Nascar lists 16 women who have competed in at least one cup race from louise smith, sara christian and ethel mobley in 1949 to patrick. The women of nascar who was the first female nascar driver. It was a car owned by her husband frank, that she qualified in her first race. Sara christian ran six of the eight races in 1949 and one more in 1950. The fast and fabulous women behind the wheel of nascar. In the second official race, at daytona beach and road course, christian was joined by ethel mobley and louise smith, with mobley finishing first out of the 3, in 11th. Sara christian was the first female driver in nascar history, competing in the sanctioning bodys first race on june 19, 1949 at charlotte motor speedway. Although her career lasted just seven short races, sara christian makes this list solely for her contribution to breaking gender barriers in auto racing. Sara christian was the first woman driver in nascar. Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year. The nascar logo and driver images are owned and of nascar, respective nascar teams and owners. Atlanta native christian competed in the first nascar strictly stock race in charlotte in 1949. Long before women like danica patrick and jennifer jo cobb were getting behind the wheel of stock cars, we had women like sara christian setting the.
Sara christian was nascars first woman driver to qualify for a race. Sara christian nascar results, statistics and car numbers. Sara christian wasted no time when nascar started and competed in the very first race, held on june 19, 1949, at the charlotte motor speedway. Click on the site to see sara christians career results at that track glossary. Jan 12, 2018 nascar lists 16 women who have competed in at least one cup race from louise smith, sara christian and ethel mobley in 1949 to patrick. These women are trailblazers in every sense of the word. Get the latest race results, news, videos, pictures, win record and more for sara christian on. While the camera rolled, they shared their personal stories of hope and pain, trials and triumph, victory and defeats, desperation and transformation. May 3, 2014 sara christian the first female nascar driver. Sara christian 1918 1980 was the first woman driver in nascar history. Christians husband frank also drove in this race, making them the first and only husbandwife duo to ever race in nascar. Christian s husband frank also drove in this race, making them the first and only husbandwife duo to ever race in nascar.
Only two of the 114 drivers who attempted to qualify for an xfinity race last year. In the second official race, at daytona beach and road course, christian was joined by ethel mobley and louise smith, with mobley. Apr 04, 2017 sara was married to frank christian, who raced himself, and was involved in nascar as a car owner until 1955. The event at the charlotte fairgrounds speedway in north carolina is called the monster energy nascar cup series today. Christian competed in nascars first race on june 19, 1949 at charlotte speedway. Sara christian competed in the first ever nascar race and is the. To this day, her fifthplace finish at heidelberg raceway which, in 1960, became the first track to fall off nascars tour remains the only topfive finish for a woman in nascar. Click on the site to see sara christian s career results at that track. It could be years before the next female driver arrives in cup. Nascar 1949 archie smith denton north carolina history and. In 1949, sara christian drove in the first race at charlotte speedway.
Indeed, nascar driver blake koch is being persecuted for his faith. Jun 18, 2018 around,000 spectators turned up to the charlotte speedway to see 33 drivers, one of whom was female driver sara christian, complete 200 laps of the 34 mile circuit. R strictly stock, which is now the sprint cup, at the charlottespeedway located in the city of charlotte, nc. Apr, 2020 guthrie was not the first woman to race in nascar, either. On an early saturday morning in texas, five christian nascar drivers trevor bayne, ricky stenhouse jr. Sara christian competed in the inaugural nascar race at charlotte speedway she had bob flock finish the race. Christian competed in nascars first race on june 19, 1949 at charlotte motor speedway. Sara christian stats, race results, wins, news, record. Nascar has seen female drivers compete since the inception of its sanctioning body in 1949. Jan 31, 2020 sara christian was the first female driver in nascar history, competing in the sanctioning bodys first race on june 19, 1949 at charlotte motor speedway. The daytona 500, a famous nascar car racing event in florida, is set for feb. The ford performance prospect is on the nascar fast track. At langhorne speedway in 1949, christian would become the first woman to earn a top 10.
Sara christian without a brave woman like sara, we would not have danica patrick, johanna long or even jennifer jo cobb. She spent years working hard to become the worlds first female nascar driver. The fourth race of the inaugural nascar season, sara became the first woman to earn a top10 finish. She let bob flock drive car partway through the race after his engine expired on the 38th lap. Top 10 reasons nascar is better than f1 thesportster. Sara christian, pittsburgh, 1021949, 5th out of 23 cars danica patrick, atlanta, 8312014, 6th out of 43 cars. She continued to compete for the next two years, but her best finish came in 1949 itself when she finished fifth at the heidelberg raceway.
Christian competed in nascar s first race on june 19, 1949 at charlotte speedway. Sara was married to frank christian, who raced himself, and was involved in nascar as a car owner until 1955. Around,000 spectators turned up to the charlotte speedway to see 33 drivers, one of whom was female driver sara christian, complete 200 laps of the 34 mile circuit. Here are 10 of the best nascar drivers to hail from georgia. Select a nascar personality from the drop down menu below, or from the menu on the left of the screen to read their christian testimony. During the race, bob flock took over her car after his engine expired on the 38th lap. She raced in six of eight events in with her best finish being place at heidelberg raceway at pittsburgh, pa. Motor racing outreach christian testimonies within nascar. Driver sara christian 1950 nascar grand national results. Oct 26, 2019 sara christian you cant talk about female nascar drivers without mentioning the very first woman to join the ranks. From superstars like danica patrick to sara christian, nascar has a greater history of breaking down the gender barrier.
Sara christian race results in the 1949 nascar strictly stock series. Also of note, sara drove a car owned by ruby flock, who was the wife of bob, a fellow racer. Nascar 1949 archie smith denton north carolina history. She raced in six of eight events in 1949, with her best finish being 5th place at heidelberg raceway at pittsburgh, pa. She finished thirteenth in the points standings at the end of the race and won the united states drivers association woman driver of the year.
Sara christian was a participant in the inaugural nascar race at the charlotte speedway. Janet guthries remarkable top ten finish in the michigan 1977 sprint cup series was only the start of things to come. At its inaugural run in 1949, however, it was called the nascar strictly stock race, an event that included nascars first woman driver, sara christian, according to nascar. View sara christian gets set for the start of a nascar strictly stock now sprint cup race in 1949. Time for nascar to salute a driver far ahead of her time. Meet the wives and girlfriends of nascar cup drivers fox sports. Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Ronnie thomas is a former nascar driver who drove in the cup series from 1977 to 1989 and the busch series in 1982 and 1985. Draftkings name and logo used for promotion and identity of the draftkings brand. By 1949, she drove her ford at the charlotte speedway and finished at th place. Sara christian, born in dahlonega, georgia, in 1918, was the first woman to compete in nascar. Complete nascar career statistics for sara christian. Sara christian, pittsburgh, 1021949, 5th out of 23 cars danica patrick, atlanta, 8312014, 6th out of 43 cars sara christian, langhorne, 9111949, 6th out of 45 cars janet guthrie, bristol, 8281977, 6th out of 29 cars danica patrick, martinsville, 3292015, 7th out of. He drove the car until it overheated, and finished.
Trevor bayne people dont always listen to the spiritual promptings of family and friends. Driver sara christian 1949 nascar strictly stock results. Sara christian racing career profile driver database. Thanks to joe gibbs racing, harpoon design is proud to. Imagine being a professional nascar driver at a time where women were expected to stay at home and take care of the children. Christian participated in the first nascar race hosted at the charlotte speedway in june 1949. Nascar has seen varying levels of participation by female drivers throughout its ranks since the sanctioning bodys inception in 1949. Guthrie was not the first woman to race in nascar, either. Topten finishes by a female driver in the nascar cup series. She gave up her car in midrace to a man when the engine failed in. She competes in the nascar camping world truck series and the nascar xfinity series. Since 2002, she started nine times in the arca racing series and had three toptens in 2004. Sara christian drove in nascars first strictly stock race in 1949.
Female nascar drivers who changed racing daily driver by. Cobb isnt just one of the best female nascar drivers, but shes also a team owner. Patricks 190 career cup starts are more than the other 15. Sara christian competed in the first ever nascar race and. Christian, ethel mobley and louise smith competed in the second official race in daytona with mobley finishing ahead of the other two female racers and at 11th overall. Dec 21, 2019 the event at the charlotte fairgrounds speedway in north carolina is called the monster energy nascar cup series today. Sara christian competed in the first ever nascar race and is. Sara was 31 years old and completed the race in the 14th place out of 33 drivers. Cobb started racing back in 1991 with her father, joe cobb. Aug 17, 2015 these women are trailblazers in every sense of the word. Nascar s first race, held at charlotte speedway on june 19, 1949, featured drivers such as lee petty, buck baker and the flock brothers. She continued to compete for the next two years, but her best finish came in 1949 itself when she finished fifth at the heidelberg.
Includes every race start and finish along with dozens of statistical facts for sara christian nascar. The drivers filed in one after another for their interviews. By the time her second race came around, christian was driving amongst 28 other drivers, 2 of them being women. Sara christian sara christian was the first woman driver in nascar history.
Following californias royal purple 300, koch sat just 28 points out of the top 10 driver standingsbut he was forced to race with a blank car after losing his primary sponsor because of a. In fact, christians fifth place finish in 1949 is still the best finish by a female driver at nascars top level. She got into racing in 1948, and one of her earliest races was a powder puff derby at the newly constructed new atlanta speedway. Sara christian was the first woman to race in nascar, in 1949. Danica patrick and nascars 10 most notable female drivers ever. Christian nascar driver trevor bayne won the 2011 daytona 500.
Female drivers history and stats jayskis nascar silly. But if their idols told them to follow christ, they may just be inclined to listen up. Much thanks and appreciation goes to the nascar media group for providing statistical content, video, images and all kinds of nascar love. Jan 24, 2020 the ford performance prospect is on the nascar fast track. The 12 best female drivers in racing history sportsbreak. Nascar drivers share faith at daytona 500 charisma news. Sara williams christian august 25, 1918 march 7, 1980 was the first woman driver in nascar history.