Legends: Louise Smith

It was the early 1940s and Bill France Sr., the eventual founder of NASCAR, was looking for a woman driver who might attract more women to his local track in South Carolina. Louise Smith had become legendary for outrunning the law in her hometown of Barnesville, Ga. And even though she had never set tire to a track, Smith finished third in her first race. “I was just born to be wild,” she once said. A year later, she borrowed her husband’s new Ford and said she was going on vacation. Instead, she drove to Daytona Beach, Fla., entered a race and wrecked the car. Despite her husband’s objections, Smith became a NASCAR regular. Seeing Smith as a bit of a novelty act, France sent her to Canada and the U.S. Northeast to draw more attention. Over a 10-year span, Smith made a name for herself by winning races — 38 events in all — and producing spectacular crashes with her aggressive style. On the circuit, driving against some of NASCAR’s early legends, she was dubbed the “Good Ol’ Gal” by the other drivers. But it wasn’t easy. “Then men didn’t like it to start with and they wouldn’t give you an inch,” she said in an interview with the Associated Press. Smith was a true barnstormer, running for $100 prizes and some extra appearance money. After retiring in 1956, she remained active in the racing community, helping at tracks and sponsoring cars. Smith was the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999. She died in April 2006 at age 89, but not before leaving an indelible legacy.