In the Indianapolis 500's 106-year history, only 10 women have entered the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Only nine have started the race, out of a grand total of almost 800 starters. Today, we’re going to take a look back through history to celebrate the 10 women who have entered the Indy 500.
Welcome to Women in Motorsport Monday, where we share the stories of the badass women who have conquered racing throughout motorsport history.
Janet Guthrie will go down in in history as the first woman to qualify for and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 — two feats she accomplished in 1977. Originally an aerospace engineer and pilot, Guthrie found her passion in motorsport in 1963. We can also thank Guthrie for breaking down the barriers that used to see women banned from Gasoline Alley and the pit lane at the Indy 500.
Desiré Wilson is the only woman to have entered both a Formula 1 race and the Indianapolis 500, though she failed to qualify in both instances. Her Brands Hatch win in the 1980 British Aurora F1 Championship also makes her the only woman who has ever won a “Formula 1” race (though it was an F1 race in name only). She found greater success in sports car and endurance racing.
When Lyn St. James entered her first Indy 500, she was 45 years old and had already had a successful business career. She took Rookie of the Year — the oldest driver to ever have the honor. She’s competed in endurance races around the world and, after retiring from driving, became a strong advocate for women in motorsport.
Sarah Fisher made her Indianapolis 500 debut at the tender age of 19 after getting an early start in quarter-midget racing and karting. While she never won an IndyCar race, she did place on the podium twice, which earned her the title of highest-finishing woman in American open-wheel motorsport until Danica Patrick’s later IndyCar victory.
Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing, in large part because her win at the 2008 Japan 300 makes her the only woman to ever win an IndyCar race. She’s also the highest-placing woman in the Indy 500. She found a fair amount of success in open-wheel racing before making the swap to NASCAR.
Milka Duno didn’t start racing until she was 24 years old, prior to which she had earned master’s degrees in organizational development, naval architecture, maritime business, and marine biology. While her Indy 500 outings were never massively successful, she holds the record for the highest finish for a woman in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
If there’s a car, Simona de Silvestro has probably raced it. Her impressive resumé includes American open-wheel racing, Formula E, endurance racing, the Bathurst 1000, Australian Supercars, and a stint as a test driver in Formula 1. In 2021, she made history as the driver for the female-forward Paretta Autosport team, which was designed to feature as many women as possible in all kinds of motorsport roles during the team’s one-off Indy 500 entry.
A driver of many names, Ana Beatriz (or Bia Figueiredo) was the first woman to win an Indy Lights race when she took a 2008 victory at Nashville Superspeedway. Her performance that year was good enough for third place in the championship, and it also helped her get four Indy 500 starts under her belt. Her biggest later successes came in Stock Car Brazil.
Unlike many of the other drivers on this list, Pippa Mann grew up on the European open-wheel ladder with Formula Renault before making her swap to Indy Lights and moving to America. She took one Indy Light win at Kentucky in 2010, but she was never able to land a full-time IndyCar ride. She’s recently found her stride in coaching and in endurance racing: At the 2021 24 Hours of Nürburgring, she and an all-female crew of Célia Martin, Christina Nielsen, and Carrie Shreiner took first in class.
Katherine Legge also got her start in Europe before making the massive jump to U.S. racing when her funding ran out. She talked her way into the first three rounds of the 2005 Toyota Atlantic Championship, and her win at the Long Beach season opener secured her a full-season ride, where she took third in the Championship. Her Indy 500 results were not earth-shattering, but she’s found her niche in IMSA sports car racing.