta put methanol in my car, or it just doesn't run right...

SportsHollywood: Do you wear any Nomex undergarments or lingerie?

SENSKE: I will just say that on my last ski vacation I was entirely flame-retardant.

SportsHollywood: Ever get tired of answering dopey questions about how you go to the bathroom in a racing suit?

SENSKE: Well actually I've only been asked that once or twice...

SportsHollywood: Excellent! Then we don't mind asking... How do you go to the bathroom in a racing suit?

SENSKE: I've never done it. If I ever do endurance racing I might, because it's socially acceptable there. But I'm not sure if it is in formula racing yet. Although I heard Mark Consuelos say he was going to wear a diaper...

Pro/Celeb
Main Page

Interview by Dan Mahin and Jeff Hause

Sara Sara Senske: Pro Racer
Full Name: Sara Catherine Senske
Nickname: Princess, Racer, Sara Burnhardt
Birthdate: 7/17/78
Birthplace: Spokane, WA
Personals Interests: Hockey, biking, reading, writing, weight training, rollerblading, juggling
Hobbies: Collecting CD's, books, and movies
Personal Vehicle: 1998 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT (Silver)

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