Norma "Dusty" Brandel

Norma “Dusty” Brandel became the first woman to report from inside the NASCAR garage at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1972.

Her career in motorsports journalism started in 1955 as a writer for the Hollywood Citizen-News and early in her career, Brandel covered sports car races throughout Southern California. She eventually worked in press information at Southern California tracks, including the now-defunct Riverside International Raceway. She received the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) Angelo Angelopolous Award in 2001. Brandel served as president of AARWBA and was a board member of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.