63 replies to this topic

[lynmeredith]

I just read a report that 'the lone female driver in this years Indianapolis 500, Sarah Fisher, is also the youngest in the race. At 22 she is just two weeks younger than Tomas Sheckter, son of ...Jody'.

Have female drivers been frequent entrants at Indy. I couldn't find any info by searching Atlas but I'm sure the information is out there. Anyone know?

Lyn M

[Grover]

Janet Guthrie was first in 1977 (started 26th finished 29th). Her best year (and the best for a lady so far) was 1978 (started 15th and finished 9th). She also ran in '79 finishing 34th.

Lyn St. James raced from '92-'97 and again in 2000 where she took out Sarah Fisher in a first turn crash. She was rookie of the year in 1992 with her highest finish of 11th. In 1994 she started ahead of Nigel Mansell and finished ahead of him as well.

Sarah Fisher is the third female driver in the Indy 500 (and was the third youngest driver to compete in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway). Her best finish so far is 31st, but she should top that this year.

Grover

[Buford]

Desera Wilson also attempted in 1982 and maybe other years but did not qualify. Also I don't think I spelled her first name right.

[eldougo]

DESIRE WILSON -- Close .Now a question for you Buford. Have two women raced against each other at INDY???

[ensign14]

Yes - Fisher and St James raced against each other in 2000. And crashed into each other...Sarah was lapping Lyn, Jaques Lazier tried to overtake Sarah, and it ended in tears.

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by Buford
Desera Wilson also attempted in 1982 and maybe other years but did not qualify. Also I don't think I spelled her first name right.

Desire Wilson earned a lot of respect that year as the car was basically junk. I remember one driver saying "There isn't a guy here that could've gone any faster in that piece of..."

I'll leave the rest to your imagination

The Mike Mosley-Tom Sneva press conference and Chris Kniefel's response...'82 was a vintage year for quotes at Indy.


Jim Thurman

[Buford]

I was working at a Beverly Hills travel agengy as accounting department manager in 1982. All the men there were gay (the travel agents). Most of the women were straight. But one agent was flamboyantly lesbo. Her girlfiend showed up one day in a totally sheer see-through blouse. I was impressed other than the fact she was bald! Also she was an electrician.

Well anyway I was getting the Indy papers sent and going back on weekends for qaulifying. So I had nobody much to talk to at work because the men were into whips and leather and the straight women were (well you know how they are) but the lesbo agent and I seemed to hit it off as friends. So I was telling her about the woman at Indy. Desire Wilson. She wanted to see a picture so one day I got the paper and there was a photo. So I took it to work and showed her.

Her comment was (putting one hand on her hip and kind of twisting her body around and doing a limp wristed hand gesture), "Well!!! Isn't she butch, honey!!!" I said, "No, I don't think so. She is married."

So my lesbo friend replies, "So is Billie Jean King. Hell, so am I!!!"

OK, that is my only Desire Wilson story.

[Vitesse2]

A lot less butch than some, but I think she may have used the same hairdresser as Jody Scheckter ....

[Doug Nye]

I don't think you need worry your macho heads too much about Daisy Ray's orientation.....while she was also a very capable racing driver in any company short of the true elite...as she showed in Aurora Formula 1.

DCN

[ry6]

There was a story that Fay Taylour, the Irish speedway/Midget and Brooklands racer tried to get an Indy drive many years ago.
It must have been after WW2.
Can anybody confirm this "fact" or "fiction".
If it is fact - what car and how did she do?

[Vitesse2]

Fiction I would have thought - weren't women banned from the Indy pit lane until the mid-70s? IIRC green cars were considered unlucky too, along with peanuts.

[Flying Panda]

Originally posted by lynmeredith
Tomas Sheckter, son of ...Jody'.

Just in case some people are unaware, Jody Schecket is not a Woman.
Although there are some people willing to argue that

Originally posted by Grover
Her best finish so far is 31st, but she should top that this year.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt Sarah Fisher also the only driver to finish 31st in the 500 in two consecutive years???

Lets hope she finishes a lot higher this year.

[Rob29]

Doubt that anyone ever FINNISHED 31st at Indy. More accurate statement would be that they were the third runner to hit the wall.

[Flying Panda]

Originally posted by Rob29
Doubt that anyone ever FINNISHED 31st at Indy. More accurate statement would be that they were the third runner to hit the wall.

Well, whan they hit the wall, the race is pretty much finished for them isnt it?

[Buford]

It used to be but under current IRL rules you can go back into the garage and fix the car into more of an unsafe shitbox than it was when you started, and then come out and hit the wall again later. Like Greg Ray did a couple years ago.

[Flying Panda]

OK, let me re-phrase my question -
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt Sarah Fisher also the only driver to be classified 31st in the 500 in two consecutive years???

[ry6]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Fiction I would have thought - weren't women banned from the Indy pit lane until the mid-70s? IIRC green cars were considered unlucky too, along with peanuts.

____________________________________________________________________

Yes, you are right Vitesse.

BUT - a) Fay Taylour was a bit of a "ground-breaker" - racing against the men in midget cars and speedway bikes in Australia, USA and South Africa. She found strong opposition from the sanctioning bodies at the time.

b) she was a clever promoter of herself apparently

c) the date of her attempt to break into Indy was 1952

Maybe it was just a publicity stunt after all?

[Paul Hartshorne]

A couple of other female drivers who attempted Indy (seriously or otherwise!) around the same time as Desire Wilson were Amber Furst and Roxie Lott. I remember seeing Ms. Lott in an F3 race at Silverstone in 1984. Her performance was memorably bad!

Cheers, Paul

[Rob29]

Never heard of Amber,but i have video of Roxie in the rain at Silverstone in pink Ralt. Does anyone know anything else about these ladies/ How far did they get at Indy-maybe a case of 'failed rookie test'
Must go, Indy coverage about to start!

[Rainer Nyberg]

Yes Amber Furst was trying to enter into the 1983 Indy 500, she was supposed to drive a five year old Watson with Offy power. USAC rejected the entry.

[Barry Boor]

There was a rumour that Mrs. Theodora Sibley was going to attempt Indy.

But then I may be dreaming......;)

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Flying Panda
OK, let me re-phrase my question -
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt Sarah Fisher also the only driver to be classified 31st in the 500 in two consecutive years???

No - Troy Ruttman in 1956 and 1957.

[Flying Panda]

Originally posted by ensign14
No - Troy Ruttman in 1956 and 1957.

Thank-you.

Now, wasnt that easier argueing over nothing?
Not as fun, i know...

[Catalina Park]

Originally posted by Flying Panda
*Greg Ray needs a shave.*

Greg Ray needs a mirror!

He needs to take a mirror to bed . . . . . so he can wake up to himself!

[Martyj]

Arlene Hiss, related to Penske driver Mike Hiss, was pegged to be the first woman at Indy. She may have had a race or two in a USAC champ car, but nothing ever came together for Indy. This was a few years before Janet Guthrie, around the time that Billie Jean King was causing such a stir about women in sports. Maybe the Arlene Hiss thing was just hype anyway. Any one else remember this? I recall a picture of her in one of the magazines, clenching her fist with a sort of "womans rights" gesture.

[Rainer Nyberg]

History of women at Indy
SportsLine.com wire reports

INDIANAPOLIS -- Chronology of women at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
May 1971 -- Speedway for the first time allows women in the pits and garage area.
March 14, 1976 -- Arlene Hiss , the first woman granted a competition license by the U.S. Auto Club, is the first to drive in an Indy-car race, finishing 14th at Phoenix. She does not enter the Indy 500.
March 1976 -- Janet Guthrie is the first woman to enter the Indy 500.
April 1976 -- Guthrie is granted a USAC license.
May 1976 -- Guthrie finishes 15th in her first Indy car race, at Trenton. She is the first woman to practice at Indianapolis and the first to pass the Indy rookie test, but she does not make a qualification attempt.
May 29, 1977 -- Guthrie, the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500, starts 26th and finishes 29th.
October 1977 -- Mary Fendrich Hulman becomes Speedway board chairman after the death of her husband, Tony Hulman.
May 28, 1978 -- Mary Fendrich Hulman first gives "Gentlemen, start your engines" command; Guthrie drives her second Indy 500, starting 15th and finishing ninth.
May 27, 1979 -- Guthrie drives her third and last Indy 500, starting 14th and finishing 34th.
May 1982 -- Desire Wilson is the second woman to enter the Indy 500 and the second to pass the rookie test. She makes one unsuccessful attempt to qualify, but sets a then-record for a woman driver at Indy at 191.042 mph.
May 1983 -- Wilson enters Indy but does not complete a rookie refresher test.
May 1984 -- Wilson passes rookie refresher test but does not make a qualification attempt.
May 1988 -- Mary Fendrich Hulman becomes Speedway board chairman emeritus; her daughter, Mari Hulman George, becomes Speedway board chairman.
November 1990 -- Lyn St. James test drives at Speedway.
April 1992 -- St. James becomes third woman to enter the race and takes part in the Rookie Orientation Program.
May 24, 1992 -- St. James, the second woman to qualify for the race, starts 27th and finishes 11th. She completes 193 laps, the only rookie still running at the end, and is named Rookie of the Year.
May 30, 1993 -- St. James drives in her second Indy 500, completes 176 laps and finishes 25th.
May 14, 1994 -- St. James qualifies at 224.154 mph for a start on the outside of the second row, the best starting position for a woman at Indy.
May 29, 1994 -- St. James drives in her third Indy 500, completes 170 laps and finishes 19th.
May 20, 1995 -- St. James qualifies for her fourth Indy race at 225.346 mph, the fastest in auto racing history by a woman, for a start in the middle of the 10th row.
May 28, 1995 -- St. James drives in her fourth Indy 500 but is involved in a six-car, first-lap crash and finishes 32nd.
May 11, 1996 -- St. James qualifies for her fifth Indy 500 at 224.594 mph.
May 26, 1996 -- St. James drives in her fifth Indy 500, starting 18th and finishing 14th after a crash on her 154th lap.
December 1996 -- Mai Lindstrom, longtime motorsports public relations and marketing representative, is named the director of public relations for the Speedway and the Indy Racing League.
May 10, 1997 -- St. James qualifies for her sixth Indy 500 at 210.145; bumped from the lineup but restored when IRL adds two other drivers to the field.
May 27, 1997 -- St. James drives in her sixth Indy 500, starting 34th and finishing 13th after a crash on her 187th lap.
April 10, 1998 -- Mary Fendrich Hulman, Speedway board chairman emeritus, dies at age 93.
May 17, 1998 -- St. James fails to qualify for the race, ending her streak of six years in the lineup.
May 23, 1999 -- St. James, who qualified for the race a day earlier, is bumped from the lineup.
May 20, 2000 -- Sarah Fisher, 19-year-old rookie, averages 220.237 mph to become the third woman to qualify at Indy; St. James, trying to qualify for her seventh start, crashes on a warmup lap but is not injured.
May 21, 2000 -- St. James, in a team backup car, qualifies at 218.826, putting two women in the starting lineup for the first time.
May 28, 2000 -- St. James takes turn 1 too high and hits the wall after tapping Fisher's car. Fisher attempts to recover, but can't, ending the day for both women in the field. St. James completes 69 laps, while Fisher completes 71 and finishes one spot ahead of St. James at 31st.

Source : http://cbs.sportslin...92629_6,00.html

[ensign14]

I understand Arlene Hiss was entered as a spoiler to prevent Janet Guthrie from being the first woman in Indycars. I think she would have been faster without the car.

Trackforum Nostalgia had a bit about women Indycar drivers, but it's down at the moment.

[FEV]

In fact, the very first woman to lap the Brickyard in an Indycar did it well before the weak sex was allowed in the pits and garage area ! Paula Smith (the 'Miss STP' of the time) did a few demo laps late in 1963 in one of the Novis no lap times issued AFAIK !

[Jackie]

Can anyone tell me what happened to Giovanna Amati? (If I spelt that right?) The last time I saw her was as a guest kart driver at the Miami Grand Prix at Homestead. Four or five years ago?

I'm afraid that the whole 'female racer' thing gets me going a bit! Anyone of my age (OK, old!) remembers Pat Moss and Ann Hall. And what-was-her-name Appleyard. (Oh, Michelle Mouton did OK too!)

And my son's aunt (maybe great-aunt) was one of the first women to race at Brooklands. English people will also know about the Simmonite sisters and Paula Cook.

I think there was a point to this but I forgot! Other than, we gorls drive good if we want to!

OK, I'l get me coat....

[Kuwashima]

Does anyone have some more info on this Amber Furst? I was asked about her by someone a while ago, but I couldn't find anything about her at all... help!

[Rob29]

Originally posted by Kuwashima
Does anyone have some more info on this Amber Furst? I was asked about her by someone a while ago, but I couldn't find anything about her at all... help!

Apparently she tried to enter the Indy 500 in early 80s but her entry was rejected by USAC. Maybe a publicity stunt,no one seems to know anything else about her.
Giovanna Amati last raced about 3 years ago in FIASCC or whatever it was then called.

[Rainer Nyberg]

Originally posted by Kuwashima : Does anyone have some more info on this Amber Furst? I was asked about her by someone a while ago, but I couldn't find anything about her at all... help!

I have had email contact with Amber Furst and I will provide information about the entry when I receive her reply on my questions.

[Kuwashima]

Cheers, Rainer.

[cabianca]

Rayner,
I believe the first woman to have a USAC competition license was Josie von Neumann who raced Ferraris in the USAC Sports Car Championship in 1959.

To elaborate on American oval racing superstitions, they included:
1) Women in the pits
2) The color green (Jimmy Clark showed it didn't matter)
3) Peanuts in the pits
4) Whistling in the pits
5) Race numbers that were the same right side up or upside down (69, etc.)
Can anyone add others?

[Catalina Park]

Originally posted by cabianca
Rayner,
I believe the first woman to have a USAC competition license was Josie von Neumann who raced Ferraris in the USAC Sports Car Championship in 1959.

To elaborate on American oval racing superstitions, they included:
1) Women in the pits
2) The color green (Jimmy Clark showed it didn't matter)
3) Peanuts in the pits
4) Whistling in the pits
5) Race numbers that were the same right side up or upside down (69, etc.)
Can anyone add others?

6) Right hand turns!

[Buford]

A lot of guys only get into the car from one side. Back in the 50s and 60s a lot of guys would refuse to have their picture taken shortly before a race because they did not want the photo in the paper the next day with the caption "Last picture taken of XXX XXXXX."

[lynmeredith]

Originally posted by cabianca


To elaborate on American oval racing superstitions, they included:
1) Women in the pits
2) The color green (Jimmy Clark showed it didn't matter)
3) Peanuts in the pits
4) Whistling in the pits
5) Race numbers that were the same right side up or upside down (69, etc.)
Can anyone add others?

???Peanuts???

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by lynmeredith

???Peanuts???

From: http://www.indygov.o...ures/trivia.htm

Indianapolis 500 drivers and fans are a superstitious lot. It's been considered bad luck to eat peanuts at the Race since the 1940s, when peanut shells were found in the seat of a crashed car, and until the 1960s, very few drivers would ever be seen driving a green car. It was also considered bad luck to enter and exit the race car from the same side.

I also remember reading a story that someone tried to lay this one to rest sometime in the 60s by cracking peanut shells on the bodywork of three cars and all three subsequently crashed ....

[Henri Greuter]

One other woman ever drove a racecar at IMS speedway though it wasn't in May.
Miss Paula Murphy, member of the STP organisation and driving a lot of Studebakers in her days once drove two laps at the track in November 1963. The car she drove was a Studebaker STP Special, better known as a Novi.
Paula was quite an accomplished speedster, pity she never made it to the Speedway or single seater racing in general.

Henri Greuter

[lynmeredith]

Thanks Vitesse, it's important to know these things! Boy, that guy must have been popular!

Lyn M

[fines]

Originally posted by Martyj
Arlene Hiss, related to Penske driver Mike Hiss, was pegged to be the first woman at Indy. She may have had a race or two in a USAC champ car, but nothing ever came together for Indy. This was a few years before Janet Guthrie, around the time that Billie Jean King was causing such a stir about women in sports. Maybe the Arlene Hiss thing was just hype anyway. Any one else remember this? I recall a picture of her in one of the magazines, clenching her fist with a sort of "womans rights" gesture.

Arlene Hiss was in fact "Mrs. Mike Hiss", and apparently a total fiasco behind the wheel of a racing car... She was no less than 22 laps down at the finish of the "Jimmy Bryan 150", and naturally the last car running. BUT she managed to outqualify three other cars, a Lola/Chevy (F5000?) of Tom Frantz, the fabled Manta/Chevy (four years old) of Ed Finley and a Vollstedt/Foyt (presumably at least five years old) driven by Ed Crombie!

[Arjan de Roos]

Just to add to Rainer's message #26 from 7 years ago:

May 27, 2001 -- Sara Fisher races a Dallara Olds like in 2000 for team Walker. She quallified 15th but spun on lap 7 collecting Scott Goodyear who broke his back in this accident. Fisher is classified 31st.

May 26, 2002 -- Sara Fisher with a G-Force Infiniti has her best qualification till date (9th) but only finishes 24th completing 196 laps.

May 25, 2003 -- Fisher with a Dallara Chevrolet again with team Dreyer and Reinbold quallified 24th but finished 31st, after plagued by engine problems she made contact to the wall on lap 14.

May 30, 2004 -- Fisher with a Dallara Toyota qualified 19th to finish 21st with team Kelley in the rain shortened race.

May 15, 2005 -- Danica Patrick failed to qualify on pole by making an error in turn 1 of her first qualifying lap. Still she had posted a 229.880mph in that mornings practice session (fasted practice speed of the month) and secured a fourth grid position.

May 29, 2005 -- Patrick debuts at Indy with a fourth grid position, the best ever for a woman at Indy. She is the fourth woman to race at the Indy 500. After a sensational race, Patrick led 19 laps, she finishes 4th (best ever finish for a female too). On lap 155 Patrick spun and hit Tomas Enge. She overcame damage to her nose and front wing and had to conserve fuel in the last laps loosing a sensational win. She was Rookie of the Year at Indy!

May 28, 2006 -- Patrick again with Rahal Letterman in a Panoz Honda, she quallifies 10th to finish 8th.

May 27, 2007 -- A historic trio of ladies start the 91st 500 mile race: Patrick had moved to Andretti Green, qualified 8th and and finishes 8th after running 2nd in the early race and a strong fight after the restart. Sarah Fisher, back at Indy and D&R qualified her Dallara Honda 21st and finishes 18th (2 laps down) when a rain storm definitively stopped the race. This year Duno is rookie driver, she qualifies the Samax Dallara 29th but crashes out on lap 65 (31st).

May 25, 2008 -- Danica Patrick qualified 5th but collided in the pitlane (22nd). Fisher now in her own team qualified her Dallara Honda 22nd only to be taken out of the race by a spinning Kanaan (30th). Duno in her second Indy qualifies 27th with team D&R and finishes as highest female on 19th, the only one running.

May 24, 2009 -- Again three ladies start the Indy 500: Fisher, Patrick and Duno take the start and make history again: all finish. Patrick started as 10th and scores a record third. Fisher started as 21st and finishes 17th. Duno started as 30th and finished 20th.

Edited by Arjan de Roos, 24 May 2009 - 20:34.

[fines]

Rayner,
I believe the first woman to have a USAC competition license was Josie von Neumann who raced Ferraris in the USAC Sports Car Championship in 1959.

To elaborate on American oval racing superstitions, they included:
1) Women in the pits
2) The color green (Jimmy Clark showed it didn't matter)
3) Peanuts in the pits
4) Whistling in the pits
5) Race numbers that were the same right side up or upside down (69, etc.)
Can anyone add others?

Reminds me of Californian racing driver George Weber, who had #62 painted upside down on his car... he was actually running #79!

[TrackDog]

One other woman ever drove a racecar at IMS speedway though it wasn't in May.
Miss Paula Murphy, member of the STP organisation and driving a lot of Studebakers in her days once drove two laps at the track in November 1963. The car she drove was a Studebaker STP Special, better known as a Novi.
Paula was quite an accomplished speedster, pity she never made it to the Speedway or single seater racing in general.

Henri Greuter

I think I read someplace that when Paula drove the car somebody decided to put a block in either the throttle linkage or the accelerator pedal so that she wouldn't go over about 120 mph or so. I don't recall if it was the team or the officials who decided to do this.


Dan

[TrackDog]

I think I read someplace that when Paula drove the car somebody decided to put a block in either the throttle linkage or the accelerator pedal so that she wouldn't go over about 120 mph or so. I don't recall if it was the team or the officials who decided to do this.


Dan

Here's a link:

http://www.oilslick....aula_murphy.htm


Nice pic and a quote...yep, the throttle was blocked. My, how things have changed; not that they didn't need to...


Dan

[Arjan de Roos]

May 30, 2010 -- Four ladies start the Indy 500, nearly 5: Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick as expected, with Simona de Silvestro and Ana Beatriz as rookies. Duno did not quallify.
Fisher and Beatriz crash out of the race. Patrick 6th and De Silvestro 14th just beaten by Romancini for Rooki of the year.

Edited by Arjan de Roos, 31 May 2010 - 07:26.

[ensign14]

To be fair to Beatriz, she was taken out in the Conway/Hunter-Reay incident. So she nearly made the full distance.

[Arjan de Roos]

Just to keep up with the ladies :-)

May 29th 2011, Four women in the race again. Simona de Silvestro qualified best om 23rd position with Danica Patrick on 25th. Pippa Mann was on the last row (31st) with Ana Beatriz (32nd). Patrick finished 10th while Mann reached 20th, 2 laps down on the winner. Beatriz was 3 laps down on 21st. De Silvestro was classified 31st as she DNF due to handling.

May 27th 2012, Three ladies this year. Ana Beatriz qualified a strong 13th, but finished 23rd 10 laps down on the winner. Katherine Legge was rookie and started 30th and managed to finish 22nd, 1 lap down. Simona de Silvestro qualified 32nd but was black flagged due to racing pace.

[Ralf Pickel]

But please note, that the Black Flag was not her fault - the awful Lotus engine is not competitive and quite down on horsepower compared to the other engines.
The same (Black Flag) happened to Jean Alesi, too - he was the other poor soul stuck to one of those air pumps.

[Arjan de Roos]

Most participations:
1. Sarah Fisher 9
2. Lynn St. James/Danica Patrick 7
4. Guthrie/Duno/De Silvestro/Beatriz 3

Rookies of the Year: Lynn St. James (1992)/Danica Patrick (2005) and De Silvestro (2010).

Best results for Patrick, qualified fourth in 2005 and finished 3rd in 2009.

Edited by Arjan de Roos, 30 May 2012 - 07:24.