Mrs.
Louise Smith: First Lady of NASCAR
Who
was Louise Smith, the first lady of NASCAR? What led
to her success in a sport that had been, and in many
ways continues to be, dominated by men? Very limited
information about Smith is available, but a careful
examination of that information gives us a clear indication
of her mettle and her drive as a person and as the
“First Lady of NASCAR.”
Smith
as an Opportunity-Seeker
In 1946, when NASCAR was in its infancy, race promoter
Bill France, Sr. needed a gimmick; something to fire
up and excite the local crowds. When he visited Greenville
asking if there were any women who raced, he was directed
to contact Louise Smith, who already had a reputation
as on of the fastest drivers in the region, one who
had “outrun every highway patrol and lawman in Greenville.”
Even though Smith had never even seen a race, she
agreed to run. They told her not to stop unless she
saw a red flag, but they forgot to tell her what the
checkered flag meant. After she circled the track
for a few extra laps by herself, race officials finally
remembered what they had told her, and waved the red
flag. In spite of her lack of experience, she finished
third in a modified 1939 Ford coupe.
Smith
as a Risk-Taker
Smith quickly became known for her tough racing style;
she could give as good as she received, and she held
her own against men who were often less than supportive
of a woman behind the wheel of a race car. She was
also know for her extraordinary crashes.
Her most famous crash occurred at Daytona when she
raced her husband’s brand new, maroon Ford. She borrowed
the car saying that she was going on vacation, but
once she arrived at the track, Smith couldn’t resist
entering the race. She wrecked the car, smashing the
roof in and rendering it nearly undriveable. She drove
it as far as she could, then left it with a friend
to fix. Once home, she told her husband, “That ol’
trap broke down in Augusta.” He then showed her the
newspaper with a picture of the wrecked car on the
front page. Oops.
At Hillsborough while learning how to broadslide a
car through dirt-track turns, Smith went airborne,
took out a few trees and had to be freed from the
vehicle with an acetylene torch. She had 4 pins inserted
in her knee and received an additional 48 stitches.
During a race at Mobile, Smith ended up sitting on
top of her car in the middle of the lake. And before
another race, fellow driver Buddy Shuman told Smith
to be careful not to drive through the house on the
top of the bank next to the track. The power of suggestion
won out; she lost control and gutted the house.
None of Smith wrecks surprised the family of mechanics
whom she had grown up with. She had always been drawn
to cars, and when she was first learning to drive
she crashed the family car into the chicken house.
Although Smith broke almost every bone in her body
during her career, she always gave racing everything
she had. “I was just born to be wild,” she was quoted
as saying in 1997. She and tried to be a nurse, a
pilot, and a beautician, but was unsuccessful at all
of them. Racing was the exactly what she needed and
wanted to do with her life.
Smith
as a Tenacious Winner
Although Smith never won a race in what is now the
top series, she won 38 races in various classes of
modified cars over a stretch of 11 years. First prizes
during the ‘40s and ‘50s rarely exceeded $150.00,
but Smith didn’t race for the money; instead she thrived
on racing all over the country and having fun doing
it. Still, she participated in 11 Cup events during
3 seasons, and placed between 16th-30th in most of
them: respectable finishes.
In addition, Smith raced anything that had wheels,
including Midgets, Modifieds, Sportsman, and Late
Model cars.
Smith’s
Induction into the International Motorsports Hall
of Fame
Louise Smith was the first woman to ever be inducted
into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. She
was inducted in 1999, a full 43 years after she quit
racing, at the age of 83. Following her own induction
as “one of the true pioneers of early stock-car racing,”
Smith was sure to support the women who came through
the ranks after her, attending the induction ceremony
for drag-racing legend Shirley Muldowney in 2004.
Louise
as a Continual Contributor
Although Louise Smith retired from racing in 1956
at the age of 40, she remained active behind the scenes
at the Darlington Raceway for the remainder of her
life. Through sponsorship of young, new drivers, and
through her involvement as part of the Miss Southern
500 Scholarship Pageant, Smith’s legacy continued
into the modern world of NASCAR.
After a battle with cancer and some time in hospice,
Louise Smith died on April 15th of this year. “Benny
Parsons, former NASCAR Series champion and now a TV
analyst, said Smith’s death was like losing a piece
of history.” But from where I stand, her spirit shines
in the eyes of young girls behind the wheels of motor
vehicles everywhere. Smith’s example- her life, driving,
and crazy tenacity- are reminders to women of all
ages that anything is possible if you want it badly
enough. So what’s it going to be? How badly do you
want it?
A
special thanks to the following sources for research
information about Mrs. Louise Smith:
-Jim
Peltz of the Los Angeles Times, article run April
24, 2006
-The
Associated Press, April 18, 2006
-Legends
of NASCAR
-The
Old Timers Racing Club
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BECOMING
A NASCAR DRIVER
Have
you ever wondered how they did it? How did the men
and women driving the race cars around American tracks
every weekend become Nascar race drivers? To the uninitiated
spectator, unfamiliar with the sport, it would seem
that they are just show-off playboys, flaunting their
money and spectacular toys. After all, how much talent
and skill could it possibly take to drive around in
a circle a few hundred times? Surprising to many,
it takes a lot; a lot of time, training, and resources,
as well as natural talent.
There
are a few common routes to driving in the Nascar circuit.
One is to be born into a racing family. This is not
an attempt to be encourage elitism in the sport, but
instead just a realistic fact. Just as children born
to police officers want to become police officers
and children born to doctors may want to become doctors,
so do race car drivers’ children want to drive race
cars. They are raised around the garages and tracks,
familiar with and comfortable in the lifestyle. Some
families that have made racing a multi-generational
pursuit include the Andrettis, the Allisons, and the
Pettys.
However, being born into a racing family, though an
easier route, is not the only way to break into racing.
Most professional drivers began racing at very young
ages, as early as five or seven years of age. Ken
Schrader began racing go carts attached to a pole
by a 20-foot cable in his back yard at the age of
three! Many Nascar drivers spent their childhoods
racing go carts and quarter midgets or motorbikes,
and worked their way up through street stocks, sportsman,
and late models during their teen years. All told,
by the time a typical driver enters the ranks of professional
Nascar driver, he or she has been racing something
for 15-20 years, logging thousands of miles on a variety
of tracks around the nation.
For many racers, the early years are sponsored and
financed by family and friends, sometimes with the
support and assistance of corporate sponsorship. It
is not uncommon for the driver’s skill to far surpass
the performance of their vehicle during the early
years. Often young drivers build their abilities and
fine-tune their intuition on the track by working
to overcome and compensate for the shortcomings of
their early vehicles. Natural talent in drivers is
evident from an early age, leading to contract offers
from the large racing teams such as Roush, Hendrix,
Childress, Joe Gibbs, and Dale Earnhardt Inc., as
drivers come of-age and show drive and desire to continue
racing.
Another
“way in” is to join a pit crew for a Nascar team.
The time in the garage, familiarity with the vehicles
and the way they are built, impromptu opportunities
to drive and race on the tracks increase the likelihood
that a crew member can break in as a driver. Terry
Labonte was picked up as a driver while working as
a crew member, and brother, Bobby Labonte, turned
wrenches for Terry before becoming a driver himself.
Sterling Marlin is a second-generation racer who worked
summers in his dad’s pit crew and drove transporters
(though underage) when he was 15 years old.
Most Nascar drivers do not have formal training in
driving race cars. There are driving schools around
both here, in America, and over in Europe, which some
drivers have had the opportunity to attend. But they
are the exceptions. John Andretti attended a driving
school in Belgium for formal instruction and Jeff
Gordon attended Buck Baker Driving School prior to
driving in Nascar races.
From those I’ve known and spoken to in various levels
and classes in the racing world, the best way to become
a driver is… just drive! Race something; race it often
and race it well. There is a belief among drivers
of all classes that racers are born, not made. If
it is in your blood, if it is your passion then you
have to pursue it. You really can’t help yourself.
When you have achieved the level of experience and
expertise to drive in a Nascar race, talk to all of
the owners, managers, pit crew leaders, and fellow
drivers that you can. The door will open… or at least
the window will… and allow you to climb right in there!
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