WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Linda Ludemann is listed as Scott Schubot's co-driver in the Camel Lights series, and her picture is on the cover of their team's S&L Racing information packet.
But when it comes down to a race, so far this year Ludemann has been nothing more than a spectator.
Schubot, Ludemann's boyfriend, has won races at Miami and Atlanta in their Quaker State Buick-Spice this year. He and Ludemann, both residents of West Palm Beach, will be trying for their team's third triumph of the year Sunday in the Grand Prix of Palm Beach at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Camel Lights cars are downsized, non-turbocharged versions of the exotic Camel GTP cars, such as the Nissan, Jaguar, or Porsche 962. They race at the same time as the GTP cars, thereby creating a race within a race.
Schubot, 34, leads the Camel Lights standings after four races. Ludemann, who is trying to become the first woman to win a Camel Lights or GTP race, said getting Schubot the driving championship is the team's main objective.
'Yeah, it's really frustating I don't get in, but the main effort is to get Scott to win the championship in Camel Lights,' Ludemann, 31, said. 'Whatever it takes to get him to that position is what's going to be done.
'We discuss it before each race. If I have to give up my seat to make sure that he wins, then that's the way it goes. Of course it's frustrating and I have all the normal human emotions, but I want him to win first and foremost.'
Giving Schubot or Ludemann the final decision on whether she gets in the car could lead to trouble both on the team and at home. So the person who makes the decision at each race is crew chief Phil Creighton.
Ludemann's father, John, drove autocross races across the country while she was growing up in New England, and she drove in some autocross events as well. While at Southern Connecticut State University, she taught at a driving school. After graduation she went to racing school, where she met Schubot.
They raced against each other in Formula Fords, then three years ago teamed up in the Camel Lights division.
Schubot has won three poles already this year. Ludemann said she is about two-to-three seconds per lap slower than Schubot, an improvement of about two seconds per lap from last year, but not quick enough to get her in the car with the race on the line.
'When my times are good enough so the crew chief isn't worried about whether or not I can do it, then I'll get in,' she said. 'That's what I'm aiming to do this weekend. It just takes a while and it takes confidence to believe that the car will do it, that the car will stay on the track and that you can do it.'
Three weeks ago at the Atlanta Grand Prix, Ludemann thought she was going to get into the car. But when it came time for the final pit stop, with just over an hour left in the race, Schubot had a lead of 45 seconds, and Creighton told him to stay in the car.
Schubot went on to win by two laps.
A victory Sunday in front of her parents, who are flying in from California, and her friends in West Palm Beach would make give Ludemann a perfect weekend.
She also is aware no woman has ever won a Camel Lights race, but said she is not out to strike a blow for women's rights.
'It (a win) would be great,' she said. 'It's something that I really want to do and I want to accomplish that this year. Not as far as having a woman win, although we will play up that angle, but to know I did it.'
