The late race driver/journalist Denise McCluggage (Remembered in our Sept/Oct 2015 Issue) will probably be inducted into the Motorsports Corridor of Fame of America on March 8 and a traditional sports activities automotive that set the trailblazer on her motorsports path will probably be a part of the celebration.
The 1956 Jaguar XK140 credited with inspiring McCluggage’s racing profession lately arrived in Daytona Seashore and will probably be on show on the MSHFA, which is situated on the grounds of Daytona Worldwide Speedway, all through subsequent week’s two-day induction celebration, the whole thing of March’s Ladies’s Historical past Month and past.
The MSHFA’s bought out thirty fourth Induction Gala Introduced by Toyota Racing on the Shores Resort and Spa, March 8, will see McCluggage enshrined because the Class of 2022 At Giant inductee.
The once-lost, now-found Jaguar will play a particular position in honoring a unprecedented girl who broke gender boundaries with legendary attraction and benefit. McCluggage, who handed away in 2015, was nicknamed “Girl Leadfoot” by motorsports associates and affectionate rivals alike. At a time when girls weren’t typically allowed into racing pits or near any of the motion in sports activities dominated by males, McCluggage toppled gender boundaries by taking part within the sports activities she coated. She was a groundbreaking, award-winning journalist identified for her fearless ambition, unwavering tenacity and pure athletic capability.
A cofounder of Autoweek, she was the primary journalist to be inducted into the Automotive Corridor of Fame. McCluggage was additionally the primary girl to obtain the Ken W. Purdy Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism.
“Denise’s position in publishing and sustaining Autoweek, nee Competitors Press, throughout its infancy not solely stored the publication going, however performed an important position within the progress of sports activities automotive racing in America,” mentioned George Levy, President of the Motorsports Corridor of Fame of America. “That is the automotive that impressed all of that for Denise. “That is the automotive that made her wish to race, and we couldn’t consider a greater or extra applicable piece of motorsports historical past to have on show on the Motorsports Corridor of Fame of America for Ladies’s Historical past Month and past.”
“Denise was a pioneer and legend for her many skills – behind the wheel of a race automotive, sensible writing and pictures, and storytelling,” mentioned Lyn St. James, the 1992 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the 12 months and an achieved sports activities automotive driver who will current McCluggage for induction. “To have the ability to see this fabulous Jaguar that was one among her first racing automobiles come again to life is great. Denise was somebody who by no means let a problem go unmet. Guts and brilliance have been her mantra. It’s a nice honor for me to have the ability to assist induct Denise McCluggage into the Motorsports Corridor of Fame of America.”
Along with McCluggage, the MSHFA Class of 2022 contains:
- The designer of the 1965 World Champion Cobra Daytona Coupes, Peter Brock (Sports activities Vehicles)
- Document-equalling four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves (Open Wheel)
- The one individual in historical past to win NHRA Prime Gasoline championships as a driver and crew chief, Dick LaHaie (Drag Racing)
- The Davidsons & Harley, founders of Harley-Davidson (Historic)
- “The Henry Ford of race automobiles,” NASCAR builder Banjo Matthews (Enterprise)
- NASCAR cofounder and championship-winning crew proprietor Raymond Parks (Historic)
- “The Cat within the Hat” who has masterminded greater than 300 NASCAR wins, Jack Roush (Inventory Vehicles)
- Bike racing innovators who’ve gained NHRA drag racing titles, AMA Supersport and Superbike titles, two Daytona 200s and extra, Terry Vance & Byron Hines (Bikes).
For extra info on Ladies’s Historical past Month on the MSHFA, click on HERE.
