“Put His Stamp of Disapproval” – Landmark Award Recipient Janet Guthrie Pays Homage to the Legends Behind Her 33-Race-Long NASCAR Career
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Before Danica Patrick made her mark and became a trailblazer for women in motorsports, the standards were set by a certain Janet Guthrie. Her career spanned only four years, and she raced in the Cup Series for the last time over four decades ago. NASCAR took a long time before properly honoring her, but when they did, Guthrie had many people to thank, including Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough.
The 85-year-old received the Landmark Award at the 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremony. The legendary racer could not be at the venue in person, presumably because of health concerns. However, she shared a heartfelt message of gratitude and appreciation as she reminisced about her days behind the wheel of a Cup car.
Janet Guthrie reveals Cale Yarborough and Junior Johnson’s invaluable assistance
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Janet Guthrie raced in the Cup Series from 1976 to 1980, during which she competed in 33 races and earned five Top 10 finishes. Her best result came at the Bristol Night Race in 1977, finishing P6. She shares the record for the highest finish by a female racer in a major NASCAR competition with Danica Patrick. Her achievements would not have been possible without some people whom she thanked in her Hall of Fame message.
“First, I want to thank NASCAR and its voters for this extraordinary honor, which I never expected, and to apologize for not being there in person. I really loved NASCAR Cup racing and will always regret that I wasn’t able to continue for longer than my 33 races. There are so many people to whom I owe thanks. Among them are the late Lynda Ferreri, who became my NASCAR team owner, and Humpy Wheeler, who set my NASCAR debut in motion,” the former Cup Series driver said.
Her NASCAR Series debut came at the 1976 World 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Things might not have gone too well at the event had it not been for Cale Yarborough and Junior Johnson. Yarborough pointed out some issues with Guthrie’s car, which Johnson promptly fixed. That day, she qualified in the row behind Dale Earnhardt Sr.
“Another key figure was the late great Cale Yarborough, who put his stamp of disapproval on the car I was to drive at my first Cup Race at Charlotte in 1976, and the late great Junior Johnson, whose advice in setup fixed the problems. Without their actions, doubtless, would not have qualified on the row behind Dale Earnhardt Sr and Bill Elliott. In addition, I want to thank Hall of Fame inductee Donnie Allison who offered some invaluable tips at that first race,” Janet Guthrie added.
The 85-year-old had to face many challenges during her time as a racer. Back then, people involved in NASCAR allegedly were quite discriminative toward women in the sport. One such person was the 7-time Cup Series champion, Richard Petty.
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Legendary female racer shed light on Richard Petty’s words
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In her book “Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle,” Janet Guthrie spoke about her experience meeting The King, who was reportedly unhappy to see her.
“When I shook hands with Richard Petty I thought I’d get frostbite. Later, he would be quoted as saying of me: ‘She’s no lady. If she was she’d be at home. There’s a lot of differences in being a lady and being a woman,'” she had written.
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Regardless, Guthrie fought whatever was thrown at her and, more often than not, came out on top. She deserves the Landmark Award, and NASCAR was far too late to honor her, given what she has done for women in the sport.
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Written by:
Edited by:
Shubhankar Adhikari