World’s Fastest Woman Driver (Mar, 1949)
If she drives so fast, why would anyone be tempted to scream “Woman driver” at her? Or did people just scream that every time they saw a woman driving a car?
World’s Fastest Woman Driver
NEXT time you feel the urge to yell “Woman driver” at that car in front of you, think it over. It might be Mrs. Richard L. Winton, one of the world’s greatest woman drivers.
In her hot rod, “Drool,” the decorative Mrs. Winton (see photo above) has been officially clocked at 126 mph! Her sleek speedster is actually a 1941 Mercury hopped-up by Mel Ord, the famous race-car builder. He also designed the body which Frank Kurtis executed and constructed. Before it was finally completed the model cost over $10,000.
Mrs. Winton, who lives in Santa Monica, Cal., can hold her own with the hottest drivers on the track. And she knows what’s going on under the hood, too.
Why did she name the car “Drool?” Because, she says, that’s what most people do when they see it whipping along the California highways.
Yes, men did yell “woman driver” at any woman driving, because women were supposed to be bad drivers who should not be on the road in the first place.
Even in the 1970s the Guinness Book of World Records’s listing of the “worst driver” put the fact that the driver was male in bold and italics, as if this were something to barely be believed.
Mrs. Richard L. Winton does not seem to have a name of her own.
I still yell that whenever I see a woman driver. It gets me some strange looks.
I often get the urge to yell that myself, but refrain due to the fact that most of the people I drive around pack heat…
I wonder… Had the driver been a man, would they have had him pose next to the car in a Speedo? It’s really kinda sad that she had to show off her body to get recognition for a driving accomplishment.
The auto bears quite a resemblance to a Jaguar XK-150.
http://images.google.co…
I have a hunch that Mrs. Winton was happy to show off her body. She doesn’t look like the shrinking violet type to me.
“In her hot rod, “Drool,” the decorative Mrs. Winton…”
I’ve never heard of a woman being described as “decorative”.
@Eli, think of what you are saying! I don’t think either gender wants a world of naked men in sports cars.
Repack Rider said: “Mrs. Richard L. Winton does not seem to have a name of her own.”
Comment by Repack Rider — March 17, 2009 @ 2:29
Charlie you are a man after my own heart. i was thinking the same thing. tried finding something that would identify her by her name and came up empty. i know her accomplishment was 60 years ago, but i wish that someone at the time had acknowledged her by her own name.
PS: your knots are great