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Indy 500 History: Janet Guthrie was the first woman to ever qualify and compete in the race

katie wiseman, indianapolis star
·2 min read

In case you missed it, the queen from the hive that swarmed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 2023 Indy 500 is still abuzz. She was in need of a name, and our readers helped us decide.

The winning name for the queen was Janet Guthbee, a play on the name Janet Guthrie, the first woman racecar driver to ever qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Which is fitting, since the queen and her hive was the first group of bees (that we know of) to roll up to and make a spectacle in the stands during the race.

Queen of speed: Readers helped named the queen bee who brought her swarm to the 2023 Indy 500. See the results

So who is Janet Guthrie? Here's what you need to know.

Who is Janet Guthrie?

Janet Guthrie is racing legend known for paving the way for women racecar drivers.

Guthrie bought her first car, a 1953 Jaguar XK120 M coupe, and started racing shortly after receiving her physics degree from the University of Michigan in 1960. She made racing her full-time career in 1972, according to the Automotive Hall of Fame.

As her penchant for speed grew, she got faster cars; doing the bodywork and building the engines herself since she did not have the resources many of her male counterparts did.

Janet Guthrie: How she changed racing for women

Janet Guthrie puts on her gloves for the first time on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track in 1976.
Janet Guthrie puts on her gloves for the first time on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track in 1976.

She was the very first woman to ever qualify for the Indianapolis 500, which she competed in for the first time in 1977. Guthrie was also the first woman to qualify and compete in the Daytona 500.

She raced in the 1978 and 1979 Indy 500 and was the first woman to ever lead a lap in a NASCAR Cup Series competition.

Guthrie, now retired, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2019 and was honored with NASCAR's 2024 Landmark Award for her signifant contributions to the growth of the sport in January.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Who is Janet Guthrie? Meet the first woman to ever compete in the Indy 500