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Thursday May 2, 2024
Escanaba Native Sands Gets Promotion In NASCAR

CHARLOTTE, N.C.---An Escanaba native has quickly worked her way up through the ranks of NASCAR, and is now part of the pit crew of a Sprint Cup driver.

Shannon Sands has been named to the crew of the #44 car of J.J. Yeley. She is now a rear-tire changer for the team, and begins her assignment next weekend in Las Vegas.

But is she the first woman to do this? Sands, to be completely honest, isn't quite sure.

"I know that in the past, there has been a few," Sands said. "I'm not quite sure that anybody's ever done it at the Cup level. I could potentially be the first female at the Cup level, but that's gonna take some research, because I don't want to leave anybody out."


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Shannon Sands Interview
Sands lived in Escanaba until her teenaged years. Her father was a Michigan State Police trooper at the Gladstone post. But after the ninth grade at Escanaba High School, she moved to Detroit to play hockey.

So, how did she end up involved in stock car racing?

"I went to my first race when I moved down here to Charlotte, N.C.," Sands said. "I got curious on how they operated. I ended up going to NASCAR Tech, and really fell in love with doing the pit crew part. I then got turned over to a 'diversity program'."

Sands says that from there, she was hooked. And she moved up the chain quickly.

Last year was her first full year, and she started out working on ARCA crews. Sands moved quickly to NASCAR trucks crews, and then to Nationwide Series races. And she worked her first Sprint Cup race last year as well, and now, has received her promotion.

So what does Sands' rise to the Sprint Cup mean for the role of women in NASCAR?

"It's more of women wanting to take that chance, because it is a dominant-male sport," Sands said. "But what I found out last year is, that if you're willing to work hard and stay on the 'straight and narrow', these guys in the garage are very helpful."