In today's society it is not rare to see women in positions of authority, but in motorsports a woman team owner is almost like a needle in a haystack.  When Sharon Bank was a little girl growing up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh she never dreamed of owning a race car team. Even with her father being a huge race fan (he never missed an Indy 500 from World War II until the day he died) and her brother, Robin, racing go-karts and later midgets, Bank never developed an interest in the sport.

She loved horses instead.

Using money from babysitting, she would take riding lessons instead of going to the car races with her family.  In 1990 her family forced her to go to her first auto race.

"They took me kicking and screaming," Bank said.  "I went and I wasn't there for more than 5 minutes and I was hooked.  I was mesmerized by the whole thing; I don't know if it was in my bloodstream or what.  I do still have my horses, though, because I love them too."  What attracted Bank the most to the sport was the spirit and determination she noticed in the people involved.  She loved the way they put their heart and soul into everything. 

"There are people out their sacrificing their family life, health, and sometimes their financial stability just to do this, just for that one win, just to feel the highest of highs and the lowest of lows," Bank said.  "They might have had a bad night the night before, but the next day they get up and they dust themselves off and they're back at it again."

In 2001 she purchased her first USAC Silver Crown car and teamed up with her brother Robin, who wanted to move from midgets into the Silver Crown division.  The team had complications, Robin decided to pursue other interests, and Sharon was left with all of the equipment and no driver. 

Bank focused on the positive side and decided to take her chances.  She turned to veteran car owner and builder Bob East, who had originally given her advice on forming her team, for suggestions on a new driver.  East recommended John Heydenreich, who won the USAC Silver Crown race at PPIR in 1998, and they have been a team ever since.  "I knew Johnny from before {John raced ARDC midgets with Robin]," Bank said.  "I knew he knew what he was doing."

"He's just such a great buy and fun to be around," Bank continued.  "We gelled right away."

Bank made the right decision as in 2002 the team earned fifth place in the USAC Silver Crown points championship in the team's first year together.  Since then, the team has finished in the top 5 in points three of the last four years, including a 4th place finish in 2006.

"Of course we would like to win the championship," Bank said. "If we can't do that certainly win a few more races would be really nice. "I just want to see us continue to excel and maybe even move up and out of USAC Silver Crown [division]," Bank continued. "We just take one day at a time."

"I'm so competitive," Bank continued.  "I just want to beat all the men out there."

Bank loves being a team owner, a change from her childhood.  "It's fun," Bank said.  "I think more women should get into it.  It is sort of exciting for me because there are few teams out there that are one-owner teams, and there are even less teams that are woman-owned."

"Right now we're not as well-funded as some of the other teams we compete with, like Tony Stewart Racing and Kasey Kahne Racing, for instance," Bank continued.  "We're out there doing what we can to get where we're at, and we're still kicking butt.  We're doing something right," Bank continued.  "I don't know what it is, but it's working."

"Racing helps me keep going." she added.  "It's helped me to continue to grow in my own business and my own personal self, because you can't stop for one minute to take a break.  I work harder to make it all happen."

With a crew of volunteers including Tom Burkey, Joe Dietsch, Denny Lott and Sue Miller, it is obvious that this team is not in it for the money.  "Sharon is the type of woman that when she sets a goal, she goes for it," Heydenreich said.  "She doesn't do this for the money.  She really does have a deep love for racing."

"If you don't try, you get nothing," Bank said.  "I just keep on trying.  I thrive on challenges."

Bank has provided herself with many challenges.  Not only is she a team owner but she also started her own business, Techman Solutions, a woman business enterprise that markets high technology software and services.

For Bank, balancing work with racing is "crazy."  There is no television watching or much time to do "normal things."  Most of her time is spent traveling.  "But it's fun," Bank added.  "If you are passionate about it, it's not work."

Bank is not the type of woman to sit around and watch life pass by, either.  "I'm the kind of person who jumps in and starts to swim," Bank said.  "I'm the type of person who moves forward.  I just do it and ask questions later."

"She [Sharon] is not the type of woman whose main focus is her makeup," Heydenreich said.  "She's always focused on the job at hand and gets it done."

Bank tries to live her life by a motto from a poster given to her from veteran driver Jimmy Sills"

"Always push the limits. Because if you never fail, you will never succeed."