In 1963 a group of NASCAR wives held a meeting in Daytona looking to forge a charitable sisterhood beyond the garage and pit road.

Those same women -- now well into their golden years -- hoped the club and what it stood for would remain the same. Sadly, one of its founding females Lynda Petty said she is uncertain of what has become of the club.

What once was NASCAR's most valued charity of strong visible women rooted in fellowship and female bonding is now in trouble of loosing its identity.

Lack of support and poor perceptions are forcing what began as Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary -- now called Women's Auxiliary of Motorsports (WAM) -- to retool its mission and reclaim its presence in the sport.

“

My friends that grew up with me did not comprehend what my life was like. They did not know what all I went through with my husband being a race car driver. I never told, because they would never understand. That's why it was important for the wives to be together. If there was a wreck on Sunday, they were the ones to rally and support me.

”

LYNDA PETTY

"We are trying to bridge the gap between then and now. Build on what these ladies originally tried to do and combine it with what racing is today," said Cindy Johns, president of WAM and wife of veteran crew chief Sammy Johns. "Because racing is so diversified today and the role of women has changed, they are no longer just wives."

Today, any female can apply. Members of the media sit on WAM's boards and women outside of racing circles help organize events.

But the original group was formed by a group of maybe eight wives decades ago who at the time weren't even allowed in the pits or garage area

"Betty Panch, her husband was Marvin Panch, she wanted to start a wives club and we had our first meeting to talk about what we wanted to do," Petty recalled.

The group of women saw a need to raise money for NASCAR drivers who were hurt on the track but didn't have insurance to cover medical bills and further unexpected expenses.

"NASCAR didn't carry a lot of insurance on drivers," said Petty, who presided as president of the auxiliary for eight years and managed to raise more than $200,000 in the process. "So we wanted to do something to help supplement them -- buy groceries, help pay bills and whatnot. If a driver was killed, it took a good amount of money to get the family through hard times. You know, before the insurance man starts banging on the door."

The club was officially founded in 1965 and was said to be the first charity to organize in the sport of NASCAR. Today the sport is saturated with organizations, but the influx of driver charities didn't become prevalent until recently, starting with the Jeff Gordon Foundation in 1999.

Once the women's charity was formed, so was a bond among the wives, Petty said.

"We came to the race track and the men done the racing and the women and the kids sat in the infield," she said. "Women socialized and the kids played. We had small fundraisers, sold hot dogs, raffled off a car."

The group was close-knit and for a good reason. Petty said being a NASCAR driver's wife was no picnic.

"When it started out and Richard raced, it was hard for me," she said. "My friends that grew up with me did not comprehend what my life was like. They did not know what all I went through with my husband being a race car driver. I never told, because they would never understand. That's why it was important for the wives to be together. If there was a wreck on Sunday, they were the ones to rally and support me."

In the early 1960s when the Petty family was racing, money didn't flow as it does in today's NASCAR and injuries were more common and severe. Also, women had to yell through the catch fence to speak with their husbands; they didn't sit high above the track on a pit box.

None of this means a female support system in the garage in no longer needed, Johns said. She said a strong female presence and foundation is just as important today as it was 42 years ago.

"That type of organization is part of our racing history and a part of the fabric that helps to form the sport," Johns said. "I don't want to see it go by the wayside and fade out. I think it can achieve and do great things."

WAM

WAM and Habitat for Humanity dedicate a new home for a family.

John's challenge is to regain the support and following that the organization once enjoyed in its heyday, although certain obstacles make it difficult.

Female camaraderie, Petty said, is one of many items NASCAR has lost during its growth and popularity. Petty said the sport has evolved into something far different than she could have ever imagined.

"Now everyone comes to the track in these nice motor homes so they can have all the privacy. It's not a bad thing, but it isolates the wives and keeps them from being with people," Petty said. "You don't see the wives socializing and talking as much as you used to. Everyone just sort of stays to themselves.

"Eventually it got to where the younger wives came in and started taking over the club and it began to change a lot of things, some of it maybe for the better, but I didn't agree with all the changes."

Somewhere between the group of wives born in the 1940s and the group of wives born in the 1970s, the club lost some of its luster and mission.

"I see all these things and I don't say much," Petty said. "I made the comment once that the younger wives don't speak. They just stay shut up in there motor homes or up on the pit boxes. I don't mean to be ugly. They don't owe me anything, but it's just sad. I hate that everything we worked for and stood for is long gone."

WAM

Shannen Showalter, vice president, and Wendy Venturini enjoy the WAM JAM in October.

“

"We are still plagued with the image that we are just a bunch of catty women sitting around having lunch. Why are we not visible? The perception is that we are just a wives club.

”

CINDY JOHNS

In 2004, WAM was established after merging the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary and the Busch Series Ladies Association, and membership requirements changed. You no longer had to be the wife of a driver to join -- a step in the right direction since females were a part of the competition and no longer just spectators. The auxiliary aims to enrich the lives of women, children and families through educational and wellness programs while also supporting other NASCAR charities.

Anne Schrader, wife of driver Ken Schrader, was one of the only remaining powers that could preserve history within the new organization. But she also had the progressive thinking to keep WAM headed in the right direction, evolving it into an all-encompassing foundation welcoming any and all females -- NASCAR fans included.

A two-time president, Schrader said the group was growing its outreach to help community projects like Habitat for Humanity and other children's causes, because by 2004 NASCAR drivers were fully insured and the original mission statement of the wives club was nearly irrelevant.

Some cases of financial hardship, however, still occur. WAM helped a crew member suffering from a heart condition while on the job in Fontana, Calif., this season who needed financial assistance. And by the looks of the string of layoffs NASCAR's workforce is experiencing, the need for WAM funds could be greater.

"But no one knows who we are or what we do," Johns said. "And that is what we are trying to change. We are trying to become more visible through our events and at-track programs. I would love to see more support from the wives."

But the active wives remaining are tied up with their own charities, such as Krissie Newman and Nicole Biffle who help run their husbands' animal foundations.

The organization needs more star power to bring national awareness and attention, Johns said. Revenue or membership isn't the problem as WAM is able to give generous donations and its nationwide membership recently reached 1,000 people.

Another obstacle WAM faces, according to Johns, is perception.

"We are still plagued with the image that we are just a bunch of catty women sitting around having lunch," she said. "Why are we not visible? The perception is that we are just a wives club."

To increase name recognition amongst the NASCAR community, WAM hired Julie Seligman in October as its executive director, an outsider with no NASCAR ties but an extensive background in networking and fundraising in Charlotte, N.C.

"They hired a business person with a master's degree in marketing, not a NASCAR fan," Seligman said. "I'm thinking about the group as a company so we can continue to raise money so we can give money away. And we want to help more people in the community, not just drivers or crew members. We want to impact our community, not just the NASCAR community."

Still, Johns is tasked with bridging the gap between past and present and transitioning WAM into something the founding females, such as Lynda Petty, would be proud of.

"We are still a strong bunch of ladies who are still sitting around this table," Johns said. "We are going to help bring some change that will honor the original Winston wives club and at the same time what WAM can be in the future."