ESPN's Jamie Little and Car Expert Danielle McCormick Share Car Care Tips for Women

With Danica Patrick's recent pole position win at the Daytona 500 and Katherine Legge putting together the first all-women team for the Indy 500 last year, women are beginning to be recognized for their driving accomplishments on and off the track. Those wins, combined with a USA Today report that shows women now outnumber men on the road, mean that women are being taken more seriously as drivers. With that in mind, auto world celebrity Jamie Little and car expert Danielle McCormick-authors of the new Seal Press book Essential Car Care for Women-have teamed up to offer some solid car care advice for women.

Essential Car Care for Women offers women indispensable, hard-won advice women need to buy, sell, and care for their cars with confidence. The book, now available at bookstores and at online retailers, has been endorsed by popular NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, who called it "A must-have addition to your emergency car care kit."

Little and McCormick offer a wealth of tips in the book, but below are their top five car care tips for women.

1. Check and change oil regularly
A car's engine has lots of rapidly moving parts which require lubricant to make sure they run smoothly. Running out of oil can be a disaster. Make sure to open the hood every four to six weeks to make sure the car has enough oil. Similarly, drivers should look into changing their oil and filters every few months. Like a deep fryer in a restaurant, the oil gathers tiny particles of dirt over time and needs to be changed.

2. Don't skip the shop
It is all too easy for drivers to skip having their car regularly serviced, as mechanics will attest to, only bringing a car in the shop when something goes wrong (often with a hefty price tag). Getting a car serviced every 12,000 miles is the best way to prevent any unexpected, expensive surprises in the near future. Also, a car's engine gets unbelievably hot, but coolant has been designed to keep things from burning over. Running out of coolant causes serious (and expensive) damage to cars. Make sure to check coolant levels simultaneously with an oil check.