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Janet Guthrie
American racing driver (born 1938) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Janet Guthrie (born March 7, 1938) is an American former racing driver. She is the first female to qualify and race in either the Indianapolis 500, or the Daytona 500, both of which she competed in during 1977. She had first attempted to enter the Indianapolis 500 in 1976 but failed to qualify. She raced in three Indianapolis 500s: 1977 through 1979. She is also the first woman to lead a lap in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
Janet Guthrie | |||||||
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![]() Guthrie at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2011 | |||||||
Born | Janet Guthrie (1938-03-07) March 7, 1938 (age 86) Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. | ||||||
Champ Car career | |||||||
11 races run over 5 years | |||||||
Best finish | 15th (1979 (USAC)) | ||||||
First race | 1976 Trenton 200 (Trenton) | ||||||
Last race | 1979 Tony Bettenhausen 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
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NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
33 races run over 4 years | |||||||
Best finish | 23rd (1977) | ||||||
First race | 1976 World 600 (Charlotte) | ||||||
Last race | 1980 Coca-Cola 500 (Pocono) | ||||||
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Guthrie was originally an aerospace engineer, and after graduating from the University of Michigan with a physics degree in 1960, she worked with Republic Aviation.[1] She got the 2024 NASCAR Landmark award on January 19, 2024.