Janet Guthrie
Auto racing
b. March 7, 1938, Iowa City, IA
It's easy to dismiss Janet Guthrie, the first woman to race in the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500, as a mere novelty. That point of view ignores a harsh reality of auto racing: To be successful, a driver needs good cars, and she hardly ever got one. Most of her rides were in cars that were entered simply to fill out the field, like long shots in a horse race, and the record she compiled in such a cars is a tribute to her racing skills.
Guthrie got her pilot's license at 17. She majored in physics at the University of Michigan and was one of the first women astronaut candidates. She began racing in 1964, when she won two Sports Car Club of America races and finished sixth in the Watkins Glen 500. Going into 1971, she had nine consecutive finishes in endurance races.
She passed her rookie test at Indianapolis in 1976 but failed to qualify. Instead, she raced in NASCAR's World 600, finishing 15th. In 1977 she was top rookie finisher in five NASCAR Grand National events, including the Daytona 500, and sheplaced third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Guthrie also got her first Indy 500 start in 1977, but was forced out early by engine trouble. She finished ninth at Indy in 1978. All told, she had 11 starts in Indy car races and won $84,608. Her best finish was a fifth in the 1979 Milwaukee 200, her last major race.