four young women race-car drivers were evaluated over two days as part of Ford Racing's new initiative to identify a young female driver with the potential to develop into a race-winning NASCAR driver. Although a number of qualified candidates were considered, Erin Crocker (Age 23; Buffalo, N.Y.), Alison MacLeod (Age 14; Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), Michelle Theriault (Age 18; Atlanta, Ga.) and Lynsey Tilton (Age 17; San Diego, Calif.), were selected based on their racing accomplishments, background and recommendations from renowned USAC Midget team owner Bob East and female racing legend Lyn St. James, and subjected to a comprehensive program that evaluated their skills both on and off the track. The first part of the evaluation included an on-track session at Anderson Speedway (Anderson, Ind.) in a Ford-powered midget car owned by East, who has discovered and developed several current NASCAR stars. East's son, Bobby, who currently leads the USAC National Midget Car standings, shook the car down before each session to establish a baseline around the quarter-mile circuit, and all four drivers spent time in the car being observed and receiving instructions and advice from East. The second part of the evaluation took place at the National Institute of Fitness and Sport, located on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where the drivers were put through a physical and mental readiness assessment administered by Human Performance International designed to evaluate their physical and mental fitness. After undergoing a battery of physical tests that measured muscular strength and endurance, each candidate underwent a number of mental tests designed to evaluate their concentration, information processing and visual tracking skills. As a third part of the test, the drivers also underwent a media training and evaluation session where they were introduced to some basic concepts and recommendations on how to best interact with the media.(Ford Racing)[:'(][>:]