Who was the first woman to race in the Daytona 500?

In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to race in the Daytona 500. Guthrie started 39th and finished in 12th place in the race, during which she was driving a Chevrolet. Other barrier-breaking women in NASCAR history include Danica Patrick, who won the Daytona 500 qualifying race in 2013.

Patrick tends to be most closely associated with breaking gender barriers in the world of professional auto racing, but she is not the first woman in the game. However, the list of women is short; other than Guthrie and Patrick, only one other woman, Shawna Robinson in 2002, has competed in the race as of 2015.