Milka Duno

Milka Duno
Born	(1972-04-22) April 22, 1972 Venezuela
Occupation(s)	Race car driver, naval engineer
Years active	1996–2014
Known for	Racing in IndyCar Series, ARCA Racing Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series; best female finish at 24 Hours of Daytona

Milka Duno (born April 22, 1972) is a retired Venezuelan race car driver who participated in the IndyCar Series as well as the ARCA Racing Series. She holds the distinction of achieving the best finish by a female competitor in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Additionally, she took part in the NASCAR Nationwide Series during the 2014 season.

Duno's entry into motorsports was relatively late, beginning her racing pursuits at age 24 after being introduced to the discipline through a driving clinic held in Venezuela. Prior to her racing career, she earned multiple master's degrees in fields such as organizational development, naval architecture, maritime business, and marine biology, alongside professional experience as a naval engineer.

Racing career

Starting her racing journey in Venezuela in 1996, Duno secured second place in the Venezuelan GT Championship and finished fourth in the 1998 Venezuelan Porsche Supercup. She relocated to the United States in 1999, where she attended advanced racing programs and competed in the Barber Dodge Pro Series during 2000. That year, she became the first woman to win a Ferrari Challenge race on American soil and claimed her inaugural championship title in the Panoz GT Series.

Later in 2000, Duno made her debut in the American Le Mans Series, becoming the first female driver to achieve a class podium finish. Her first appearances at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans came in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Competing in the World Series by Nissan during 2001 and 2003, she was the first woman to earn points in that championship. In 2001, she finished as Vice-Champion Driver in the LMP 675 Class of the American Le Mans Series with four victories including Petit Le Mans—making her the first woman to win a class at this prestigious international sportscar event. She repeated her Petit Le Mans LMP 675 class victory again in 2004.

Beginning in 2004, Duno competed full-time in the Rolex Grand-Am series piloting a Pontiac-Riley Daytona Prototype for Howard-Boss Motorsports before joining SAMAX Motorsport in 2006. At the 2007 24 Hours of Daytona, alongside teammates Ryan Dalziel, Darren Manning, and Patrick Carpentier, she finished second overall—setting a record as both the highest-placing female and Venezuelan driver in that event’s history. Throughout her Rolex Sports Car Series tenure, Duno achieved three overall wins (twice at Homestead-Miami Speedway and once at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant), becoming the first woman to claim victory overall in a major North American international sports car race and to drive in the top-tier Daytona Prototype class. Her Rolex Series accomplishments include three overall wins, seven podium finishes, ten top-five results, and eighteen top-ten placements.

2007

On March 23, 2007, Duno and SAMAX Motorsport announced a partnership backed by CITGO to compete in a ten-race IndyCar schedule that included an entry into the Indianapolis 500; consequently, she ended her full-season participation in Grand-Am racing.

She successfully completed her IRL rookie test at Kansas Speedway on April 26 and participated on April 29 in the Kansas Lottery Indy 300—marking a historic occasion as it was the first North American open-wheel event featuring three female drivers (Duno, Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher). Starting from last place among twenty-one entrants, she finished fourteenth.

On May 6, Duno passed her rookie test for the Indianapolis 500. The 91st running of this iconic race was notable for having three women qualify; Duno secured her spot on May 19 and held it through Bump Day. As one of two rookies that year, she crashed on lap sixty-five and ultimately placed thirty-first.

2008

In 2008, SAMAX did not participate in the IndyCar Series. Instead, Duno joined Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for a partial campaign consisting of 11 events, with backing from Citgo. She competed alongside experienced teammate and former Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice, showing some progress throughout the year. Meanwhile, Townsend Bell took the wheel of the Dreyer & Reinbold #23 car in seven races that Milka did not attend.

Milka qualified for her second Indianapolis 500 during the event’s second weekend after rain delays affected qualifying sessions. She completed the race in 19th place, achieving the highest finish among female competitors—Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher ended up 22nd and 24th respectively. Although all three female drivers were involved in incidents, Duno was the sole woman still running at the finish, having returned to the track after a pit stop.

2009

Duno returned to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2009 for a nine-race part-time schedule following testing sessions with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway. When she was not driving, the #23 car was piloted by Darren Manning, Tomas Scheckter, and Roger Yasukawa. Her top race result was 16th place, concluding the season 24th in the overall points standings.

In December of that year, Duno was part of a historic group of nine women who took part in ARCA testing at Daytona International Speedway, marking an unprecedented female turnout.

2010

On March 4, 2010, Duno secured a full-time racing contract with Dale Coyne Racing for the 2010 season.

She did not qualify for the 2010 Indianapolis 500—the only instance she failed to make the grid in her 43 IndyCar starts—but competed in 16 out of 17 races that year. On August 28, 2010, Duno made history by joining fellow female drivers Danica Patrick, Simona de Silvestro, Ana Beatriz, and Sarah Fisher in what became the first IndyCar race featuring five women on track simultaneously. She started in 26th position and finished 19th.

2010

Duno made her ARCA Racing Series debut at the season opener held at Daytona International Speedway, driving the #90 Toyota for Stringer Motorsports. Beginning from 41st on the grid, she improved her position by ten spots before a large multi-car crash involving fourteen vehicles on lap six ended her race prematurely.

2011

For the ARCA season opener at Daytona in 2011, Duno signed with Sheltra Motorsports to pilot their #63 Dodge. This agreement came after extensive negotiations between both parties. During winter testing sessions, she posted times ranking seventh fastest during morning runs and fifth fastest in afternoon trials, finishing sixth overall on day one. At the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, she qualified 23rd and moved up to twelfth before a nine-car accident forced an early retirement, resulting in a 31st-place finish.

On April 14, 2011, Duno committed to contesting the full ARCA schedule with Sheltra Motorsports. Across her first five starts, her highest qualifying position was eighth at Talladega and best race finish was fifteenth at Toledo; however, she also recorded two DNFs. Although she earned pole position at Toledo due to qualifying being canceled by rain, she began from last place after crashing during final practice and switching to a backup vehicle.

Her campaign was prematurely ended when Sheltra Motorsports unexpectedly halted operations prior to the June 3 Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at Chicagoland Speedway. The team returned to competition on July 16 at Iowa Speedway. Despite missing seven events, Duno concluded the season ranked eighteenth in driver standings.

In preparation for the 2012 ARCA Series season, Duno tested the #63 Citgo Lubricants Ford for Sheltra Motorsports during December’s Daytona open test sessions. She topped two sessions and placed second in another, showcasing strong speed ahead of the upcoming season.

2012

On February 7, 2012, Duno's car entry for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 was updated from Sheltra Motorsports' #63 to Eddie Sharp Racing's #33. During the initial five events of the season, she piloted both the #33 and #6 vehicles for Eddie Sharp Racing, achieving a qualifying peak position of 16th at Daytona and a best race finish of 18th at Mobile. Duno made a comeback after her crew chief, Dave Leiner Jr., departed from Sheltra and ESR to establish Dave Leiner Racing. At Thunderbolt Raceway within New Jersey Motorsports Park, she secured a 21st place start and completed the race in 10th—her inaugural ARCA top-10 result, which earned her the CGS Imaging Hard Charger of the Race accolade and represented the highest ARCA placement attained by a Venezuelan competitor.

2013

Competing in her first complete ARCA season, Duno secured seventh place in the overall driver rankings, positioning her as the second highest-placed female in ARCA history. Notable achievements included winning the pole position at Talladega Superspeedway—joining an elite group of only four female drivers to accomplish this—and leading the opening 11 laps at Daytona from an outside front-row spot. Throughout 21 races, she recorded a career-best eighth-place finish at Salem Speedway and tenth at Winchester Speedway, accumulating two top-10 finishes and thirteen top-15 results in total. Additionally, she placed third in CGS Imaging Hard Charger points and third in S&S Volvo Laps Completed standings with a total of 2,423 laps completed.

NASCAR

In August 2014, Duno inked a deal with RAB Racing to pilot the No. 29 Toyota on a part-time basis in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. She participated in two events held at Kansas Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, experiencing a crash at Kansas but successfully finishing at Homestead. By qualifying for Kansas, she became the first Hispanic female driver to compete in a national NASCAR series within the United States. Furthermore, she entered one Camping World Truck Series race during 2014 behind the wheel of MAKE Motorsports' No. 1 truck at Talladega Superspeedway, where she led for two laps.

Off–track activities

Since founding the Milka Way Foundation in 2004, Duno has championed initiatives that promote academic success among youth in cities where she competes. In 2008, she expanded her professional portfolio by appearing as Kellie "Gearbox," a race car driver character, in Warner Brothers' film Speed Racer. That same year, she authored the bilingual children's book Go, Milka, Go!, which features her animated persona encouraging educational pursuits. This publication was honored with Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book at the 2009 International Latino Book Awards.

Criticism

Duno's tenure in IndyCar drew scrutiny due to concerns over her slow lap times and impeding other drivers. In 2007, Ashley Judd openly questioned Duno’s track safety citing her significant speed deficit compared to competitors. The following year, Danica Patrick confronted her regarding slow practice laps at Mid-Ohio. By 2010, race officials parked Duno during events at the Grand Prix of Toronto and Iowa Speedway for insufficient speed, resulting in IndyCar placing her on probation due to consistently subpar performance.

Complete American Le Mans Series results

rowspan=2 |2004

American Le Mans Series results
Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2000	Chamberlain Motorsport	GTS	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Chrysler 8.0L V10	Template:Michelin	SEB	CHA	SIL	NÜR	SON	MOS	TEX	ROS	PET ovr:26 cls:7	MON ovr:15 cls:5	LSV	ADE ovr:8 cls:3	15th	57
2001	Dick Barbour Racing	LMP675	Reynard 01Q	Judd GV675 3.4L V8	Template:Goodyear	TEX	SEB	DON	JAR ovr:Ret cls:Ret	SON ovr:13 cls:1	POR ovr:6 cls:1	MOS ovr:19 cls:2	MID ovr:Ret cls:Ret	MON ovr:26 cls:1	PET ovr:7 cls:1	2nd	126
2002	MBD Sportscar	LMP900	Panoz LMP07	Mugen MF408S 4.0L V8		style="background:#EFCFFF;" |SEB ovr:Ret cls:Ret	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |SON ovr:10 cls:7	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |MID ovr:8 cls:6	style="background:#EFCFFF;" |AME ovr:Ret cls:Ret	colspan=8 |	12th	106
	Intersport	LMP900	Lola B2K/10B	Judd GV4 4.0L V10		colspan=4 |	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |WAS ovr:25 cls:8	TRO	MOS	colspan=5 |
	Chamberlain	LMP900	Dome S101	Judd GV4 4.0L V10		colspan=7 |	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |MON ovr:12 cls:8	style="background:#EFCFFF;" |MIA ovr:Ret cls:Ret	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |PET ovr:35 cls:10	colspan=2 |
Taurus Racing	LMP1	Lola B2K/10	Judd GV4 4.0L V10		style="background:#DFFFDF;" |SEB ovr:22 cls:9	MID	LIM	SON	POR	MOS	AME	colspan=5 |	27th	8
Intersport Racing	LMP2	Lola B2K/40	Judd KV675 3.4L V8		colspan=7 |	style="background:#FFFFBF;" |PET ovr:6 cls:1	MON	colspan=3 |	13th	26

Full 24 Hours of Daytona Results

Year	Team	Drivers	Vehicle	Category	Completed Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2001	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Chamberlain Motorsports	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall David Gooding Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Raffaele Sangiuolo Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Stefano Zonca	Dodge Viper GTS-R	GTS	530	31st	6th
2004	Spirit of Daytona Racing	Doug Goad Robby Gordon Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Stéphane Grégoire	Crawford-Pontiac DP03	DP	401	35th	9th
2005	Howard-Boss Motorsports	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dario Franchitti Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Marino Franchitti Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dan Wheldon	Crawford-Pontiac DP03	DP	528	DNF	DNF
2006	CITGO Racing/SAMAX Motorsport	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Dario Franchitti Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Marino Franchitti Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Kevin McGarrity	Riley-Pontiac Mk XI	DP	695	8th	8th
2007	SAMAX Motorsport	Patrick Carpentier Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ryan Dalziel Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Darren Manning	Riley-Pontiac Mk XI	DP	668	2nd	2nd
2008	SAMAX Motorsport	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ryan Dalziel Template:Country data CZETemplate:Namespace detect showall Tomáš Enge Template:Country data CHETemplate:Namespace detect showall Harold Primat	Riley-Pontiac Mk XI	DP	97	DNF	DNF

Full 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

24 Hours of Le Mans outcomes
Year	Category	Car Number	Tires	Vehicle	Team	Drivers	Laps Completed	Overall Position	Class Position
2001	LMP675	37	Template:Goodyear	Reynard 01Q-LM Judd GV675 3.4L V8	Dick Barbour Racing	John Graham David Murry	4	DNF	DNF
2002	LMP900	19	Template:Avon	Panoz LMP07 Mugen MF408S 4.0L V8	MBD Sportscar Team	Template:Country data BELTemplate:Namespace detect showall Didier de Radiguès John Graham	259	DNF	DNF

Full World Series by Nissan Results

(key)

World Series by Nissan results
Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final Position	Points Earned
2001	Vergani Racing	JAR 1 Retired	JAR 2 19th	EST 1 16th	EST 2 18th	ALB 1 14th	ALB 2 15th	VAL 1 Retired	VAL 2 17th	MNZ 1 13th	MNZ 2 Retired	MAG 1 Retired	MAG 2 13th	BAR 1 14th	BAR 2 13th	VAL 1 10th	VAL 2 12th	colspan=2 |	27th	1
2002	Vergani Racing	VAL 1	VAL 2	JAR 1	JAR 2	ALB 1	ALB 2	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	BAR 1	BAR 2	VAL 1	VAL 2	CUR 1 16th	CUR 2 16th	INT 1 Did Not Start	INT 2 12th	28th	0

Full Nissan World Series Lights Results

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World Series Lights results -																																													Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	Final Standing	Points Accumulated -	2002	Vergani Racing	VAL 1	VAL 2	JAR 1	JAR 2	ALB 1	ALB 2	18th	1 -	2003	Vergani Racing	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	LAU 1	LAU 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	11th	28 -|} American Open-Wheel Racing Performance (key) (Events marked in bold denote pole position, while those in italics represent the fastest lap during the race) Barber Dodge Pro Series Results in the Barber Dodge Pro Series Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final Position Points Earned 2000 SEB 24 MIA 24 NAZ 20 LRP 17 DET 20 CLE 21 MOH 24 ROA 22 VAN LS RAT HMS 34th - IndyCar 4 3 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 } Indianapolis 500 Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final Standing Points Total 2007 SAMAX Motorsport 23 Dallara IR-05 Honda HMS STP MOT KAN 14 INDY 31 MIL TXS 11 IOW 18 RIR 19 WGL NSH MOH MIS 19 KTY SNM DET CHI 15 colspan=2| 20th 96 2008 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing HMS 20 STP MOT 1 LBH 1 KAN 16 INDY 19 MIL TXS 17 IOW 24 RIR WGL 20 NSH 17 MOH 23 EDM KTY 21 SNM DET 23 CHI 14 SRF 2 25th 140 2009 colspan=2| 24th 113 2010 Dale Coyne Racing 18 colspan=2| 23rd 184 1 Both events held on the same day. 2 Exhibition race without points awarded. Years Active Racing Teams Represented Total Races Entered Pole Positions Achieved Victories Secured Podium Finishes (excluding wins) Top Ten Finishes (excluding podiums) Indianapolis 500 Victories Championship Titles Won Year Chassis Engine Starting Position Finishing Position Team 2007 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 29 31 SAMAX Motorsport 2008 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 27 19 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 2009 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 30 20 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 2010 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R V8 DNQ Dale Coyne Racing NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position earned by qualifying time. Italics – Pole awarded by points or practice results. * – Most laps led during the race.) Nationwide Series NASCAR Nationwide Series results Year Team No. Manufacturer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NNSC Points Ref 2014 RAB Racing 29 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI DNQ ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV DNQ KAN 40 CLT TEX PHO 74th 14 87 HOM 34 Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series performance Year Team No. Manufacturer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Points 2014 MAKE Motorsports 1 Chevy DAY MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL 25 MAR TEX PHO HOM Finished 103rd 01 K&N Pro Series East NASCAR K&N Pro Series East performance summary Year Team No. Manufacturer Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Race 7 Race 8 NKNPSEC Points - 2014 RAB Racing 18 Toyota NSM DAY BRI GRE RCH IOW BGS style="background:#DFFFDF;" |DOV 20 61st 24 Season ongoing Not eligible to earn points in this series ARCA Racing Series (Bold indicates pole position earned by qualifying time. Italics signify pole awarded by points or practice results. * denotes most laps led.) Overview of ARCA Racing Series results Year Team No. Manufacturer Points 2010 ARCA Racing Series season Stringer Motorsports 90 [Toyota] 30 2011 ARCA Racing Series season Patrick Sheltra#Sheltra Motorsports 63 1780 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (Note: Detailed race-by-race statistics have been abbreviated to highlight overall team, driver, and seasonal performance metrics pertinent to business evaluation.) External links Duno's ARCA Driver Profile