Women + Performance = History

I will openly admit something - at times it is downright bizarre where my ideas come from for this weekly blog. But that's the beauty of inspiration and innovation; it spawns creativity. I was going over some vintage drag racing pics from the 60's and early 70's this week and I happened to stumble upon an article from the Huffington Post about pre-World War II female mechanics. One thing led to another and somehow I arrived at today's subject. Sort of like loosely following Google maps while completely throwing caution to the wind.

When you think of women in automotive, what comes to mind? Possibly Mary Barra who made history in January 2014 when she became the first female CEO of a major automobile company (General Motors). Or maybe the World War II heroine of Rosie the Riveter? While she is primarily associated with making planes and tanks, who do you think made that equipment? Right - Chrysler, General Motors, Ford, as well as other companies - and they advertised the heck out of it. There are other historical landmarks just to name a few:
 - I don't know if Mary Anderson ever turned a wrench, but in 1902, she invented the first windshield wiper, adopting the idea from a device used on New York City street cars.
 -  Silent film star Florence Lawrence was another inventor. Around 1915, she came up with the idea of the first turn signal called an "auto signaling arm" that attached to a car's rear fender.
 -  According to the AACA Museum in Pennsylvania, Wilma Russey (pictured right) became the first woman to work as a taxi driver in New York and was also an expert garage mechanic starting in 1916.
 - By the mid-20's, high schools across the country, (like the one pictured above left in Washington D.C.), offered classes in automotive to students, both men and women. 

Let's look at those last two bullet lines - the licensed garage mechanic - or technician in today's speak. There's been a great deal of news lately about female mechanics. According to the American Auto Dealers Association, dealerships are hiring more female technicians that ever. Closer to home, my oldest daughter Meg (above left) is Head Technician at B.J's Automotive in Belfast Maine. She works closely with an apprentice technician named Mo (above right). While talking with them, one finds they have rather similar backgrounds. Both received their first taste of automobiles from a family member (in both cases, their Dads). Both attended the same college (at different times, however), after "taking the plunge" and getting serious about their future passions. Both have encountered a great deal of skepticism and ego BS from male counterparts prior to working at B.J.'s Automotive. Like other women throughout automotive history, they had to grow a thick skin. But as knowledge and experience grows, Meg and Mo are able to give back what they have learned. To their customers and especially to other women. They both love what they do, are good at it, are able to help as well as educate their customers about their cars, and work in an extremely supportive work environment thanks to owner Joel Knight, (as well as the three other people who help make things a cohesive whole - Matt, Jason, and Tracy). And that, my friends, is damn rare these days...

Now - what about women in performance, mainly racing? That's a slightly different kettle of fish. The first noted female race driver was Helle Nice, who raced numerous (and even won a few) Grand Prix's all over Europe during the 1930's. Fast forward to the mid-50's, England's Pat Moss, (pictured left) sister of Sir Sterling Moss who penned the incredibly sexist book, The Art Technique of Driving, was an phenomenal Rally driver. If there was an "Up Yours Gentlemen" award back then, she would have captured it hands down.

On this side of the pond, even though NASCAR as well as the NHRA openly invited women to participate as drivers, the first major rumblings didn't occur until the mid 60's and gained speed during the 70's when our society experienced that major pendulum swing from uber-conservative to rather liberal. Probably two of the most well-known drivers were Shirley Shahan and Shirley Muldowney. Shahan was solely Super Stock drag racing (except for her running and winning the 1968 running of the Mobil Economy Gas Run) who got her start in 1953 and blew the doors off many a competitor until 1972, driving for Chevy, Plymouth, and finally AMC.

Muldowney (pictured left) began street racing in New York back in the mid 50's, entered her first drag race at 18 in 1958, received her NHRA pro license in 1965, and has become the winningist female race driver in any aspect of the sport. Most of her career was in top fuel dragsters, although she did dabble in funny cars for a few years in the early 70's.
A third, but less well known racer of note, was one of the first African-American drivers who was also an independent racing company owner. Nellie Louise Goins, aka "Nitro Nellie" drove a Plymouth Barracuda and later a Ford Mustang funny car predominantly in the early to mid 70's.

How about NASCAR? It wasn't until about 15 years ago, where multiple women have truly started to shine in this arena. The most visible female driver today is Danica Patrick. While some people say she has "sold her racing soul for sponsorship, advertising, and risque photo shoots", (some with near and covered nudity), she is one of the few drivers, male or female, that has successfully competed in Indy, Sprint, and NASCAR racing. She also has more top ten finishes than any other female driver.

One of the lesser known female drivers that deserves attention, is Lyn St. James (pictured left). She is one of seven women who have qualified for the Indianapolis 500. She also has two victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona, another win at the 12 Hours of Sebring and competed twice at the 24 Hours of LeMans. This author has to give kudos to her based on the types of cars she drove especially in the late 70's - here she's sitting on the fender of a Porsche 917. A car, that almost every driver claims, is so fast, twitchy, and difficult to drive, that full focus is needed 100% of the time. Lyn retired in 2001.

One of the last bastions to finally embrace women and performance

was advertising. One of the first to chip away at those barriers was Corvette. As far back as late 1962, GM realized that women were quickly becoming a serious buying demographic. This week I've included a classic ad for the completely redesigned 1963 split-window Corvette. The opening tag line says it all. By the end of the decade, all other manufacturers would fully embrace women as customers - not just a "go talk it over with your husband first" encounter.

Times change, people - embrace it. It's good for all of us.
Until next time, peace out.
Dave

Editor's note: Thanks again to all who help contribute to the writing of this article, including the staff at B.J.'s Automotive, Belfast Maine, and the AACA Museum in Hershey Pennsylvania.