Women's Bassmaster Tour angler Janet Parker of Little Elm, Texas, lapped the entire Women's Bassmaster Tour field April 25 in Louisiana on the Ouachita River when she took her first BASS win by a margin of more than 8 pounds.
A scheduled appearance the next day in Alabama gave her the opportunity to do two more laps - victory laps, if you will - on the track at Talladega Superspeedway.
Parker led the parade lap at the April 26 Aaron's 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was the third year in a row she led the race parade in her Aaron's Dream Machine bass rig on behalf of her major sponsor, Atlanta, Ga.-based Aaron's.
She also was at Talladega to accept a commendation given to her and Aaron's by the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute. The award was presented to Parker on the Talladega driver introduction stage.
The U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute is a program of the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army. Founded in 2005, it recognizes "special supporters" of soldiers and the Army's mission.
"We've raised in excess of $90,000 so far for the Armed Forces Foundation through auctions of a donated boat rig and sponsors' products. All my sponsors have really stepped up," Parker said. Aaron's has donated thousands more to military and veteran groups over the years, she added.
She started her charity efforts soon after making an appearance to talk about fishing at an Air Force base and decided she wanted to do more.
"Although I can't begin to comprehend the sacrifices the military and their families make for our country, I want them to know that it is appreciated," she said.
About that second "victory lap" at Talladega: Parker was a passenger in a pace car.
"I wasn't expecting to do that," she said. "The G force at 150 mph is incredible. It was scary and very exciting at the same time. The adrenaline going through me was about the same as when I caught my largest bass of 12 pounds, 5 ounces."
That bass, for the record, was not at a WBT event, but in Mexico at Lake El Salto last December.
POINTED EFFORT
Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga., has a shot at being the first woman to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series and the Bassmaster Classic in the same year.
To reach the 2010 Classic, set for Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala., she has two avenues. One is through the Women's Bassmaster Tour, and the other is through the Bassmaster Southern Open circuit.
The WBT points winner - the 2009 Toyota Tundra WBT Angler of the Year -will qualify for the Classic. The top two points earners in the Southern Open receive Classic berths.
Martin-Wells is leading the WBT points race after two of four regular-season events. She won the WBT season opener in March on Alabama's Lake Neely Henry, then placed seventh at last week's Ouachita River event in Louisiana.
But her WBT lead is not dominant. With 582 points, she's in front by 26, just ahead of Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas, who has 556, and Laura Gober of Pendergrass, Ga., who has 553.
Her road to the Elites can be achieved through the Opens and she is performing well in that circuit too. The top seven in the points standings at the end of the each Open division season receive Elite invitations.
She's 23rd going into the Southern Open on Wheeler Lake out of Decatur, Ala. The event is set for this weekend on April 30 - May 2. She's 81 points from the leader, Bryan Hudgins of Orange Park, Fla.
"Sure, I'd like to make the Elites, just to try it. But I'm fishing the Southern Opens because I love to compete," she said. "But it's very early in the game. I just have to take one tournament at a time."
The big question: Just off the WBT in Louisiana, is she too tired to fish well or so primed she'll whack 'em at Wheeler?
"Probably a little of both, if that makes sense," she said. "I'm exhausted, but I am ready. Fishing's like any other sport - the more you compete, the better you are."