328:, and in April moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. She kept ties with her racing roots but did not race for several years to heal from her surgery. In 1997, she began searching for sponsors for an Indy Racing League without luck. At the time, many denied this was due to her surgery and her being a woman including Junie Donlavey, owner of the team O’Connell had driven for in the Winston Cup race, who said it was due to the length of time she had been away from racing. Others like Shand Tillman, a promotor at the Riverside Speedway, said people were scared to associate their brand with her. Tillman also said that he did not “agree with what she has done at all” in reference to her transition, a reflection of the hyper-conservative landscape of racing. In 1998, she was slated to drive in the cross-country Cannonball Run for Volkswagen and Candies shoe company.
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O’Connell was named JT Hayes at birth and lived the first thirty years of her life as a man though she did not identify that way from a young age. Her father, Jimmy Hayes, got her into racing at an early age, spending weekends at the
Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas, and the Devil's Bowl
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article, “I was trapped upside down, engine throttle stuck wide open, fuel running all over the racetrack and me. Once all the smoke had cleared and they got me out of the car, I thought, "You know, this could have been it." I've had a ton of accidents, broke half the bones in my body, had wrecks
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In 1992, O’Connell was living full-time as a woman, moved to
California, and was working in a print shop, but in order to cover living expenses she would dress as a man to race. O’Connell moved back to her parents’ house in Mississippi and continued racing dressed as a man.
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where I should have died. This one, I only busted a rib, but I was trapped like that. I suppose the accident didn't scare me as much as the thought that I hadn't lived my life to it's full potential.”
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O’Connell has been able to return racing in the last couple decades, racing in 2012 and 2014 at
Knoxville Raceway, and ran on a weekly basis in the 305 class in Scott Galpin's #71G in 2015.
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In 1991, O’Connell was in a near-fatal accident while racing in Little Rock, Arkansas. From her 2007
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Outside of racing, O'Connell, has worked as a model, owned a clothing line, and wrote a memoir,
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Terri O'Connell was born on July 7, 1964, in
Corinth, Mississippi. She is an only child.
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published an article by O'Connell, which led to interviews with LGBT magazines
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
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competitions across the country. She rose to compete in the
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racing champion, artist, author, and fashion model.
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909:"Terri O'Connell Races Toward the Checkered Flag"
935:"J. T. Hayes – 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Results"
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831:"A NASCAR Racer On Her Sex Change"
278:She won national championships in
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1012:American transgender sportspeople
987:People from Corinth, Mississippi
724:El-Bashir, Tarik (17 May 1998).
259:(born July 7, 1964) is a former
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992:Racing drivers from Mississippi
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997:LGBTQ people from Mississippi
768:. Advocate. 11 September 2007
324:In March 1994, O’Connell had
307:North Carolina Motor Speedway
31:biography of a living person
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326:gender reassignment surgery
58:must be removed immediately
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1017:Transgender sportswomen
837:. Newsweek. 12 May 2007
208:1990 GM Goodwrench 500
186:1 race run over 1 year
45:Please help by adding
257:Terri Leigh O'Connell
1002:LGBTQ racing drivers
795:knoxvilleraceway.com
51:Contentious material
883:"Dangerous Curves"
731:The New York Times
396:Winston Cup Series
385:Winston Cup Series
295:Winston Cup Series
275:in Dallas, Texas.
915:. 18 October 2007
791:"Terri O'Connell"
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889:. Good Reads
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40:verification
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967:1964 births
305:in 1990 at
261:motorsports
192:Best finish
169:Mississippi
961:Categories
919:27 October
893:27 October
867:27 October
841:27 October
800:27 October
772:27 October
737:27 October
694:References
288:sprint car
284:midget car
212:Rockingham
204:First race
179:Cup Series
155:1964-07-07
150:J.T. Hayes
114:April 2011
84:newspapers
945:April 18,
341:In 2007,
36:citations
398:results
347:Advocate
343:Newsweek
314:Newsweek
226:Top tens
62:libelous
377:Italics
280:go-kart
165:Corinth
98:scholar
682:101st
393:NASCAR
362:NASCAR
292:NASCAR
286:, and
181:career
176:NASCAR
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403:Year
230:Poles
105:JSTOR
91:books
29:This
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843:2022
802:2022
774:2022
739:2022
529:Ford
516:1990
510:Ref
507:Pts
503:NWCC
409:No.
373:Bold
349:and
301:for
267:Life
223:Wins
198:1990
147:Born
77:news
38:for
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678:ATL
673:PHO
668:CAR
663:CLT
658:NWS
653:MAR
648:DOV
643:RCH
638:DAR
633:BRI
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618:TAL
613:POC
608:DAY
603:MCH
598:POC
593:SON
588:DOV
583:CLT
578:TAL
573:MAR
568:NWS
563:BRI
558:DAR
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