This is a true story from what I’ve read in a fine book called Forty Years of Stock Car Racing Volume 2 by Greg Fielden. Hickory Speedway in Hickory North Carolina is a legendary track that like so many tracks started out as dirt in 1951 and then was paved for the for the 1967 season. The track started out as a 1/2 mile dirt track and after being reconfigured a couple of times is now a 3/8 mile track. Ralph Earnhardt Father of Dale and Grandfather of Dale Jr. won 5 track championships there in the early days of the track. NASCAR Hall of Famer was a track champion and won 7 premier NASCAR series races there. Nascar Hall of Famers who raced at Hickory in addition to Johnson and Dale Earnhardt were Ned and Dale Jarrett. Premier series Morgan Shepard and Harry Gant raced there as well in their days of racing. Wanda Tallent raced Hickory in the “powder puff division for women drivers winning 18 of 20 races over a 5 year period ending in 1963. 18 of 20 in any sport is a pretty good average. One night the promoter decided to pull a surprise on Wanda and the fans. One of the tracks hotshot Sportsman dressed as a female complete with padding was entered in the powder puff race. The plan was the male driver would be caught in the winners circle and disqualified. The male driver was put at the rear of the starting field. Wanda who was not supposed to know abut the “stunt” found about anyway. Wanda went back there with the male driver because she didn’t want him saying he came from the rear of the field to beat her. There was only on problem. The male driver finished 2nd. Wanda won the race in what she called the hardest race she ever had. Many felt Wanda had the right stuff to move up and a man offered t o set her up in the sportsman division which would be the next step. NASCAR from day one had female drivers so Danica Patrick was nothing new. Female drivers Sara Christian, Louise Smith and Ethel Flock Mobley were all in some of NASCAR’s early premier series races. Mobley was a Sister to Tim, Bob and Fonty Flock all winners in the premier series. Ethel was actually after the premium gasoline of the time. Wanda turned down the sportsman offer for a couple reasons, I don’t know the #’s but she was Myopic or near-sighted and could not drive without her glasses. Another reason is Wanda who claimed she drove faster on the highway then the racetrack said the men were crazy. Wanda said she didn’t mind wearing glasses racing against women as she figure most of them drove with their eyes closed anyway.