Kathryn Pennington Teasdale (December 25, 1964 – June 2, 2016) was a Canadian auto racing driver and businesswoman. She began racing Formula Fords in Canada in 1988, and later switched to stock car racing. She was the CASCAR rookie of the year in 1993, and a three-time Canadian national champion in the Chevrolet Camaro racing series from 1996 to 1998. She achieved several firsts for female drivers which included being the first Canadian woman to have an international racing license, the first woman to compete in the Indy Lights road racing series, and the first female driver in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series. She succeeded in earning her own sponsorships in motorsport, and was later her own racing team owner. She was described by Andy Pilgrim as both a fearless driver and a talented athlete. She won over 180 races during her career, and retired from professional racing in 1998. Early life Teasdale was born December 25, 1964, and called Toronto, Ontario her hometown. She began riding horses at age 4, and later won a junior golfing championship. Her father Worden Teasdale was once president of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, and her uncle Al Balding played on the PGA Tour. As a teenager she was an alpine skiing racer, until quitting due to a knee injury in 1980. As a high school student, she attended The Woodlands School in Mississauga, Ontario. Auto racing career Teasdale began her auto racing career in 1988. Her first competitions that season were Formula Ford races in Canada, with the ultimate goal of racing in the Canadian Formula Ford 2000 Championship. She later competed in the Player's GM Motorsports Series, the Trans-Am Series, and the International Race of Champions. During her time in the Player's series, she was recruited by the Baker Racing Chevrolet Corvette team. She joined the Landford Racing team in 1991, and participated in the Molson Indy Vancouver in the Atlantic Championship, becoming the first woman to compete in the series. In 1992, she participated in the Indy Lights series. After five years of racing, she owned her own team which competed in Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs races and the IMSA GT Championship, and had earned 150 race victories. Teasdale made her debut in the CASCAR series during the 1993 season. She had limited previous exposure to stock cars at the time, but achieved success immediately by winning CASCAR's Hard