Susanne Callin Wins Second Straight European Top Fuel Title

What changed

Susanne Callin won her second successive European Top Fuel title at Santa Pod in September, extending a remarkable run: a woman has won the European championship four years in a row.

Brittany Force also won the US championship. Women have now taken seven of the past nine European titles in Top Fuel, where cars exceed 300mph and races last about four seconds.

Why it matters

Top Fuel is not a gentler corner of motorsport. The cars launch from zero to 100mph in less than a second, reach more than 346mph, and stop with parachutes because brakes alone are not enough. Drivers endure enormous g-forces while making tiny, instant corrections on a 1,000-foot straight track.

Yet women remain unusually successful here. They made up 20% of this year's US and European Top Fuel drivers, compared with about 10% of motorsport participants overall and 4% of elite drivers.

That makes Top Fuel a striking exception to motorsport's wider pattern. The exact reason is still unclear, but the results are hard to dismiss: women are not merely present in this class. They are repeatedly winning its biggest titles.