(Richard Petty thinks so...) Petty: Racing not a sport for women May 26, 2006 A woman's place is -- well, Richard Petty didn't go so far as to say it's not behind the wheel, but he doesn't think it's first over the finish line, either. "I just don't think it's a sport for women," Petty, 68, told the Associated Press. "And so far, it's proved out. It's really not. It's good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity, it gives them publicity. "But as far as being a real true racer, making a living out of it, it's kind of tough." This isn't new. In her recent book, "Janet Guthrie: A Life at Full Throttle," the first woman to drive in the Coca-Cola 600 recalled the reception she got in 1976 (then the World 600). "When I shook hands with Richard Petty I thought I'd get frostbite," Guthrie wrote. "Later, he would be quoted as saying of me: 'She's no lady. If she was she'd be at home. There's a lot of differences in being a lady and being a woman.' " Petty has come to appreciate her efforts, and even though NASCAR would dearly love a Danica Patrick of his own, he's sticking to his guns. "His position is not going to change because that is who he is, that is part of who he is," said his son, Kyle Petty. "That's how he was raised, when he was raised, the era he was raised in." http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...S18/605260374/1066/SPORTS18&template=printart
It's one thing to sit in a car and drive... It's another to build a car, build a team, live in a garage improving your car, ... Women ain't got it ... Never had, never will The mentalitity of the poster is a good example of the source of all the confusion and stupidity I witness everyday... Common Sense is now considered Intolerant. Reality = Bigotry... The lunatics are running the asylumn.. This guy probably considers himself real "progressive", when most understand him to be nothing but a tool
Shirley Muldowney (born June 9, 1940 in Schenectady, New York), the "First Lady of Drag Racing" was the first woman to receive a licence to drive a top fuel dragster by the NHRA. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977 and again in 1980. She retired from racing after a crash in 1984 but returned to the circuit in 1998 when she set a NHRA speed record. Muldowney retired again after the 2003 season. In 2004, she was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990. Ranked No.5 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000.