Wendy Burleson (Johnsonverse)

Wendy Carla Burleson (born December 21, 1987), nicknamed "The Bull", is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2009) and the USAC Gold Crown Series championship (2008, 2011, and 2017). She currently competes full-time in the USAC Gold Crown Series for Boeing Motorsports in the No. 78 Circuit City Boeing-Chevrolet.
Burleson was the first African-American and female driver to win both the USAC national championship and the Indianapolis 500, as well as the youngest winner of the event. To date, she is the most-successful woman in the USAC Gold Crown Series, as well as the all-time most-successful woman in motorsports.
Burleson co-owns a team in the USAC Bronze Crown Series, BWL Garage, with longtime crew chief Stu Wright and investor Tara Lowe.
== Career history ==
=== Early career ===
Burleson was born in Big Spring, Texas to Diane Burleson (née Moore) and tow truck driver Geoffrey Burleson. She became infatuated with racing at an early age as her parents were avid USAC fans, and longed to one day become a USAC Gold Crown Series driver and win the Indianapolis 500. Burleson had no role models; she stated in a 2010 interview, "I just wanted to race out there". She was known among her neighborhood as "that boyish girl" for her competitive nature and for constantly getting herself dirty by repairing with her father.
In 1995, at the age of seven, she got her first competitive go-kart after saving enough money from helping her father with his tow truck service; she would win her first championship in 1996. By the age of sixteen, Burleson had won twelve regional championships, and she was signed to a ride in the USAC Bronze Crown Series.
=== USAC Bronze Crown Series ===
Burleson made her USAC Bronze Crown Series debut in the Bully Hill Vineyards 100 at Nazareth Speedway in 2004, in which she finished eighth. In 2005, she ran the full Bronze Crown schedule, getting her first career victory at the Milwaukee 100, as well as two other victories; Burleson finished fifth in points. In 2006, Burleson won six races and the series championship.
=== USAC Gold Crown Series ===
==== 2007–2010 ====
On December 1, 2006, the newly-formed Boeing Motorsports announced that Burleson would drive their #78 car with sponsorship from Circuit City, running for rookie of the year honors. The number 78 was chosen after the number Burleson used in her go-karting career.
Burleson won her debut race, the Gilroy Garlic 500 at San Jose, becoming the first woman and first African-American to win a Gold Crown race. She went on to win rookie of the year honors, with two wins, three poles, 22 top-tens, and a seventh-place points finish.
In 2008, Burleson had a dominant sophomore season, with fourteen victories, one pole, and 35 top-tens. She went on to clinch the national championship, making her the first African-American female driver to win a professional motorsports championship. At the Florida Citrus Growers 500, commentator Paul Page noted that she had a will "as strong as a bull", leading to Burleson adopting "The Bull" as her nickname.
2009 saw Burleson win the 93rd Indianapolis 500, becoming the first female driver to win the race; she was congratulated by members of every pit crew on pit road, as well as Janet Guthrie, the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. This would be her only win that season, though she finished fifth in points.
In 2010, Burleson scored two victories, and finished fourth in points.
==== 2011–2015 ====
2011 was another dominant year for Burleson, in which she garnered eleven wins and her second championship.
==== 2016–2021 ====
Burleson only scored one victory in 2016, at Tokyo.
Burleson did not compete throughout most of the 2021 season, due to her pregnancy and taking maternity leave. The No. 78 was driven by rookie Lois Hayden (a protégé of Burleson) for the first 34 races of the season, and Burleson ran the last five races of the season at Monza, Lausitzring, Atlanta, Talladega, and Daytona, of which she won Monza and Talladega, after her son Jett was born.
==== 2022–present ====
In 2024, Burleson competed for the United States motorsports team in the Summer Olympics.
== Other media appearances ==
== Personal life ==
In 2013, Burleson got engaged to fashion designer and beverage entrepreneur Rich Harwell. The two married in October 2015. On October 19, 2021, they welcomed a son, Jett Bruce Burleson.
Her younger sister, Alana Burleson, is a NASCAR RCA Cup Series driver.
== Helmet design ==
==The Wendy Burleson Foundation==
In 2011, Burleson founded The Wendy Burleson Foundation, a charitable organization aimed at offering people from low-income backgrounds the opportunities to develop their full potential.
== Bull Energy ==
Bull Energy is a drink industry business based out of Carrollton, Texas, that specializes in energy drinks. The business is owned by Burleson and Harwell, who founded it in 2018.
==See also==
*Gallery
Category:Johnsonverse