Lady and the track

Guthrie's legacy lives on, 25 years after first Indy start

Did You Know? Janet Guthrie became the first woman ever to compete in NASCAR's Daytona 500. She finished 12th in 1977 and finished 11th in 1980. For more information, click here.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- From a vantage point 25 years later, the memory of the 1977 Indianapolis 500 seems so neat and tidy to Janet Guthrie.

People accept her now for what she was -- a race-car driver first, a woman second. As Guthrie strolls the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, she can see the impact she's made on auto racing.

"I got Sarah Fisher's autograph," Guthrie said, smiling while visiting the garage area. "I've never asked for an autograph in my life, but I wanted Sarah's and I'm thrilled to meet her."

Fisher signed her autograph, "To Janet, my idol."

Twenty-five years ago, none of it seemed possible -- until Guthrie became a trendsetter in perhaps the most historically significant Indy 500 ever.

Her presence in the field that year forced tradition-bound Tony Hulman, then president of the speedway, to change the words that had become the best-known in the sport.

After several admittedly agonizing days of contemplation, Hulman stood in front of the usual race day crowd of 400,000 and intoned: "Those in the company of the first woman driver in the Indianapolis 500, start your engines."

It was certainly a race to remember.

Besides Guthrie, the 33-car field that May included Tom Sneva, who had turned the first 200 mph qualifying laps at the historic Brickyard. The race ended with A.J. Foyt becoming the track's first four-time winner.

Foyt, who ran his first race here in 1958, is now a team owner with two cars in the lineup for Sunday's 86th Indy, with the fastest field ever.

"Whoever thought speeds would be over 200 mph when I started coming here?" he said. "I'm glad to say I was here to see them."

Foyt also earned his last Indy victory in 1977 in a duel with two-time Indy winner Gordon Johncock.

Both led in the last 50 laps, but Foyt trailed Johncock by 32 seconds before he started closing the gap. Sixteen laps from the end of the 200-lap event, Johncock's crankshaft broke and Foyt took the lead.

Afterward, Foyt invited longtime friend Hulman to take a victory lap with him in the pace car. It was a cherished moment for Hulman, who died in October of that year.

"Anytime you're the first at something, you're put on a pedestal," Foyt said, reflecting on becoming the first of a trio of four-time Indy winners. "But it was a real honor because there are so many great drivers from all over the world that raced here."

Guthrie joined that club one year after Foyt gave her a chance to take a car around the 2 1/2-mile oval in practice. In nine laps, Guthrie got the car up to speed, although she didn't get a chance to qualify that year.

When she returned in '77, Guthrie wasted little time. On the first day of practice, she turned the fastest lap at 185.607 -- 3 mph faster than veteran speedster Danny Ongais.

"I think drivers came to see what I was," she said. "I was just another driver. But there's nothing like blowing someone's doors off to change attitudes."

While Guthrie tried to dismiss the gender issue, she couldn't escape the spotlight.

In a field with three multiple race winners -- Foyt, Al Unser and Bobby Unser -- Guthrie attracted the most media attention and created the biggest controversy.

Some believed she was an anomaly; others a curiosity. Fan reaction was mixed.

"When we moved on pit lane, everyone moved with us, and when we went out on the track, everyone cheered," said Rolla Vollstedt, Guthrie's car owner.

Added Guthrie: "But surely, Rolla, you remember that there were at least as many boos as there were cheers."

Guthrie came back to race at Indy the next two years, finishing a career-best ninth in 1978, and also raced in NASCAR for several years. She has finished her autobiography, Lady and Gentlemen, but continues searching for a publisher.

Fans and former competitors welcome her back with open arms, with Foyt leading the charge.

"She was a good race-car driver," he said. "I remember seeing her drive around Rockingham [in a stock car], and she was good."

The speeds have continued to climb since 1977, with this year's field average a record 228.648 mph, and Foyt, who won here as a car-owner in 1999 with Kenny Brack, remains one of Indy's constants.

Then there is Guthrie.

No woman raced at Indianapolis again until Lyn St. James in 1992. Now, women have started 10 of the last 12 races, with St. James earning seven starts.

Fisher, 21, was named the Indy Racing League's most popular driver last year and is one of its bright young stars. She will make her third Indy start from the ninth position Sunday after going 229.439 mph in qualifying -- the fastest four-lap average by a woman.

Guthrie, who rarely watches racing on TV, saw Fisher's qualifying run and reflected on that day in 1977.

"I thought about it all right," Guthrie said, excitedly. "I took the heat then, and it's really nice to see someone like Sarah doing well."

 

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