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Feeling the need for speed and competition, two Hilliard sisters have followed their father's path and found quick success in the male-dominated world of auto racing.

Nearly 40 years ago, rhythm and blues and funk impresario James Brown unleashed his hit, "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" on America. Although there's been a lot of progress since that time, women still face an uphill an uneven climb in many facets of daily life.

Such notions do not deter sisters Dana and Tracy Conlin, graduates of Hilliard Darby High School. As rising stars in the Mid State Ohio Kart Club, they have faced everything from needlers to naysayers. But the two are determined to carve up the competition and quiet their critics.

"In that first season, I think it was more I had to prove I was going to do well," said Dana, a 21-year-old assistant teacher at the Goddard School of Dublin. "But now, I don't think we battle with it so much at the track."

In the sports world, winning cures many ills, and the Conlins have done just that. After making her competitive racing debut four years ago, Dana bested the rest of the field to win back-to-back HPV engine championships in 2003 and 2004.

Tracy, an 18-year-old nursing student at Columbus State University, just completed her second year of kart racing. This year, she was presented the second-place championship plaque for her showing in the MSOKC's popular Hume Performance Products Super Can class.

"I still have more to learn," said Tracy.

Beginning competitive kart racing at a relatively old age -- some racers begin as young as 5 -- the sisters still are cornering the learning curve. But they weren't novices when they entered the fray, either. Their father, Jim Conlin, has some 30 years of practical experience as a driver, crew member and official in various forms of motor racing.

Since they were children, Dana and Tracy, along with Jim, their mother Lynn and Tracy's twin sister Julie, have made family pilgrimages to race tracks such as the Circleville Raceway Park. The sisters also routinely squared off in neighborhood bike races nearly from the moment they could manipulate the pedals.

"My dad would set up cones or chalk, and we would race each other or the clock," Tracy said.

Jim, who created the family's racing team, Conlin SpeedSports, said he never intended to put his daughters behind the wheel of racing karts. But he beams when discussing their feats, and he relishes the opportunity to stay involved in their activities.

"Probably secretly I wanted them to do it," he said. "But it's gone way beyond my expectations, and I'm proud."

Thus far, Tracy and Dana have raced karts -- small, open-wheel cars akin to go-carts -- that travel speeds exceeding 50 and 60 mile per hour. They have traveled throughout the Midwest, and the team plans to enter the national and regional racing scene in 2005.

Dana also was among 21 female racing drivers from throughout the United States invited to participate in 1992 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Lyn St. James' Driver Development Program in Phoenix, Ariz. She completed the program Dec. 12, learning everything from the intricacies of a myriad of racecars, to conditioning techniques, addressing the media and enhancing mental skills.

"I felt like I was getting good information, and anything they were telling me had to be true because all of the people there have proven themselves at the highest levels," she said.

Dana hopes to use her newfound knowledge and future racing experience to propel her into sprint car racing or endurance racing, if not both. She also would like to test formula-500 cars, reserved for the upper-echelon drivers.

"We'll just kind of see where it goes," she said.

Once her racing days are over, Dana could to reach new heights in speed as a pilot, or pursue a career in real estate.

Tracy said she will continue her education in nursing. She also holds out hope of advancement within auto racing, with aspirations of climbing into formula racing cars.

"As long as I keep progressing, that's fine," she said. "Open-wheel racing is what interests me."

As for Jim, he plans to spend the next few months aggressively seeking marketing partners who can promote Conlin SpeedSports and provide financial support to the team. He said his team, in turn, will help promote the businesses and entities that support it, largely due to the interest his daughters are drawing from racing fans and others who are turning out to see them perform.

Additionally, he is content to ride his daughters' successes as long as they wish to race. Although the dangers of the sport weigh on his nerves, he cherishes the time he gets to spend with them through the sport, and he knows the thrill it can bring.

"It's a great family sport," he said. "It wasn't by design, but it gives us a chance to be together as a family and work toward a common goal.

"We have a ball," he said. "I'm blessed that these girls, or ladies I should say, want to come out and do this. I don't see them much during the week, but if we can stop for dinner after a race, then it's a good day."