Beth Paretta’s new Grace Autosport team captured plenty of attention when it announced it would field an all-female IndyCar team for next year’s 100th running of the Indy 500. Three weeks after the team’s launch, Paretta, a former auto industry executive and factory motorsports program manager, says the reception to the project has exceeded expectations.

“The reaction has been better than I could have ever imagined,” Paretta told RACER. “I’ve had talks with Chevy and Honda and I would say that they were actively excited about the project, of the team in general, let alone working with us. The other interesting thing that has happened, which I hoped would happen, is the phone has rung inward by companies outside of racing that might have an engineering push and have said, this is fabulous, we would like to get involved.”

Paretta says Grace Autosport has also been met with interest and encouragement from within the IndyCar paddock and other series.

“Other team owners have come to me and congratulated me, and I’ve heard from other series that are interested in what we’re doing,” she noted. “Some are very excited about it – they see the value of the story. They see the contribution that it will make to IndyCar to elevate the story within IndyCar.

“Like anything, they are forward thinking owners and successful owners, and it’s amazing to see who came out of the woodwork and who was first to reach out. It’s been fabulous.”

Paretta’s plans include building the team around female mechanics, engineers, and crew members in key positions. Veteran IndyCar driver Katherine Legge (pictured at right, ABOVE, with Paretta) will be tasked with piloting Grace’s entry, and through their on-track efforts, educational opportunities for women in various motorsport disciplines will be offered.

Of all the initiatives Paretta plans to implement, the combination of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), motor racing, and women has resonated far beyond the world of cars and competition.

“We’re looking at this from an institutional perspective; we’ve already had talks with IUPUI about establishing internships, promoting STEM for girls and being in front of schools with our program,” she said. “Companies are interested in figuring out a way to be involved, and I have meetings with a major communications partner to talk about educational programming that we would be involved with. 

“This is so much more than racing; this is really an idea that happens to have a race team. It can lead to different career paths for women. There have been men and women shaping this and I’m really proud of that because, of course – that’s what happened there.” 

Grace Autosport has been steered from the beginning by Paretta and Adrian Sussmann from GP Sports Management. Combined, the two have found exceptional support within the industry.

“One thing people might not be aware of is there has been a core advisory group in place since December, and it’s been men and women at the table from the beginning,” she said. “Adrian is my business partner, we have had conversations almost daily, and we’ve had some great people behind-the-scenes weighing in. And if you look at who has been welcoming and supportive, it’s the men already in racing. I also want to be clear that we’re not doing this because women are not welcome, it’s the contrary. 

“Many of us are here because women are welcome. We’re just trying to show the critical mass and increase those numbers. Could we have done this 40 years ago? No. The climate is right to do this now because of all the forward-thinking men over the years.” 

Addressing the commercial needs involved with starting an IndyCar team will take time, and with the contacts that have been made since Grace Autosport was unveiled, Paretta will be busy building the program’s financial foundation until they hit the track.

“It’s one of the hardest things to do in our sport, and that goes for teams of every size,” she said. “We went into this knowing exactly what was entailed, and we know it won’t come together overnight, but everyone is encouraged with the progress we’ve made and the relationships we’re developing in such a short amount of time.”