SARA WILLIAMS CHRISTIAN - 08/25/1918 - 03/07/1980
was the first woman driver in NASCAR history. Before NASCAR, Christian raced at the Looper Speedway, the former racetrack which now lies beneath the waters of Lake Lanier; at Gainesville GA. She began racing cars in “Powderpuff Derby” events for women drivers in the late 1940s. But she later run races against the men, and won at least one race there while driving a car belonging to racetrack owner Max Looper. Edwin Looper, Max’s nephew, and former employee recalled that Christian’s victory “made all the men mad too, her being a woman and all, and winning the race. Her career began in earnest in 1949, as she competed in NASCAR's first race on June 19, 1949 at Charlotte Speedway. She qualified 13th in the #71 Ford owned
by her husband Frank Christian. During the race, Bob Flock took over her car after his engine expired on the 38th lap. He drove the car until it overheated, and finished 14th. She competed in the second race at the Daytona Beach Road Course on July 10, 1949, and finished 18th. The 28 car field also included Flock's sister Ethel Mobley and Louise Smith which made it the first race to include three woman drivers. Frank also competed in the race and finished sixth in his only career start. They became the only married couple to compete in a NASCAR race until 1986 when Patty Moise and Elton Sawyer competed for the first time together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Patty and Elton got married in 1990 and continued to compete against one another for years. She finished sixth at the
Pre-NASCAR 1947 Modified Series - Richmond
first even NASCAR race - Charlotte 1949
season's fourth race; at Langhorne Speedway, and became the first woman to earn a Top 10 finish. 45 cars were entered for that race, and she made a very respectable showing, beating out such veterans as: Lee Petty, Fonty Flock, Tim Flock, Dick Linder, and Gober Sosebee among others. Race winner Curtis Turner invited Christian to join him in victory lane. and Smith again competed against Christian in the race, and it was the last NASCAR race to have three women drivers until July 4, 1977 when Janet Guthrie, Christine Beckers and Lella Lombardi all competed
in the Firecracker 400. Her best career finish came at Heidelberg Raceway at Pittsburgh PA. There she would finish fifth in a 23 car field, on a race contested on a 1/2 mile dirt oval. The finish was the best-ever and only Top 5 finish by a woman in NASCAR series history, and remains the highest finish (as of 2023) in the Cup series. In 1949 she received the United States Drivers Association Woman Driver of the Year Award. In addition to this, she took part in approximately 100 other races in the early 1950s, usually in the NASCAR Modified category. Her local track was the Atlanta Speedway, and she normally competed there. In 1950, she competed in one more NASCAR event at Hamburg, New York, but did not improve on her best result, finishing fourteenth. This was her last track outing. Sara was married to Frank
Hillsboro NC 1949 - only crash ever
Christian, who raced himself, and was involved in NASCAR as a car owner until 1955. After her retirement, she helped Frank with some of his other business concerns, which included a motel and a farm. She was the most successful of the early female NASCAR racers, but her reputation was eclipsed by the more colorful Louise Smith in later years. She was inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame in 2004. Some info from Wikipedia
All Photos copyright and are property of their respective owners