Sunday's race will be the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500. In the previous 88 years, only three women have qualified to compete. This year Danica Patrick has become the fourth.

Just 23 years old and barely over five feet tall, she has become the darling of Indy ... and could very well win the damn thing.

A lot has changed since 1977, when Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify.

Danica is the first woman to earn an IndyCar drive with a topflight team like Rahal Letterman Racing.

Patrick's star already was rising before this May, but a series of sizzling practice laps and a spectacular run for the pole shot her into nationwide headlines. The outpouring of positive attention Patrick has received both from the public and from the media has been truly amazing.

It's also a far cry from the rough reception Guthrie was in for when she arrived at Indianapolis. What was Janet hearing?

"'Women can't do it.' 'Women don't have the strength.' 'Women don't have the endurance or the emotional stability and we're going to endanger our lives,' that was the drift," Guthrie recalled. "Most of the oval track drivers had never had the experience of running with a woman driver, and they were sure they weren't going to like it. That got calmed down within the course of the races that I ran in 1976. But in NASCAR, it took until May of '77 before I could walk through the garage area without guys looking at me squinty-eyed.

"The public, I think, needed to be convinced, too," she added. "So qualifying for the first time was really a major moment of my life."

How great would it be for her to win?

jholtsnider

I'm lost

February 2004

MAY 26, 2005 09:53 PM

It is kinda sad that her website spins her as "attractive", though. Can't she just be a super pimp driver who races? *sigh*

On that note, I hope she does well!

Walker

Redmond, OR

March 2005

MAY 26, 2005 09:56 PM

slimjim said:
It is kinda sad that her website spins her as "attractive", though. Can't she just be a super pimp driver who races? *sigh*

On that note, I hope she does well!

You would think they would spend more time talking about how good she is as a driver. She is a solid drive that's been getting better and better the last couple of years. So long as her car is set up right she should at least have a top 20 finish.

jholtsnider

I'm lost

February 2004

MAY 26, 2005 09:59 PM

Walker said:

slimjim said:
It is kinda sad that her website spins her as "attractive", though. Can't she just be a super pimp driver who races? *sigh*

On that note, I hope she does well!

Is she pretty good? All I could find in her bio was how she was recently engaged...

Koenigsegg

I'm lost

July 2004

MAY 26, 2005 10:00 PM

yes! yes! yes! go danica!!!

Koenigsegg

I'm lost

July 2004

MAY 26, 2005 10:01 PM

she was on david letterman the other night. she was AWESOME. she is my hero (kind of)

AughtNaught

Phoenix, AZ

January 2005

MAY 26, 2005 10:13 PM

She is a great driver, anyone that can pass Hornish on the outside like she did at Motegi can drive. As far as marketing herself as pretty on her website, she realizes she needs to use every advantage she has to keep the sponsorship that keeps her in the car. Sponser are leery of women drivers as none have ever produced on the track. Sarah Fisher was voted most popular driver of the IRL year after year, but other then one 2nd place qualifying, she never was able to produce on race day. She has a great advantage in being with Rahal Letterman Racing, last year's Indy 500 champion with Buddy Rice. With that team backing her, and her natural driving ability, she has a legitimate shot for that glass of milk at the end of 500 miles.

Koenigsegg

I'm lost

July 2004

MAY 26, 2005 10:14 PM

still, she's 12th in the IRL rankings

it's a long shot

Walker

Redmond, OR

March 2005

MAY 26, 2005 10:18 PM

Koenigsegg said:
still, she's 12th in the IRL rankings

it's a long shot

If indy was as completive as NASCAR (yes I said NASCAR), she would be in the top five in points. At least thats what I think.

llouys

Brazil

August 2003

MAY 26, 2005 10:38 PM

good luck to her.

but still...

Jaron

Lethbridge, AB

September 2004

MAY 26, 2005 10:57 PM

Auto racing is, in my mind, the biggest waste of life, fossil fuels, metal and land.

Strfry

Cleveland, OH

September 2002

MAY 26, 2005 11:18 PM

Jaron said:
Auto racing is, in my mind, the biggest waste of life, fossil fuels, metal and land.

hippie.

sure, not like the internet or anything.... veeeery good use of your time, lol.

anyhow...

FYI, there have been a alot of women drivers over the years:

WOMEN IN ALL FORMS OF RACING

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

..............................................................................................................

also,

check out this chicks stats... not only did she race the INDY 500. NASCAR's World 600 (now the CocaCola 600 which is the NASCAR version of, and on the same day as, INDY... this weekend. it's NASCAR's longest race). but they wanted her to become an astronaut, even passing NASA's test...

anyhow, check this out:

**JANET GUTHRIE**

* born on March 7, 1938 in Iowa City, Iowa as the eldest of five children
* her father, William Lain Guthrie was a pilot
* she attended Miss Harris' Florida School for girls in Miami
* she first flew a plane when she was 13
* first flew solo at age 16
* earned her pilot's license at age 17
* by the age of 21 she was capable of flying more than 20 types of aircrafts
* she received a bachelor's degree in physics in 1960 at the University of Michigan
* for the next seven years she worked in aerospace research and engineer for Republic Aviation Corporation in Farmingdale, Long Island
* in 1965 NASA considering making her an astronaut-- She was one of four women who passed NASA's first tests but was eliminated because she didn't have a Ph. D. degree.
* she began racing in 1961 and high speed racing in 1963
* in 1967 she quit her job at RAC and until 1971 she worked as one of the Macmillan Ring-Free Motor Maids
* with her co-drivers they finished 31st in the 24 hour endurance race at Daytona in 1966
* in 1975 she started work for Toyota as a consumer information specialist
* first women to qualify for a major American automobile race, the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR)
* she raced a 1975 Chevrolet Laguna provided by Lynda Ferrari and finished 15th in the World 600 in May 1976
* competed regularly on the Winston Cup (NASCAR) circuit
* posted 10 top-12 finishes in 1977
* Finished 9th in the Indy 500 in 1978. She was at the disadvantage because she raced with a broken wrist and had to reach across the cockpit to shift gears
* first time since 1949 that three women competed in a race together: Janet Guthrie, Lella Lombardi, and Christine Beckers
* had 33 career starts including 19 in her rookie season (1977) driving the Kelly Girl sponsored Chevrolet Laguna owned by Lynda Ferrari (NASCAR)
* she outqualified Bill Elliot, Ricky Rudd, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Neil Bonnett and Johnny Rutherford for the Talladega 500 in August of 1977 (NASCAR's biggest and fastest track at 2.66 miles)
* she qualifed and/or finished ahead of Bill Elliott in 7 out of 10 races they ran together (NASCAR)
* she qualifed and/or finished ahead of Dale Earnhard (7 time NASCAR champion) in 2 out of 3 races they ran together.
* she qualifed and/or finished ahead of Johnny Rutherford in 3 out of 3 races they ran together
* she was the first woman to qualify for the Daytona 500 finishing 11 and 12 (1980, 1977 respectively) (NASCAR)
* she also lead the Times 500 in Ontario California in November 1977
* in 1977 she qualified as the first woman in the Indianapolis 500
* inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1980
* currently lives in Aspen Colorado

[Edited on May 28, 2005 by Stirfry]

dem_z

United Kingdom

June 2004

MAY 27, 2005 03:48 AM

I wonder why there seem to be so few women in motorsports?

Yes, it would be awesome if she won.

thehighestpower

Minneapolis, MN

October 2003

MAY 27, 2005 06:57 AM

ive had a crush on her for a couple of years now