Julia Steinbrenner, sister of George Michael Steinbrenner IV, is now co-owner of Steinbrenner Racing along with her brother. Steinbrenner racing began as an Indy Lights team with driver Colton Herta in partnership with Andretti Autosport. The team and Herta moved to Indycar in 2019. For 2022, Steinbrenner Racing owns car 29, to be driven by rookie Devlin DeFrancesco, in partnership with Andretti.

George Steinbrenner has assumed a new role with the new York Yankees, and Julia will step in to handle most of the responsibilities of the race program. She spoke to the media yesterday.

Coming into this role was by design, Steinbrenner said.

“It’s something that George and I have talked
about quite a bit, and I’ve been with the Yankees for eight
years and also as the executive director of the foundation
that we founded together.
It kind of was more of a matter not necessarily of if it would
happen but when it would happen and how we would do it
and just kind of letting it happen organically.”

The Steinbrenners have been race fans since they were young, and Julia has been involved with the team since it began.

“… being around for the last several years that
there has been a Steinbrenner Racing has really — I’ve
kind of tried to submerge myself into the sport and I’ve
really grown a new passion for it. I grew up watching it, but
just to really be in it as with anything, when you’re in it and
you can see it and appreciate it, you really grow a whole
new passion for it,” she said.

Steinbrenner hopes that her role as a female owner will encourage more women and girls to get into Indycar. She noted the number of women engineers now in the sport, as well as a female driver, Tatiana Calderon, who will drive the road and street courses this season. Steinbrenner becomes the second woman in two years to own an Indycar team. Beth aretta’s team ran in the Indianapolis 500 last year.

“Yeah, it really just kind of came
together, the stars aligned and it was great timing. I just
love to see it. I love to see it, and I hope to continue to see
it. I would love to see more of it. It’s just awesome. I think
it’s awesome for the sport. It’s awesome for
representation. It’s awesome for the little girls at home like
I was watching INDYCAR my whole life, and to see that
and to see not only things like this where female ownership
but female drivers and female engineers and pit crew and
all these different moving parts, to see females working in
all these different roles is just awesome.”

Steinbrenner continued,

“… there’s so many wonderful women
in the sport. I would love to see more. So if I can even just
for one person be, oh, I can do that and help create that
narrative, and there’s been so many amazing women that
have paved that road for me so that I can be here today, so
if I can help to continue that in any way shape or form so
that we can get some of these really amazing women that I
have met and all the ones I have not met involved in the
sport, I would love to see that.”