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is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Janet Guthrie was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on March 7, 1938. She is the oldest of five children. Her parents were both pilots. Her family moved to Miami, Florida when she was three; after her father accepted a job with Eastern Air Lines. Janet herself earned her pilot's license at 17 years old. She attended Miss Harris' Florida School for Girls for all but one of her elementary through high-school years. Guthrie was originally an aerospace engineer and after graduating from the University of Michigan, she worked with Republic Aviation as a research and development engineer, working on programs that were precursors to Project Apollo. In 1964, she applied for the first Scientist-Astronaut program, and got through the first round of eliminations. She began racing in 1963 on the SCCA circuit in a Jaguar XK 140. Her career in physics slowly yielded to the allure of sports car racing, and by 1972 she was involved in racing on a full-time basis. Along the way, she posted two class victories in the 12 Hours of Sebring (Sebring car below). Her big break at the top level of the sport came in 1976, when long-time teamowner and car builder Rolla Vollstedt invited her to test a car for the Indianapolis 500. That

year, she also became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Cup super speedway stock car race. Guthrie would make her first Cup start in the 1976 World 600; becoming the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Cup super speedway race. Many looked at it as a publicity stunt; with her racing just to increase attendance. But Guthrie came to race. She qualified 27th in the #68 Chevy and finished a respectable 15th in the grueling 600 mile race. After she showed her talents in that race; some of the Cup owners decided to help her with technology and better equipment. Guthrie would go on to compete in four more races that season. Guthrie qualified for and competed in the 1977 Indianapolis 500, but finished 29th with engine

troubles. She would compete in two more Indy 500s, finishing as high as ninth in the 1978 race. Overall, she competed in 11 Indy Car events finishing as high as fifth (Milwaukee 1979). Also in 1977, she competed in her first Daytona 500, finishing 12th when her car's engine blew two cylinders with ten laps to go. For the race, though, she still earned the honor of Top Rookie. She ran 19 of the 30 Cup that season and posted four top 10 finishes. He had a best finish of sixth at the tough old track of Bristol. Janet only competed in seven races in 1979 and posted a best finish of 10th in the Atlanta 500. In 1980 she ran her final two Cup races with the last being at Pocono in the Coca-Cola 500. After starting 21st her motor with give out

after 134 laps, relegating her to a 28th place finish. Overall, Guthrie went on to compete in 33 races in NASCAR over four seasons, finishing as high as sixth place. Since Janet Guthrie became the first female to qualify for the Indy 500, this opened the door not only for Danica Patrick but Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, Milka Duno, Pippa Mann, Simona DeSilvestro, Ana Beatriz and Desire Wilson. Sex discrimination was not the only obstacle for Janet, there were legal issues, tons of criticism and then there were the protestors. Men did not want her in the Indy 500 and it was not that they did not want Janet, they just refused to have a woman racer and were making statements such as: “Women can’t do it. Women don’t have the strength. Women don’t have endurance. Women

don’t have the emotional stability.” Perhaps the most jaw dropping, ignorant statement repeated from a protest, “Women will endanger our lives.” In a sport which requires endurance, skill, tenacity and courage Janet Guthrie overcame the ignorance of others to achieve her dream. Her handling of the discrimination and protests directed towards her should have given a clue to the nerves of steel in which Janet was made. Thereby earning her a much deserved place in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 27, 2006. Janet not only was a very capable, competitive driver, but also was strong mentally. She paved the way for the female race competitors of today. Janet Guthrie's helmet and driver's suit are in the Smithsonian Institution, and she was one of the first athletes named to the Women's Sports Hall of Fame. Her autobiography, "Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle" (Sport Classic Books), was published in 2005. This is a great little video with footage, on YouTube video; "A Damn Good Racing Driver" that covers her career nicely. An episode of ESPN 30 for 30 covering her racing career, aired on May 28, 2019 (Volume III, Episode 29). In it, she says, "You can go back to antiquity to find women doing extraordinary things, but their history is forgotten. Or denied to have ever existed. So women keep reinventing the wheel. Women have always done these things, and they always will." In 2019, Guthrie was inducted into the Automotive Hall of

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JANET GUTHRIE - 03/07/1938