OK, so this year’s Indianapolis
500 won’t be run in the month of May. For many of us, however, May is more than
just a month – it’s a state of mind. So let’s still celebrate great cars and
drivers of the past anyway!
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Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Janet Guthrie finished 29th in her first Indianapolis 500 in 1977.
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30 Days in May: No. 27,
Janet Guthrie, 1977 Bryant Heating and Cooling Lightning/Offy. Janet Guthrie
was something of a retread rookie in 1977 after trying valiantly the year
before to make the race in a Vollstedt that was, to put it mildly, a bit long
in the tooth.
Updated equipment made a big difference for Guthrie the next year, as
she made the field comfortably on the last day of qualifying. Mechanical woes
doomed her to 29th place. She made the race the next two years, with
a best finish of ninth in 1978. It wasn’t until 1992 that another woman, Lyn
St. James, qualified for the 500.
Bryant has been a sponsor at Indianapolis since the furnace and the air
conditioner were invented (just kidding). Look for their logo on Tony Kanaan’s
car in August.
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