Janet Guthrie was born March 7, 1938 in Iowa City, Iowa. Ms. Guthrie always had a need for speed. The faster the better.
At the age of seventeen she actually had a license to fly airplanes. She went to the University of Michigan, where she studied physics.
Ms. Guthrie was so accomplished in physics and such a well prepared aviation engineer that she passed the first found of eliminations for NASA's Scientist/Astronaut progam. She worked for Republic Aviation during her days as an Aviation Engineer.
But Ms. Guthrie wanted a chance to fulfill her need for speed, so she turned more seriously toward racing.
Guthrie had started racing parttime in 1963. After she graduated from the University of Michigan. She was racing full time by 1972.
Ms. Guthrie competed for thirteen years in the Sports Car Club of America division. She also competed in international endurance races such as the Daytona 24 Hour, the Watkins Glen 500 and the Sebring 12 Hour. In the Sebring 12 Hour, she actually was first twice in class. In both the Daytona 24 and the Sebring 12 Ms. Guthrie's teammates were women.
It was in 1976 Ms. Guthrie was invited to drive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This would be her first big break in auto racing. The team owned by Rolla Vollstedt failed to qualify for Indy that year.
It was also in 1976 that NASCAR came a calling. Bruton Smith trying to sellout the struggling World 600 sent some of his people to get a deal done with Ms. Guthrie. At first it seemed that Ms. Guthrie would not becoming to Charlotte. But in the end, a deal was struck and Ms. Guthrie headed for Charlotte.
Bruton arranged for a car to be bought, through the names of three organizations. Trying to hide the fact that he was the actual car owner.
He arranged for Ralph Moody to be the crew chief and he even got Kelly Girl to sponsor the car. Lynda Ferreri of First Union Bank, was to play the role as car owner.
One story has it, that when Ms. Guthrie first shook hands with Richard Petty, she thought that she would get frostbite. Most of the good ole boys of NASCAR did not want a woman in their racing league.
It was later quoted that Richard Petty said, "'She's no lady. If she was she'd be at home. There's a lot of differences in being a lady and being a woman.'"
There was one owner who did not seemed to be put off by Ms. Guthrie trying her hand at NASCAR. That was Junior Johnson. At this same race, Cale Yarborough, was struggling as was Ms. Guthrie. Johnson told Yarborough's crew chief to give Yarborough's setup to Guthrie's crew chief.
Guthrie would qualify 27th for the World 600.
She finished 15th in that race. Ms. Guthrie went on to compete in four more races that year.
The historical point in this race for women was that Ms. Guthrie became the first woman to every compete on a NASCAR Cup Superspeedway.
In 1977 Guthrie competed in her first Daytona 500. She finished 12th after the engine in her car blew two cylinders with ten laps to go. In this race, she earned the honor of Top Rookie. Guthrie would compete in 33 races over four seasons. Her best finish in Cup racing as a sixth place finish.
1977 was a historical year for women. In that this was the first time a woman had qualified and competed in both the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500 in the same year.
Guthrie finished 29th in the Indy 500, once again, engine problems would keep her from having a top 10 finish in one of the two biggest races in auto racing.
Guthrie would go on and compete in two more Indy 500s. Her best finish came in 1978 when she finished 9th. Guthrie competed in 11 IndyCar events finishing as high as fifth.
Guthrie's helmet and race suit can be found in the Smithsonian Institution.
Guthrie's Awards: 1980 International Women's Sports Hall of Fame 2006 International Motorsports Hall of Fame
Guess the quote best summons up not only Ms. Guthrie's experience in NASCAR, but of most women's experience in racing in general:
"There has been a big change in reaction to me. The hostility has cooled down quite a bit. I think the worst is over. The initial reaction to me was one of a lack of respect. What you really need is endurance. And some tests show women have more endurance than men. But that is not the point. I'm not trying to establish the superiority of one sex over another. I'm good driver but no superwoman. What I'm trying to emphasize is that a driver is primarily a person, not a man or a woman, and a great deal or driving is mental. You can not afford to get angry behind the wheel. A good driver needs emotional detachment, concentration , good judgment, and desire."--Guthrie on the subject of women competing in NASCAR
I am a southern female who grew up on NASCAR. After all growing up in the backyard of many of the old tracks run here in North Carolina it is was hard not to follow NASCAR.
My Drivers: Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, J.J. Yeley, Kevin Harvick (in that order). I will not pull for a Roush or Hendrick driver. Just because they are the competition to a 3rd championship for Smoke.
