Milka Duno | |||||||
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Duno in 2008
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Nationality | Venezuelan | ||||||
Born |
Caracas, Venezuela |
April 22, 1972 ||||||
Previous series | |||||||
2011-2013 2007-2010 2004-2007 2000-2002,2004 2003 2001-2002 2002 2000 1999 1998 |
ARCA Racing Series IndyCar Series Rolex Sports Car Series American Le Mans Series World Series Light World Series by Nissan Formula Nissan 2000 Barber Dodge Pro Series Women's Global GT Series Venezuelan Porsche Supercup |
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IndyCar Series career | |||||||
43 races run over 4 years | |||||||
Best finish | 11th (2007) | ||||||
First race | 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 (Kansas) | ||||||
Last race | 2010 Cafés do Brasil Indy 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
2 races run over 1 year | |||||||
2014 position | 74th | ||||||
Best finish | 34th (2014) | ||||||
First race | 2014 Kansas Lottery 300 (Kansas) | ||||||
Last race | 2014 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
2014 position | 103rd | ||||||
Best finish | 25th (2014) | ||||||
First race | 2014 Fred's 250 (Talladega) | ||||||
24 Hours of Le Mans career | |||||||
Participating years | 2001, 2002 | ||||||
Teams | Dick Barbour Racing, MBD Sportscar | ||||||
Best finish | 28th | ||||||
Class wins | 0 | ||||||
Statistics current as of November 15, 2014. |
Milka Duno (born April 22, 1972) is a Venezuelan race car driver who competed in the IndyCar Series, and competes in the ARCA Racing Series. She is best known for holding the record of highest finish for a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona. She entered the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2014.
Duno is a former model and has thus attracted much attention. Her racing career is unusual because of her late start. She was introduced to the sport when she was invited to a driving clinic by a car club in Venezuela and did not start racing until she was 24. Prior to racing her background was primarily academic. Duno holds master's degrees in Organizational Development, Naval Architecture, Maritime Business, and Marine Biology, and she has prior experience working as a naval engineer.
She began her career as a driver in Venezuela in 1996, finishing 2nd in the Venezuelan GT Championship. In 1998, Duno placed 4th in the Venezuelan Porsche Supercup Championship. In 1999, she moved to the United States and attended advanced racing schools and drove in the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2000. Duno was the first woman in history to win a Ferrari Challenge Race in the USA and also she won her first Series Championship - The Panoz GT Series.
Later in 2000, Duno made her American Le Mans Series debut, she was the first woman to finish in a class podium on this championship. She made her 24 Hours of Daytona debut the next year and her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut a year later. In 2001 and 2003, Duno also competed in the World Series by Nissan open-wheel series in Europe, she became the first woman to score points in this Championship. Also in 2001, She was crowned Vice-Champion Driver in the LMP 675 Class of the American Le Mans Series, she scored an impressive four wins in this class - including the prestigious 10 hour Petit Le Mans –- becoming the first woman to score a class win in this major international sportscar competition. In 2004 She scored yet another LMP 675 class win in Petit Le Mans.