Janet Guthrie
Before Danica Patrick took over the female racing scene, there was Janet Guthrie. She became the very first woman in history to compete in a NASCAR Cup Stock Car Race, and just one year later, she broke gender barriers by competing in both Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.
Janet was inducted into the International Woman’s Sports HOF in 1980 and the International Motorsports HOF in 2006. She raced a total of 33 tracks over the span of three years and placed in the top ten in five of her NASCAR races. Sadly, she was forced into early retirement since she couldn’t find corporate sponsors to back her up—a problem that female racers experiences to this day.