Janet Guthrie

Guthrie's racing career did not end the way she wanted. Without adequate sponsorship, she did not have the money to continue. "I didn't quit willingly, and I didn't accomplish what I felt I could," she told Boule of the Oregonian.

Few women have replicated Guthrie's racing success. She points to several reasons for this—the big money corporate sponsorship the sport requires, a male network that discourages women's participation, and a persistent attitude that women don't have what it takes to race.

Guthrie argues that corporate sponsorship is still not as available to women as it is to men and remains the biggest reason women have made little progress in the sport. As for the idea that women lack the ability, in 1987 she told Dodds of the Los Angeles Times, "Women just can't do it? Horsefeathers. I find that highly offensive." She is armed with examples from different sports to illustrate her contention that women possess the skills, stamina, and courage to compete with men.

Attitudes among drivers, however, have shifted over the years, partly because Guthrie's success in breaking the gender barrier has made women racers more acceptable. For example, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Sr., who spoke out against Guthrie's 1977 appearance at Indy, is mentoring twenty-two-year-old driver Sarah Fisher. In 1999, Fisher became the youngest woman to compete in an Indy event.

Guthrie now lives in Colorado, with her husband of thirteen years. She completed the manuscript chronicling her racing days, Lady and Gentlemen, and is seeking a publisher. Guthrie still loves the sport and follows the progress of up and coming drivers, especially the women. She travels and gives speeches extensively. She's also active in the arts.

Guthrie's helmet and driver's suit are in the Smithsonian Institution, and she was one of the first inductees into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. Even though her last major race was more than twenty years ago, her pioneering influence remains. When Guthrie got Sarah Fisher's autograph during a 2002 visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Fisher wrote, "To Janet, my idol."