Janet Guthrie remains one of three women in the history of NASCAR to have made their way into the sport’s Hall of Fame. As the Cup Series prepares to go live from the former driver’s birthplace, it is only fitting to explore the life of one of American racing culture’s biggest female icons.
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Guthrie raised eyebrows in the stock car racing world when she qualified for the 1976 World 600, a marquee event better known as the Coca-Cola 600 in the current day and age. She became the first-ever female driver to compete in the hallowed race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was met with an interesting reception at the time, to say the least.
The now 86-year-old also participated in other marquee events in NASCAR such as the Daytona 500 while also dipping her feet in the open-wheeled world of IndyCar. Over her 3 Indy 500 starts, the former racer managed to bag her best finish of P9 in 1978, finishing ahead of the likes of established names in the industry such as Mario Andretti.
Holder of a degree in physics from the University of Michigan and having flown a plane for the first time in her life at the age of 16, Guthrie was intrigued by activities that were considered far from normal for women at the time.
Indy 79 | One of the leading storylines for the 79 race was Janet Guthrie, the only female in the field (a field of 35 as well).
Her race however would only last 3 laps with an engine failure. pic.twitter.com/AiS7iSGWNw
— Champweb (@champwebdotnet) December 20, 2020
Over the course of her career in racing which was plagued with the equipment not allowing her to truly achieve her potential, the current Hall of Famer logged five top 10 appearances during her 31 NASCAR starts between 1976 and 1978. The biggest testament to her abilities behind the wheel came when IndyCar legend AJ Foyt agreed to let Guthrie drive his car during practice for the Indy 500.
She proved her speed behind the wheel of prime equipment and was able to keep pace with the frontrunners of the field at the time, boosting her racing appeal. The Iowa City native also backed up her skill in open-wheeled racing with a best finishing position of P5 in 1979 coming from a total of 11 starts in the series.
Janet Guthrie was finally recognized by the sport she invested her life into in 2024 when she was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. She remains the sole female to have done so with a driving role. She also received the 2024 Landmark Award which honors “significant contributions to the growth and esteem of NASCAR.”
