Janet Guthrie: Paving the Way: Why We Watch, Episode 2

Long before Danica Patrick thought about getting behind the wheel of a race car—five years before she was even born, in fact—another woman was burning up the track and ruffling more than a few feathers on her way to making racing history.In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first female to compete in the Daytona 500 and later that year accomplished the same feat at the Indianapolis 500. Though Guthrie only raced professionally for a few years, her impact on the sport was enormous and resonates even today.Janet was a trailblazer even before she set foot on a racetrack, earning a degree in physics, her pilot’s license and a promising career in aviation. She even applied for the first scientist-astronaut program in the United St...

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