THE Wainman family dynasty is arguably the greatest stock car racing has ever seen, with its sole female Phoebe flying the Silsden flag once again at the weekend.

Racing at Odsal over the weekend, she secured the points required to be crowned the one-car series champion for a second time, with her first title in 2018 seeing her become the first woman in BriSCA F1 stock car history to achieve that feat.

Naturally, she beat her uncle Danny to win in Bradford on Saturday, while her husband, Karl Hawkins, also competes against her.

Wainman-Hawkins is still only in her mid-20s, yet she is already a trailblazer of the sport.

On her weekend success, she said: "I went into this last meeting one point behind Danny, and it's always exciting when the championship goes down to the final weekend.

"In the end, I only needed a couple of points to take the title, which I managed by coming sixth in the consolation race.

"It was the second time I'd won the championship, but it was still so rewarding, even though I felt a little bad about beating Danny, who I get on very well with."

Wainman-Hawkins was left sweating after her first race at the weekend though, recalling: "I'm usually okay with crashing, it doesn't bother me as it's part of the sport.

"But I got a lot of damage after a big smash in my earlier heat at Odsal, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to compete in that consolation race, which I still needed two points from.

Keighley News: The huge crash that nearly derailed Phoebe Wainman-Hawkins' title shot at Odsal at the weekend.The huge crash that nearly derailed Phoebe Wainman-Hawkins' title shot at Odsal at the weekend. (Image: James Bowles.)

"The team worked incredibly hard on the car though, managed to get it fixed up, and I was able to go out and do what I had to do in the consolation race."

Wainman-Hawkins came second at the European Championship earlier this year, coming second to her dad and beating her brother into third.

Keighley News: The Wainman family celebrate their European Championship 1-2-3 earlier this year at Odsal. Picture: Ian Bannister.The Wainman family celebrate their European Championship 1-2-3 earlier this year at Odsal. Picture: Ian Bannister.

But that was not as satisfying for her as you might think.

She explained: "My husband Karl initially won the European Championship, but the officials took the title off him a couple of days later, as they realised he'd been a lap down.

"It was a bittersweet result for me for that reason, but also because the event had been held in Northampton.

"As Karl had his title stripped, that meant we didn't get to celebrate the eventual podium until the week after at Odsal.

"While it was an amazing achievement for the family still, we couldn't celebrate it on the day, so it wasn't quite the same as it should have been."

Talking about being a woman in an almost-exclusively male sport, Wainman-Hawkins said: "I can't even describe what that's like, but it's a dream come true.

"From getting the star grade, being the highest-ever finisher at a European Championship, and winning these two one-car series titles, I've ticked off so many milestones already.

"A little girl's mother messaged me after this weekend, saying her daughter was in tears after I won, because she felt she finally had a female role model.

"That's what it's all about for me, inspiring other young girls like that."

Keighley News: Phoebe Wainman-Hawkins' title triumph certainly inspired at least one little girl at the weekend.Phoebe Wainman-Hawkins' title triumph certainly inspired at least one little girl at the weekend. (Image: Ian Bannister.)

She does not feel she is at a disadvantage being female either, saying: "I'm only small, but the way I see it, we're all the same size once we're sat in the car.

"I don't feel any different being the only woman on the grid, as I can compete with most of the men.

"We've got a couple more women coming through too.

"There's my good friend Catherine Harris, who mainly competes on tarmac not shale like me, and a youngster called Hannah Andrew, who has two or three meetings under her belt now."

Odsal is synonymous with stock car racing, and Wainman-Hawkins said: "It's an honour to race there.

"It was such a popular track in the 80s and 90s, but I was only one when it closed in 1997, so I don't have any memories of it then, only old videos.

"I was ecstatic when it reopened for stock car racing, as I'd only ever heard good things about it.

"It's a proper stadium, and you feel like a gladiator when you're racing, because you're so low down and the stands are basically on top of you.

"It's great to race locally, in front of good crowds, and the fans love being able to feel the roar of the engines."