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Press Releases by Janet Guthrie
May 9, 2003
Janet
Guthrie Racing 25th Anniversary Reunion
Twenty-five
years ago this month, Janet Guthrie formed a team of her own
for the Indianapolis 500, with last-minute sponsorship from
Texaco. To celebrate the resulting Top-Ten finish on May 28,
1978, her team members are reassembling in Indianapolis for
the last qualifying weekend of this year's race.
"Almost all of my guys will be here," Guthrie said.
"They did an amazing job-really, they did the impossible-and
it will be wonderful to get together with them again."
Guthrie's ninth-place finish in 1978 still stands as the best
by a woman driver in the Indianapolis 500. The previous year,
she had become the first woman to compete in the event since
its inception in 1911.
It will be a busy few days in Indianapolis for Guthrie, who
is Honorary Chair and luncheon speaker for the Mary Fendrich
Hulman Women's Golf Tourney on May 20, a fund-raiser for the
USAC Benevolent Foundation. She is also participating in the
convocation of women drivers assembled by Lyn St. James on
May 19, which will focus on opportunities for women in racing.
Guthrie and her crew will first reunite at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway Hall of Fame/Oldtimers banquet on Friday, May
16, where the field of the 1978 race will be among the evening's
honorees. Her table will include crew chief Ken Ozawa and
crew member Jim Lindholm, who was Guthrie's crew chief on
her NASCAR Winston Cup team in 1977. Master mechanic George
Bignotti, who built Guthrie's Wildcat, plans to attend the
team dinner that Guthrie is hosting on Saturday, May 17.
Guthrie's race in 1978 was not without problems. A sticky
vent in the trackside fuel supply caused refueling delays,
dragging pit stops out as long as 78 seconds. She had fractured
her right wrist in a charity tennis match the Friday before
the race, and used her left hand to shift gears, reaching
across the cockpit. A brand-new head sock sagged over her
eyes and frayed around the edges, so that she had to tilt
her head far back in order to see the track. And the onboard
radio didn't function unless the volume control was manually
held in place.
More of Janet Guthrie's racing adventures can be found on
her web site, www.janetguthrie.com,
which features excerpts from the manuscript of her book. The
book is on offer to publishers by Sterling Lord of Sterling
Lord Literistic, New York. She also remains in demand on the
speaking circuit.
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