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Janet Guthrie To Appear At Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wis., May 11, 2005––Janet Guthrie, the first woman ever to
compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, will appear at Road
America on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15.
Guthrie will promote her new book, A Life At Full Throttle, and visit with
fans throughout the weekend during the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association
event. She will also meet fans at the free community Tailgate Party on
Saturday.
Janet Guthrie has a diversified background. She was a pilot and flight
instructor, an aerospace engineer, a technical editor, and a public
representative for some of the country's major corporations. During this time
she purchased a Jaguar XK 120 coupe, and began competing in gymkhanas, field
trials and hill climbs. She purchased a Jaguar XK 140 for competition in
Sports Car Club of America races and by 1972 was involved in racing on a
full-time basis. Along the way, she posted two class victories in the 12 Hours
of Sebring.
Guthrie had 13 years of experience on sports car road-racing circuits, and
building and maintaining her own race cars, before being invited in 1976, by
long-time team owner and car builder Rolla Vollstedt, to test a car for the
Indianapolis 500. That year, she also became the first woman to compete in a
NASCAR Winston Cup superspeedway stock car race. In 1977, she became the first
woman to qualify for and compete in the Indianapolis 500; she was also first
woman and Top Rookie at the Daytona 500 in the same year. She finished ninth
in the Indianapolis 500 in 1978.
Janet Guthrie's helmet and driver's suit are in the Smithsonian Institution,
and she was one of the first athletes named to the Women's Sports Hall of
Fame. She is listed in "Who's Who." She does extensive platform and
keynote speaking. Among her television credits are "James Michener's
Sports in America" and over a dozen appearances on "Good Morning
America."
Admission to the community Tailgate Party on Saturday, May 14, is free at Gate
2. Tickets for the SVRA event can be purchased at Gate 1. Road America is
located at N7390 Hwy 67, between Plymouth and Elkhart Lake. For additional
Tailgate Party and SVRA information, please visit www.roadamerica.com
or call 800/365-7223.
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