This Day in History: May 22, 1977

Today in 1977 the first woman qualifies for the Indy 500.


Guthrie failed to finish the 1977 race due to mechanical troubles. The next year, however, she not only finished the race but landed in ninth place, a remarkable achievement considering her meager race funding. Guthrie explains her career beginning as the result of her passion for adrenaline rush and the purchase of her first sports car. "I've always loved adventure," she said. "I went parachuting when I was 16, and got my pilot's license when I was 17. I went to school for physics... and when I got out of school I bought a Jaguar, from my $125-a -week salary and my superb sense of moderation." After 13 years of racing, Guthrie's break came when she was asked to test a car at Indy. Her participation brought her immediate fame. Many men objected strongly to her driving at Indy. "The alarm and commotion took me by surprise," she said. "The woman part of my participation was irrelevant to anything on the track. But people thought we were plotting a revolution... they said women will endanger our lives." Guthrie responded to the criticism simply by racing the best she could. "In racing there is no room for a readout from your nervous system. Your body becomes part of the machine." Guthrie gave up her dream of becoming an Indy Car driver for financial reasons, which she cites as a major obstacle to women becoming involved in the sport. "Drag racing gets more women because it costs about a tenth of Indy Car racing. It's a very expensive sport. I managed to make do with $120,000 I got from Texaco, but most drivers have between two and three million dollars to work with."

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This Day in History: April 17, 1964

This day holds a special place in every Ford fanatics heart. On this day in 1964, Ford introduced the Mustang to the world on the first day of the New York World's Fair in Flushing, Queens.


A new wave of muscle cars was born with the pony. Originally designed as a two seater, Ford's General Manager, Lee Iacocca, realized that what would really sell is a muscle car that can be used for something more. The Mustang brought in 22,000 sales in its first day on the showroom floor and one million cars were on the road by Mustang's 2nd birthday!

The Mustang was so successfully marketed, thanks in part to its introduction at the World's Fair, that it became one of Ford's best-selling models of all time. Ford profits soared after the release of the Mustang. Another of Iacocca's Mustang-related innovations was a new strategy of marketing upgrade packages for the car. On this day in 1965, a year into the Mustang's lifetime, Ford introduced the GT Equipment Group as an option on the Mustang, creating the first Mustang GT. Iacocca commented on the success of the package, "People want economy so badly they don't care how much they pay for it." The base price for the Mustang was a skinny $2,368, but buyers purchased an average of $1,000 worth of options.


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