Shea Hovey’s head is on a swivel.
She pivots her head to the right before snapping it back the other way to follow the next IndyCar as it speeds around the curve.
Women in Motorsports
Throughout the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, we’re highlighting women in the motorsports world, from driving to pit crew to the fans and more. This is the final installment of the Women in Motorsports series. Read the first here, the second one here and the third one here.
It was early Saturday morning in downtown Long Beach. The sun hadn’t yet broken through the marine layer yet. And the crowds at Day 2 of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach hadn’t yet grown into the horde it would become later on.
But Hovey had already claimed a prized spot around one of the turns of the iconic street course. He had an optimal view of the race cars zipping past. She peered through the fence as an Andretti Global car zoomed around the turn, then a Team Penske.
That’s is what she came to see. The cars. The speed.
“I’m just here for the sport,” said Hovey, 48.
She lives in Santa Monica now — but she was born in Indianapolis, living there until she was 10.
Donning a black-and-white checkered dress — a racing-inspired outfit — Hovey had her husband of 20 years, Ian Dutton, in tow with her for the Grand Prix. She’s the racing fan, her husband said with a laugh; he’s just along for the ride.
From checkered flag-inspired ‘fits to friendship bracelets to team jackets, women were out in full force for the first full day of racing events on Saturday, showing — quite literally — that they, too, are fans. More women fans can be expected, when the main IndyCar event — the titular Grand Prix of Long Beach — takes place.
Shea Hovey and Ian Dutton from Santa Monica talked about why she is a race fan at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
And some are just getting started.
Thirteen-year-old Aidah Morales perused a “RaceGirl” apparel booth with her family Saturday morning amid a break in the racing. They pointed to her as the one most interested in racing, the one celebrating her first Grand Prix.
She’s interested in how the cars are made, she said, her face lighting up. She might one day want a career involving cars.
“I like all the cars and their speed,” Morales said.
It’s the speed, too, that drew Claire Boldra, 24, to her first Grand Prix event Saturday.
“Being able to go incredible speeds, the fear and also the excitement of going that fast,” drives her fandom, Boldra said, sporting into an oversized Red Bull Racing jacket.
In the paddock, meanwhile, Sarah Offenbach’s backpack clattered as she set it down. It’s adorned with carabiner clips and rings clutching a mass of homemade friendship bracelets. There are beaded bracelets dedicated to the Long Beach event and specific teams and drivers. There are ones with quotes or phrases like “double bird,” an ode to driver Will Power’s expressive gestures.
Offenbach, 30, grew up in Indianapolis, and therefore, grew up with racing, her dad taking her to track when she was young. But her fandom really started when she met her husband in 2018; he works for the Chip Ganassi team.
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But she’s carved out her own little community in the racing world, one friendship bracelet at a time. It started as a little hobby for the Taylor Swift fan, something she did in her downtime. But it’s become a tradition. Fans follow her Instagram to collect the bracelets; she will give them to drivers she meets.
“It’s such an amazing community of people,” Offenbach said of racing. “It’s so welcoming.”
She’s got her bracelets impressively organized, especially considering the sheer amount of them. When asked about a McLaren one, she quickly slipped off an orange and black and white bracelet, handing it over.
A new fan inducted into her community.
