1976 Parnelli Lightning Indy Racer

It was in this car that the role of women at the Indianapolis Speedway was redefined. Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify, race, and finish at the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing,' the Indianapolis 500. Ms. Guthrie qualified in 26th place at 188.403 mph in the Bryant Heating and Cooling sponsored car owned by Rolla Vollstedt. It was this event that led to the successful participation of other women drivers, such as Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, and Danica Patrick, thus opening a door that had been closed since the first 500 in 1911.

After an unsuccessful attempt in 1976, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on May 22, 1977, with a timed speed of 188.957 mph - the fastest in the entire second weekend of qualifying. During the race, however, Gurthrie's car began to lose power on the 15th lap, and a fuel spill during repairs soaked Guthrie with caustic methanol. Nonetheless, she drove for nearly two more hours before retiring. A broken valve was later found to have caused the power loss.

Respected but underfinanced, team owner Rolla Vollstedt had purchased the year-old Lightning prototype that Roger McCluskey had qualified sixth at Indy in 1976; he assigned it to Guthrie, while building a new car for senior team driver Dick Simon. Guthrie's car was powered by a 159 cubic-inch (2.6-liter) four-cylinder Offenhauser engine capable of 820 horsepower with 23 psi of turbocharged boost. Now part of the McConnell Collection, Urbana, Ohio, it has been restored to its 1977 appearance as driven by Guthrie. Guthrie returned to Indy as a team owner in 1978, driving the ex-Bignotti team Wildcat/Offy. Despite a broken wrist that forced her to shift with her left hand, she posted an eighth-place finish, which was later reduced to ninth when the scorers claimed to have miscounted George Snider's laps.

Also competing in NASCAR, Guthrie scored top-rookie honors with a 12th place finish in the 1977 Daytona 500 (originally scored ninth but also later recalculated); and placed sixth at Bristol, which remains the highest finish for a woman in NASCAR's super-speedway era.

The highest finish of Guthrie's open-wheel career was a very credible fifth at Milwaukee in 1979. But open hostility against the very notion of a woman driver made it difficult for her to secure sponsors. She retired in 1983, having driven only 11 Indy-car races, but having blazed a trail that Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, and now Milka Duno have followed.

Janet Guthrie, the first woman in history to race at the Indianapolis 500, drove the Lightning in the 1977 race, her first year at the Indianapolis 500. Janet Guthrie qualified at a speed of 188.403 and finished 29th due to timing gear trouble. Janet Guthrie's Helmet and Race suit are on display at the Smithsonian, and she was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 27, 2006.

Janet Guthrie's 2005 autobiography, 'A Life at Full Throttle', is critically acclaimed.

The Lightning is powered by an Offenhauser Turbo capable of a 200-mile-per-hour speed.

Source - AACA Museum