Milka Duno

Milka Duno (born on April 22, 1972 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan racing driver, who currently competes in the IndyCar Series. She is known for taking the highest ranking for a woman in the 24 Hours of Daytona.

His career started late, as he started competing at the age of 24 and his previous experience in motorsports was mainly academic: he has a degree in marine biology, and a master's degree in human development, as well as a career in naval engineering.

Beginnings in motorsport
She began her career as a driver in 1996, in the Venezuelan GT championship, finishing second. In 1998, Duno finished fourth in the Porsche Carrera Cup Venezuela.

In 1999 she moved to the United States to further study and compete in the Barber Dodge Pro Series. She was the first woman to win a Ferrari Challenge Race in the United States and was champion of the one-make Panoz GT Series.

In 2000, Duno made her debut in the American Le Mans Series, being the first woman to earn a podium in that category. In 2001 she debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona and in 2002 she debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Between 2001 and 2003, Milka Duno competed in the European valid of the Nissan World Series, becoming the first woman to obtain points. In 2001, she took second place in the LMP675 class drivers' championship of the American Le Mans Series, winning in four races in that phase including Petit Le Mans. In 2004, she repeated victory at Petit Le Mans in that class.

In 2004, Duno decided to compete full time in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, with the Howard-Boss team driving a Riley-Pontiac. That year she finished sixth in the championship; she won two races at Homestead and making her the first woman to win an international competition in North America. In 2005 she continued on the team, where she had a win at Mont-Tremblant. She joined the SAMAX team in 2006. By 2007, she competes in the 24 Hours of Daytona teaming up with Ryan Dalziel, Darren Manning, and her teammate Patrick Carpentier; Her second place in her test made her the furthest woman in competition history. In her four years at the Grand-Am, she had three wins and seven podiums.

IndyCar
On December 14, 2006, Larry Cahill announced that he had hired Milka Duno in his team (Cahill Racing) to race in the Indy Racing League 2007 edition. Due to various circumstances the team was unable to participate, but on March 23, 2007 the purchase of the team by Milka's team in the Grand Am Series, SAMAX Motorsport, with the sponsorship of the Venezuelan company Citgo is announced to compete in ten valid Indy Car Series, including the Indianapolis 500. Milka Duno wouldn't race in the Grand Am Series.

On April 27, 2007, Duno passed the driving tests at Kansas Speedway. Two days later, she made her IndyCar Series debut at the Kansas Lottery Indy 300, where for the first time three women compete in the same category: Duno, Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher. In that race Duno had problems with the bodywork, so she finished in 14th place.

In May 2007, Duno competed in the Indianapolis 500, after successfully qualifying and being one of the two rookies in the competition. However, Duno crashes his car into the fence, finishing in 31st position after 63 laps.

In 2008, SAMAX chose not to compete in IndyCar, so Duno signed a contract with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team for 11 races and the sponsorship of Citgo, along with his Buddy Rice teammate, Townsend Bell. would serve as third driver.

That year, Milka Duno was assisting in the filming of the Wachowski sisters film Speed Racer, so she was unable to participate in the Meijer Indy 300 race at Kentucky Speedway. The Movie was released on May 9, the day before free practice for that year's Indy 500, so Milka was able to participate in the next day's race as the event was suspended due to rain. Duno finished in 19th position, the highest position for a woman (Danica Patrick finished 22nd, but Milka was the only one who could finish the race).

In 2009, Milka renews his contract with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, this time for nine races. His best was sixteenth, and he finished 24th in the drivers' competition.

In 2010, Milka would change teams, now competing for Dale Coyne Racing. She would not be the only Venezuelan on the track, since her compatriot Ernesto José Viso would compete in that category.

NASCAR
NASCAR is a commercial motor racing category that is very popular in the United States. Its Acronym in English for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing In 2014, the Venezuelan driver Milka Duno signed a contract with the "RAB Racing" team that will make her the first Hispanic to race in the category "Nationwide Series" of NASCAR or NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second most important in NASCAR.

In this category Nationwide Series of NASCAR or NASCAR Xfinity Series should play a maximum of seven races, the driver expected to qualify for the Rookie of the Year award planned for the following season, in which she could compete all races.

He participated in the ARCA division of the NASCAR Championship for “stock” cars, his last full season being 2013, finishing in seventh place.

Its' last competitions were in 2014, when the team where it participated was outside the top 30. According to the NASCAR time trial elimination procedure, at the end of the first qualifying round, the 40 cars eligible for the starting positions are determined 1-40. The car was ranked 45th in the table.

Activities off the track
In 2008, Milka Duno made a cameo in the film adaptation of anime Speed Racer (Meteor), directed by the Wachowski sisters,Milka Duno spends her free time in activities that benefit out-of-school youth.

In 2010 Milka Duno was elevated to the International Latin American Sports Hall of Fame in the 35th edition that is held annually, the ceremony was held in Laredo, Texas. Duno becomes the first Venezuelan to receive such a distinction.

Complete World Series by Nissan results
(key)

American Open-Wheel racing results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

IndyCar

 * 1 Run on same day.
 * 2 Non-points paying, exhibition race.

NASCAR
(key) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. )

K&N Pro Series East
$1$ Season still in progress $$ Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series
(key) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. )