NASCAR has housed a host of gifted drivers within its banner. From Red Byron and Curtis Turner to Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr., there exists a clear through line by which stock car greats are molded.
That pathway still comes to pass in the present, too. Between Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and countless others, it's clear the ground that NASCAR's pioneers sowed remains as fertile as ever.
Men aren't the only ones to contribute to such a process. Woman drivers have also played a role in shaping NASCAR's rich history. The first NASCAR race — the 1949 Strictly Stock Series inaugural race — featured a woman: Georgia native Sara Christian. So, too, did multiple Daytona 500s, including the 2013 iteration of the race, which saw Danica Patrick kick off proceedings from the pole.
So, just what is the legacy of women on NASCAR racetracks? Here's what you need to know.
How many female NASCAR drivers have there been?
While NASCAR most certainly remains a male-dominated sport, there have been more than a few women who have made their mark across the scorched asphalt since the organization's inception in 1949.
At least 75 women have competed across NASCAR's top-three divisions — the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series. Seventeen have started Cup Series contests, including Christian, Patrick, Janet Guthrie, Louise Smith, and, most recently, Katherine Legge.
Women have also played pivotal roles in the various regional racing series that make up the American stock car landscape, with Robinson, Gracie Trotter, Manami Kobayashi, and Hailie Deegan all capturing victories on lower-level tracks.
Who was the first female to drive in NASCAR Cup Series?
The first woman to man the cockpit of a Cup Series ride was Sara Christian, who participated in the Strictly Stock Series' inaugural race, the first contest ever to be accredited by NASCAR, on June 19, 1949.
Christian, a Dahlonega, Ga., native, qualified 13th driving a Ford owned by her husband, famed team owner — and moonshiner — Frank Christian. She ran well through the first 37 laps of the race, but on Lap 38, she was removed from her chariot, replaced by pole-sitter Bob Flock, whose engine sputtered out earlier in the race. The car subsequently overheated, with Flock collecting a 14th-place finish in the process.
Christian tallied seven Cup Series races across a glittering two-year spell. She competed in the Cup Series' second-ever race, dueling with a series of notable jockeys, including Ethel Mobley, Louise Smith, and her husband.
Despite a relatively short career, Smith nabbed two top-10s. Her fifth-place finish at Heidelberg Raceway represents the best performance by a woman in NASCAR's top-flight.
How many female NASCAR drivers have won a Cup Series race?
No woman has ever captured a checkered flag at Cup Series level. Christian was the closest, securing a fifth-place showing at Heidelberg. Three women have nabbed top 10s in NASCAR's top circuit — Christian, Guthrie, and Patrick.
If you want to find a woman winner in a NASCAR-sanctioned series, you'll have to drop five divisions to ARCA Menards Series West. Deegan and Trotter picked up momentous victories in the regional racing scene en route to third-place point finishes in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Who is the most successful female NASCAR driver?
Christian, Guthrie, and Patrick each have compelling cases for the title of NASCAR's greatest-ever woman driver. Christian's case is bore out in the numbers — she scored a top-five finish and two top-10s in just seven races. She also finished 13th in the 1949 points standings, far better than both Guthrie and Patrick. For comparison, Christian's 13th-place showing was better than that of Buck Baker and Herb Thomas, both of whom were named members of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers List.
Guthrie was no slouch in her own right, tallying five top-10s across 33 starts. She competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 and was the first woman to lead a lap in a Cup Series race, and her sixth-place finish at Bristol in 1977 is the joint-best of any woman driver in the modern era.
Patrick, meanwhile, racked up 191 Cup Series starts, 158 more than second-place Guthrie. She sat on the pole at Daytona, lasted six years as a full-time driver, and cemented herself as a household name in the world of motorsport. She wasn't all that successful on the track — seven top-10s across 191 races isn't the most sterling of results — but Patrick was a seismic figure in the world of racing. She also had a bit more success in Xfinity Series, landing a 10th-place points finish in 2012.
So, who wins out? It's anyone's guess. On a rate basis, Christian and Guthrie performed better than Patrick, but the talent level of NASCAR drivers has undoubtedly gone up in the years since Christian and Guthrie's prime. Regardless, all three were vital figures in shaping NASCAR's ecosystem, both during their careers and into the future.