CEDAR FALLS - There was a time when Jill George was happy to take her place at the back of the field and get in her seat time.

That was three or four years ago.

It's a given when George steps into her NASCAR late model every Friday and Saturday at both the Farley and Dubuque Speedways she will be the only female racing in the late-model division.

But over the past two seasons, George has gone from a woman struggling to learn the ropes of racing to a racer who can more than hold her own with men.

During the past month, George became the first woman to qualify for A Main in the Yankee Dirt Track Classic in Farley. And last weekend, a mechanical problem halted a strong run toward a position in the A Main at the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals at legendary Knoxville Speedway, where she would've been the first female to qualify for Lucas Oil A Main.

And, three weeks ago, George was selected as one of 12 finalists for tNASCAR's "Drive for Diversity" combine in South Boston, Va., on Oct. 14-16.

"We just kind of jumped into a late model four years ago and went from there," said George, who is married to Northern Iowa athletics director Rick Hartzell. "It was a lot of learning, more learning than I ever thought.

"Those first two years, I pretty much kept going to the back of the field. Eventually, after awhile, you start to get better and start getting confidence that you could race with those people in the back. And at the end of my second year and possibly the start of my third year was the first time I actually took my starting position.

"Even at the beginning of this year, somebody asked if I wanted to go to the back and I said, 'No, it is time to take my spot.' It was time to start racing with the faster people because that was the only way I was going to get better. I don't think I've looked back since."

George finished seventh in the points races at both Farley and Dubuque this season and made one foray to Charlotte, N.C., to race. She won a feature event at the Yankee Dirt Classic on the first night of competition and finished 20th at the Classic after fuel-pickup problems forced her to the pits after 70 laps.

"Some people only look at the fact that I'm a woman driver, and they don't step back and look at how much progress we've made in four years," said George. "We've made some pretty big strides in that learning curve in four years."

George drives a 2007 Barry Wright Precision Performance car powered by AEM of Waterloo. Her crew chief is Jeff "Wally" Lawless.

The Drive for Diversity program seeks to develop minority and female drivers and crew members. The program supports drivers in the NASCAR Grand National Division and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

George, with 11 other finalists, will participate in what is referred to as a scouting combine and earn the opportunity to compete with an established NASCAR team for a full season.

Seven drivers from last year's class went on to compete at one of the higher levels - four in the Grand National Division and three in the Whelen All-American Division.

The program was developed in 2003, and more than 300 competitors applied for participation this year.

George had to make a 3-5 minute video talking about herself and include several reference letters as part of her application.

"I think the way it sounds, basically the teams who have developmental programs are going to be there and we are going to be able to communicate with them," said George. "In the end, I don't think it is so much that you win, but they are going to choose who they want to take in their development programs."

George said during the three-day combine she understands there will be classroom time, track time and sessions with the print and TV media.

"If nothing comes of this, I still think it is going to be a great opportunity to go meet some people," said George. "I think something will come from it, maybe not this year, but I'll be getting my name out there and maybe we will get some more people to jump on our bandwagon."

Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com