Janet Guthrie: Winning Behind the Wheel

She was born in Iowa City, Iowa March 7, 1938 and grew up in Miami, Florida.

Guthrie toyed with the idea of being a pilot and flight instructor when she soloed her first time in an airplane at the age of 16. But her life would soon take a different track.

She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Her first job was with Republic Aviation in Farmingdale, New York as an aerospace engineer. She worked on programs that were predecessors of NASA's Project Apollo. She actually completed the first round of eliminations for the first Scientist-Astronaut program. The Scientist-Astronaut program was implemented by NASA as an effort to send scientifically-trained crews into space with the hope this would yield greater information and discovery from missions. One of her most prized possessions is a letter from astronaut Deke Slayton.

Guthrie's interest in car racing didn't begin until she purchased a Jaguar XK 120. With this car, Guthrie began competing in field trials. Because she wanted to compete in the Sports Car Club of America races, Guthrie purchased a Jaguar XK 140.

Within a matter of time, Guthrie was racing on a full-time basis. No doubt, the aerodynamics and physics of car racing appealed to her.

Rolla Vollstedt, a car builder, asked Guthrie to test a car for the Indy 500. Shortly after that test run, Guthrie was the first woman to compete in the NASCAR Winston Cup race, finishing 15th in the 1976 World 600. Guthrie's life became very busy after that.

In the year following her first NASCAR competition, Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for, and compete in, the Indianapolis 500. That same year she was also the Top Rookie at the Daytona 500. She finished 12th in the Daytona 500 but only because her car's engine blew two cylinders. Following that, she finished 9th in the Indianapolis 500. She competed in 11 Indy events. She finished as high as fifth place, her best finish in an Indy Car race. She was also fourth in the best qualifying position at the Pocono Triple Crown 500 in 1979.

Those records stood for more than twenty years. Her ninth-place finish in the 1978 Indianapolis 500, using a team she formed and managed herself, was a record by a woman until Danica Patrick placed fourth in the 2005 Indianapolis 500.

In an interview with the Washington Star, May 29, 1977, Mario Andretti made these comments about Janet Guthrie: "I think she has done a hell of a job. She's got a good head on her shoulders. I've seen many guys who had much more trouble with Indy than she has had, from the standpoint of belonging on the course. Anyone who says she doesn't belong, just feels threatened." [1]

Guthrie achieved an historical feat, being the first woman allowed to compete on an Indianapolis racetrack. Her helmet and race suit are in the Smithsonian Institution. She was also one of the first women elected to the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Her autobiography, "Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle" was published in 2005 (SportClassic Books).

Guthrie married in 1989.

Sources:

[1] Janet Guthrie website