Thursday, May 27, 2021

30 Days in May: No. 27, Janet Guthrie, 1977 Bryant Heating and Cooling Lightning/Offy

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Janet Guthrie drove in the Indianapolis 500 three times starting in 1977.
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 kindly, 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) and has been associated with Tony Kanaan in recent years.

No comments:

Post a Comment