Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank is set to play Janet Guthrie — the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500 — in a new feature film based on Stephan Talty’s book Speed Girl.
Swank, who won Oscars for her performances in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby, and more recently starred in the Netflix limited series Away, will play Guthrie, the first woman to qualify at Indy 500, who also went on to race in the Daytona 500 as well.
Exciting news, but who will be playing Rolla Vollstedt? Seriously though, what Janet Guthrie accomplished at Indianapolis with limited experience was incredible. In 1978, she finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500, ahead of legends like Mario Andretti and Rick Mears.
As always, I’ll suggest the Dinner with Racers podcast, who interviewed Janet in 2016.
Michael Miller 