by: Hope Player
Vicki Wood became “The Fastest Woman on the Beach” in 1960, when she set the track record for the fastest one-way run in the history of racing on Daytona Beach, and that record of 150.375 miles per hour will never be broken. Last Saturday, some of the beach drivers gathered at the restaurant located at the sight of the north turn of the beach course. The aptly named North Turn Restaurant has been a fixture in Ponce Inlet, FL since the days when the racers slid through the sand to reach the paved part of the track and run south on A1A. Pictures of drivers, cars, and wrecks cover the wooden walls and grainy black-and-white videos of the races play on screens around the restaurant.
Rendering Courtesy of Artist Bill Rankin
Mrs. Wood sat on a barstool, with her feet barely touching the foot rest, ready to tell her tales of the glory days of racing. She started racing in Detroit in the powder-puff category, where women race other women. The races were generally staged to draw the interest of the local crowds, but her skill and passion won her the notice of the male drivers.
“They invited me to run with them,” she chuckles. “They said they would rather have me out there with them than a lot of those other guys!”
And run, she did. In March 1956 at Daytona Beach, she drove a Chrysler 300-B and clocked the second fastest two-way run at 136.1 miles per hour, and she did it in the same car as Tim Flock, the weekend’s Daytona 500 race winner and reigning NASCAR Grand National champion, who turned a 139.4. Petite and feisty, her blue eyes twinkle as she tells about racing with and beating the men. She holds records at Daytona on the beach, at the Speedway and at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In the late fifties and early sixties, when television shows featured Harriett Nelson of “Ozzie and Harriett” and June Cleaver of “Leave it to Beaver” wearing pearls and heels as they vacuumed their home, Mrs. Wood was at the racetrack wearing slacks and a helmet, accessorized by a seatbelt in her car. What attracted her to the dirt, rubber and noise of racing? “I’ve always been an adrenaline junkie,” quips Mrs. Wood.
Women in racing have never been commonplace, but she followed a few trendsetters. When NASCAR, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, the sanctioning body, was formed in 1949, Sara Christian was the first woman to race, in June of that year in the inaugural event in Charlotte, NC. She and husband Frank were both drivers and are the only husband and wife driving team in NASCAR history. She was also the first woman inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame.
Louise Smith was a great driver and a great draw for the crowd. She was brought in by Bill France, the founder of NASCAR, and went on to win 38 modified races in 11 years. Called the “Good Ol’ Gal”, she is the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Ethel Flock Mobley, a younger sister in the legendary racing Flock family, enjoyed the sport of racing and beating her brothers. It’s said that she was named after the gasoline that her father used in his taxicab. She also started racing in the powder-puff category, but moved quickly into the professional ranks.
Women driving racecars today, like Danica Patrick, who sits on the pole in this year’s Daytona 500, or Ashley Force Hood who drives dragsters, (Editor’s note: Younger sister, Courtney Force raced to victory in Funny Car Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals in Pomona CA) owe the opportunity for their careers to these fearless, record-setting women. In a male dominated sport, these First Ladies of Racing competed at the same level, not from the red tees, like in golf. Danica was quoted as saying that she was raised to be the fastest driver, not the fastest woman driver. The first drivers obviously viewed the competition the same way.
They loved racing all of their lives and stayed involved in the sport even after they retired their helmets. Louise Smith owned several race teams in the 1970s, and was involved in the Miss Southern 500 Scholarship Pageant at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, SC. Vicki Wood retired from racing in 1963, but in 1993, she was a founding member of the Living Legends of Auto Racing Museum, the organization devoted to keeping alive the stories of the racers on Daytona Beach.
Mrs. Wood and the other drivers are the racing history of the once bramble-covered and rumored to be rattlesnake infested area that now boasts residential developments. At the event on Saturday, the community of Ponce Inlet, Florida sponsored the first lap on the beach since 1958, with several original beach race cars. A checkered flag waved in the breeze, and the beach access boasts a new gate emblazoned with the crossed black and white checkered flags. Racing has come a long way but is so important to celebrate its colorful roots in beach racing.
Vicki Wood Interview 2010 LLOAR
While watching the parade of cars on a blustery sunny Florida morning, you can smell the gasoline and hear the rumble of the cars hitting the potholes in the ruts in the sand. You feel the salt air that drenched their windshields as they drove at record speeds. The fans were so close that when conditions got bad the drivers often used them as landmarks to know where to turn.
So many of the drivers are known now only in the record books and biographies in halls of fame, but on that day at the North Turn Restaurant, Mrs. Vicki Wood sat on the stage and charmed the fans. (Editor’s note: Vicki Wood will turn 94 on March 15)
~Hope
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Hope, Thank you for a wonderful story and so well written. It made me feel like I was watching her get up on the wheel and tear down the beach throwing sand rooster tails.
Thanks Bill, I enjoyed meeting Vicki and listening to her stories. What a treat!
Thanks for the memories, Hope.
Shame that tv’s talking heads don’t read stuff like this. If I hear Mike Joy say Danica Patrick’s the first woman to win a NASCAR pole I’m gonna scream. How can he not know Shawna Robinson? Yeah in tv time is money but it takes less than a second to make it a correct statement by adding the word Cup. Thanks go out to folks like Hope who make sure history is put out there. Now we just need show producers to get the talking heads to learn it.
Judy, Hon. Mike knows Shawna, but listen closely to what he says. There is a qualifier. Danica is the first woman to win a pole in CUP. She is. There is no argument. Shawna’s pole at Atlanta was in a Busch race. The pity is, she never got to race it thanks to Mike Wallace.
I’m happy that you like Hope. I’m “hoping” we hear a lot more from her. She’s a little sweetheart, I promise you, and she writes beautifully, doesn’t she?
Oh, BTW, Mike Joy and all the rest of the TV gang know we are here and are more than welcome to join. Do they look down their noses at the older generation? Not for me to say, but something to think about. They didn’t used to. Someone must be rubbing off on them.
Yes ma’am I DO listen closely which is why I posted my comment
He doesn’t say Cup!
Then shame on him. I didn’t hear it myself, or I wound contact him and set him straight. If you heard it clearly, I hope you will do that. Shawna deserves recognition for a Busch Pole as much as Danica does for a Cup pole. We have had conversation on that here on site. Everyone here knows about Shawna. I can’t imagine that Mike does not. He’s no kid anymore either. (Yes, you may tell him I said so)
LMAO!! I just might do that!! I saw where a couple others sent him tweets about it too so hopefully it’ll sink in. I’m sure he knows, he’s just not doing a good job of educating those who don’t & we can’t let that happen, can we
Judy, that is the mission statement of this website, to keep the history of our sport correct and true as it’s passed down to the younger fans. The folks on TV seem to do a terrible job of that. You ought to come hang out here for a bit and listen to some of the things cited here that come from that source. It’s as though we’re talking about different sports. So sad.
Judy, I would love to see an interview with Vicki Wood, Danica Patrick, Shawna Robinson, Jennifer Jo Cobb, and Christmas Abbott (first female tire changer). I think they could bring down the house!
Oh that would be a hoot! Could the wish list include Stevie Waltrip? She was a HUGE part of DW’s crew…and Wendy Venturini’s mom & aunt, they were tire changers for the ARCA team & I think I saw Wendy mention a couple of Cup races. I think y’all came up with an AWESOME idea for a special or even a series. Pitch it to the folks at SPEED or FoxSports!!
One small note regarding Sara and Frank Christian being “the only husband and wife driving team in NASCAR history.”
Elton Sawyer and wife, Patty Moise competed in the NASCAR Busch Series together in the 90s.
I caught that too Dave. I’m “ass”uming she meant Grand National level, though it didn’t specify in this case. Please, don’t pick on the new kid. I want her back!
Not picking. Enjoyed the article thoroughly. I worked around Patty & Elton too much to let the incorrect statement stand, though.
Loved it! So good to see you in chat Tuesday evening!!
Thanks Devin.
For everyone leaving comments, thank you so much! I wish I could give you Hope instead of me. Truth is, something is amiss or broken in the Word Press program. I cannot add her to the list that assures she is notified when comments come in. Some guy named Jeff was going to fix that yesterday. Well…
Added to that, I’m not sure if Hope is in Florida, New Jersey or in-between. I emailed her about the problem but have not heard back. At some point, she will hear from me and come to answer you. I just have no idea when that point might be. Until then, please accept my thanks for making her feel welcome. Much appreciated.
~PattyKay
Great read!!! I really enjoyed it. I could see Mrs. Wood racing that car as I read the article. My Grandmother, who would be well over 100 yrs old now, had the same spunk that Mrs Wood has.
You don’t hear much about Vicki Wood these days. She was indeed an important pioneer. Thank you for helping keep the memory alive.
Hope: What wonderful memories you have stirred in me. You make it seem like it all happened yesterday.
I have been around racing for many decades. I enjoy your writing and hope you will continue to treat us with your knowledge and talent.
Deepest respect, God Bless
Hope, my dear girl, they love you, as I knew they would. Thank you for this one, and I look forward to many more. ~PattyKay
Oh thank you all so much for reading my article and providing feedback! I discovered RacersReunion last year at the event at Historic Columbia Speedway in Cayce, SC. I grew up a few blocks away from that track and was thrilled to get to see it. That day I met Tim Leeming, Jim Seay, Jeff Gilder, Devin, and PattyKay and they sparked my imagination about the history of the sport. We are lucky to participate this week in some of the events in Daytona and seeing Vicki Wood was a highlight for me. Walking the beach course and seeing the cars and the drivers was breathtaking. I plan to offer more articles in the future and hope to concentrate on the Historic Columbia Speedway and women in racing. And yes,I did mean the husband and wife team at the Grand National level. I wasn’t aware of Elton Sawyer and wife, Patty Moise until now. I enjoyed reading the article on RR about them. This is fun!
Keep ‘em coming, Hope. Here at RacersReunion we love learning about the past and remembering also what we thought we saw or remembered. Thank you for your contribution.
Great Article. Hope you really know your stuff! You need to write more often….I enjoy the read.
Hope, thank you for this fantastic article about my wonderful and inspiring grandmother, Vicki Wood. She paved the way for other women to pursue their dreams in a sport dominated by men. She also taught people to step out of the comfort zone and don’t let naysayers hold you back from what you want in life! : ) She’s a winner in every way!!
Sincerely,
Neil Wood, Hull, Mass. ~ USA
Neil, I’m thrilled that you responded to my article about your grandmother. I met her last year and was taken with her spunk and twinkle. I had to go back again this year to hear her stories and get to know more about her. I think she should be on the interview stage with Danica Patrick! She could share her tips to be successful and gracious with all of us! I know she has a birthday coming up so please send her best wishes from one of her new fans.
Hope
Hi Hope!!
I will wish my grandmother Vicki a happy 94th for you and me both!! I called her on Sunday to get her thoughts about the Daytona race. We watched the start together (even though she is in Florida and I’m in Boston) which was wonderful!!
She still has that sparkle in her eye and enthusiasm in her voice!! What a legend!! I’d love to see her get into the Hall of Fame!! It would be a dream come true for her!
Be well and live with Passion!!
Neil