Courtney Crone is the fifth member of the Della Penna Driver Advisory Council as the Della Penna Foundation looks ahead to the 2025 season. The council was founded to help young female drivers start and navigate their path by creating a resource of experience and skill with current, successful female drivers across various series.
Crone, 23, rose through the racing ranks from motorcycles, USAC Midget and Sprint Cars, LMPS prototypes and junior Formula cars, all paving the way to a new opportunity in 2025—representing the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in F1 Academy in 2025 with ART Grand Prix.
Along her path, Crone has won noted scholarships including the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship and the Women’s Sports Foundation/Project Podium with Lyn St. James award, the organization stated in a press release.
She joins current council members Michele Abbate, road racing champion and first female full-time Trans Am TA2 National Championship driver; Hannah Grisham, GT World Challenge racer; Sabre Cook, Porsche Carrera Cup North America racer; Kelsey Rowlings, Formula Drift Pro 2 license holder and longest competing woman in Formula Drift; and Heather Hadley, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup racer.
In 2021, Michelle Della Penna launched the foundation in honor of her father, IndyCar team owner and driver John Della Penna. Realizing that school-age girls have limited exposure to STEM programs, Della Penna created the foundation to show young women the full range of opportunities that motorsports offers.
“Courtney embodies everything that our foundation stands for. We are so thrilled to welcome her to the council,” said Michelle Della Penna. “She will serve as a beacon of talent, drive and success that our young aspiring drivers can look up to.”
The driver’s council complements the Della Penna Foundation’s Industry Advisory Council, which aims to create opportunities for young women in motorsports and forge a path toward that goal. The council is led by Lyn St. James and Beth Paretta.
The foundation’s plans in 2025 include “inspire” programs with girls at Sonoma Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as karting scholarships and summer fellowships to shadow women in the motorsports industry, the release noted.