Some may think that Ms. Patrick, seen here in a blatant attempt to win more fans by using her sexuality, is the first woman ever to race in the Indy car series, but they are mistaken.
This is actually the first woman ever to race in the Indy car series, and she's also the first woman to have been in a NASCAR race as well:
Her name is Janet Guthrie and she never tried to use her sex appeal to win fans, she just went out and quietly broke the gender barrier in two of the most male dominated areas of sport. I remember her first Indy race, the 1977 edition of the Indy 500. I rooted hard for her to win but in the end she came up short, but in the long run she helped make the world a little better place by showing that women can compete with men in sport and in life in general.
Hillary Clinton owes Janet Guthrie a huge debt because she worked quietly but hard and earned everything she got, she didn't ride the coat tails of her husband all the way to the top. And Ms. Guthrie never thought that she was entitled to win anything because of who she was or who she had been married to, she knew that if she was going to win then she had to follow the rules and win fair and square.
12 comments:
Darling, don't you go harshing on my dear Danica!!!
I remember Janet Guthrie! She came on the Indy scene around the same time that Shirley "Cha-Cha" Muldowney started winning drag races.
I admire the fact that you still care about the primaries. I have to tell you, mentally I've checked out of the whole process now and just wish it was over. Other than going and casting a vote in November, I've pretty much checked out of the whole damn thing.
If I had thighs like that, I'd show them off too!
C.J.-If you had thighs like that I'd move to Kansas to see them.
Nice post, Monkey - thanks for giving JG her due. That Danica Patrick photo is not sexy - it's pornographic. She knows the market she's going for.
I like your comparison of Janet Guthrie and Hillary Clinton. It's really quite brilliant. I wish HC could see it. I don't know if she's capable of feeling shame, but if she is, that last paragraph should do it.
I really don't like any car racing, but I have to agree with you here, Monkey-Danica is putting herself forward as a sex symbol. (I don't think she's that great-too skinny!)Nobody remembers JG because she did it quietly. Yes-Hill really thinks she's entitled to the presidency!
I remember JG too. It was cool that she broke into pro racing. But your conflating JG with HRC is just BS.
First, if you knew anything about the Clintons, you would know that it was Hillary that made Bill, not the other way around. See, like JG, HRC was a tireless competitor in a man's game. But HRC didn't get the chance to break in until long after JG bowed out. Hillary has been fighting all this time.
If you honor JG, you should also recognize Hillary's accomplishments. Otherwise, you are blowing hot air.
worldwise-How idiotic of you to assume I was "confalting" HIllary with Janet Guthrie. Janet is much classier than Hillary who has shown there is no depth to which she will not sink in order to win the Democratic Party nomination.
Your assertion that Hillary "made" Bill is laugh out loud funny. If it were not for his being Gov. of Arkansas and then President we would have never heard of Hillary. And she certainly would never have been elected Senator in the state of NY if Bill had not been who he was.
Your final sentences show just how deranged you are. One does not have to "honor" HIllary if one honors another woman. Hillary is not all women and to put her in the same category as Janet Guthrie is absurd.
The whole point of this post, which you did not see because of your Hillary colored glasses, is that Janet Guthrie is more of a heroine than Hillary. Hillary had to rely on Bill to get to where she is, while Janet Guthrie is a trailblazer who did not expect anything to be given to her and who followed the rules.
One final note worldwise, I'm honored you created a profile just so you could comment on my blog. Go on and take the next step and write a blog of your own. That way you can't be a coward who only snipes at others, you can put your opinions out there for all to see and to read.
danica is a hottie, no doubt about that. and she can drive. but she does owe a huge debt of gratitude to JG.
of course i drove my first indy car in 1973 when i was but twelve years old. the car belonged to mario andretti and the track i took one lap around was laguna seca. :) so there. i'm a trailblazer too!
I actually met Janet Guthrie the first year she raced at Indy. I worked at the television station in Indianapolis that was the "official" Indy 500 network. We got to hang out in Gasoline Alley and in the pit area. I have some great photo's somewhere of Janet and her car.
She is a class act, and probably would have won if she could have secured the right sponsor. Back then, however, women weren't welcome at the track ... so her older car was held together with masking tape. Okay, not quite, but you get the picture.
I'll never forget her second race, where she finished in 9th place and it was later discovered she had a broken wrist. She drove 500 miles in pain, just to finish.
Fast forward 30 years, with NASCAR stealing the thunder from the Indy 500 and all of a sudden the guys are welcoming women drivers because they need them. Women bring people to the track again!
Danica Patrick is an excellent driver, and will one day win the Indy 500. She also would have decked the driver who cut her off in the pit area if the security team hadn't stopped her. Yes, some asshole man knocked her out of the race.
Sarah Fisher was also bumped from the race by a guy who didn't know what the hell he was doing.
Every woman owes something to the women who came before us ... including the little girls today who will benefit because of Hillary Clinton's courage to keep fighting.
And Worldwise is correct in saying that Hillary played a key role in her husband's career. They are a partnership. As is often the case, he got to go first ... but now it's Hillary's time.
Janet Guthrie had to face the sexism and misogyny on the track, the same way Hillary Clinton has had to face it from the media and so-called "progressive" blogosphere. I've had the honor of meeting both of these women, and they are BOTH class acts.
BAC
Janet Guthrie was a far better race car driver than Danica Patrick can ever hope to be. If Janet Guthrie had the kind of equipment that Danica enjoys today, she would have won races.
Did you know Guthrie finished 6th in the NASCAR race at Bristol, TN?
She held a BS in Physics from the University of Michigan. Danica Patrick is a high school dropout.
The two women cannot be compared because Guthrie was/is and will forever be, better than Danica.
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