Detroit – Andrea Hidalgo grew up in Queens, New York, and her family did not have a car. Alyssa Haba, grew up in Algonac, graduated from Michigan State and then worked for the Detroit Tigers in the radio booth.
Now, both women are in prestigious motorsports positions with General Motors and have busily prepared for this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the downtown streets.
Hidalgo, who holds a Master’s Degree from Michigan in global manufacturing and automotive engineering, is in her first year as Corvette Racing’s program manager. Haba is the senior manager for GM Motorsports Marketing and Activation. Both women work behind the scenes in significant racing roles for GM.
“I quickly realized there’s just a lot of other opportunities for women like me who want to quarterback,” Haba said. “I was fortunate out of college to get a job with the Detroit Tigers, in the radio booth, in broadcasting and through that opportunity I really learned how to work with leadership. It just opened my eyes to all the different opportunities that live within sports, which was really my passion and my goal coming out of (MSU).”
During her childhood, Hidalgo inexplicably decided she liked cars.
“And that I wanted to do this,” she said, growing emotional while discussing her path to her new role at GM. “Now I’m here in the Motor City doing this. It’s crazy.”
It is not lost on Hidalgo how unique her story is considering her family did not have a car in New York.
“I don’t even know why I got into cars,” she said. “But it is kind of wild to think about getting from there to here. I can’t believe it sometimes.”
Haba’s path to GM evolved after she went through a number of stick-and-ball sports. She also worked with the Pistons and then landed her first marketing job that involved managing motorsports sponsorship.
“I knew nothing of it,” she said. “I’d never been to a race before, but I thought it sounded interesting. Interviewed, got the job, and that year, 13 years ago, put me at my first NASCAR race. It just opened my eyes. I wouldn’t say I was a fan, but I knew of it.
“My first impression was what a family environment it was and how welcoming it was for me as a woman. I felt so welcome in motorsports, and I think what’s so unique about it is, what other professional sports exist where a woman can have the exact same job as a man? You can drive the car, you can be a crew chief, you can work in the commercial side, like I do, or you can be an engineer, like Andrea, and nobody cares about your gender, your race, your orientation. We’re all here together, and it’s truly a family industry, and that makes it unique, and it gives us so many opportunities for women like us. This is my 13th year, and I just feel grateful for the path that sort of unfolded for me.”
Cadillac carries special tribute
Earl Bamber, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, carried a special No. 8 decal on his car honoring late NASCAR driver Kyle Busch. Busch, a two-time series champion, died May 21 at age 41 from complications from bacterial pneumonia, and his death shocked the racing community.
Richard Childress Racing, for which Busch drove, also has a connection with Whelen engineering, and the team provided the decal to Bamber to carry on his car that raced Saturday in Detroit.
De Tullio gets Indy NXT pole
For the fifth time in seven races, Alessandro de Tullio will start from the pole position in the Indy NXT series race. The IndyCar development series will compete in a 45-lap race Sunday morning ahead of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
De Tullio, a series rookie, had the best lap of 1 minute, 5.3664 seconds in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing car on Saturday morning. He is looking for his second victory of the season. Max Taylor crashed during practice Saturday but finished atop the second qualifying group and will start second for Andretti Global.
Rookie Tymek Kucharczyk will start third after his top lap of 1:05.3713 in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car and JM Correa also is in the second row after qualifying fourth at 1:05.8840 with the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports.
angelique.chengelis@detroitnews.com
@chengelis
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Women hold prominent roles in racing at General Motors
Reporting by Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
