Denise McCluggage
Encyclopedia
Denise McCluggage is an American
auto racing driver, journalist, author and photographer. McCluggage was a pioneer of equality for women in the U.S., both in motorsports as well as in journalism.
McCluggage spent her childhood in Kansas
and then graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mills College
in the Oakland, California
. She began her career as a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle
.
, the builder of the first American cars to race at Le Mans
. She bought her first MG TC sports car, and began racing at small club events. In 1954 she moved to New York to work at the New York Herald Tribune
as a sports journalist. The MG was replaced with a Jaguar XK140
, and she began to race professionally. As she began to drive professionally in the mid-1950s she earned the respect of her male counterparts. Her trademark was a white helmet with black dots. Her racing achievements included winning the grand touring category at Sebring in a Ferrari 250 GT
in 1961, and she scored a class win in the Monte Carlo Rally
in a Ford Falcon in 1964. She also participated in the 1000-km race at the Nurburgring
. She drove Porsches, Maseratis and other racing cars of many marques, often with her compatriot Pinkie Rollo. She ended her racing career in the late 1960s and eventually became editor of the U.S. automotive magazine AutoWeek
.
". McCluggage wrote an article that attracted the interest of a group of Broadway show-business people. McCluggage later authored a book called The Centered Skier, which mixed elements of Zen Buddhism and sports psychology in what became the foundation of approaches taken by the likes of the Sugarbush Ski School.
She was married for one year to actor Michael Conrad
, perhaps best known for his portrayal of veteran cop Phil Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues
.
She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
auto racing driver, journalist, author and photographer. McCluggage was a pioneer of equality for women in the U.S., both in motorsports as well as in journalism.
McCluggage spent her childhood in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and then graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
in the Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. She began her career as a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
Auto racing
In early 1950s San Francisco, whilst covering a yacht race, she met Briggs CunninghamBriggs Cunningham
Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...
, the builder of the first American cars to race at Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. She bought her first MG TC sports car, and began racing at small club events. In 1954 she moved to New York to work at the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
as a sports journalist. The MG was replaced with a Jaguar XK140
Jaguar XK140
The Jaguar XK140 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1954 and 1957, the successor to Jaguar's highly successful XK120. Upgrades included better brakes, rack and pinion steering, increased suspension travel and modern tube type shock absorbers instead of the older lever arm...
, and she began to race professionally. As she began to drive professionally in the mid-1950s she earned the respect of her male counterparts. Her trademark was a white helmet with black dots. Her racing achievements included winning the grand touring category at Sebring in a Ferrari 250 GT
Ferrari 250
The Ferrari 250 is a sports car built by Ferrari from 1953 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series included several variants. It was replaced by the 275 and the 330.-Similarities:...
in 1961, and she scored a class win in the Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
in a Ford Falcon in 1964. She also participated in the 1000-km race at the Nurburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
. She drove Porsches, Maseratis and other racing cars of many marques, often with her compatriot Pinkie Rollo. She ended her racing career in the late 1960s and eventually became editor of the U.S. automotive magazine AutoWeek
AutoWeek
AutoWeek is a fortnightly automotive enthusiast publication based in Detroit, Michigan. One of 32 titles published by Crain Communications Inc, its parent company, AutoWeek is unique as the only consumer title among its sister publications....
.
Skiing
In the mid-1950s, after a failed lobbying attempt to get the State of New York to develop a new ski area on Hunter Mountain, the original investor group contacted McCluggage, then a sports editor at the New York Herald Tribune. They told her they had a mountain to give away to any developer who would build a ski area called "Hunter MountainHunter Mountain (ski area)
Hunter Mountain is a ski resort located about three hours up the New York State Thruway north-northwest of New York City. It features a vertical drop....
". McCluggage wrote an article that attracted the interest of a group of Broadway show-business people. McCluggage later authored a book called The Centered Skier, which mixed elements of Zen Buddhism and sports psychology in what became the foundation of approaches taken by the likes of the Sugarbush Ski School.
Journalism
She holds both the Ken W. Purdy Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism and the Dean Batchelor Lifetime Achievement Award. She was presented a lifetime achievement award by the IAMA and is the only journalist to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Her weekly syndicated column called "Drive, She Said" appears in some 90 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. She is the author of a number of books including The Centered Skier and By Brooks Too Broad for Leaping (a collection of pieces from AutoWeek). She wrote the text to accompany Tom Burnside's photographs for American Racing: Road Racing in the 50s and 60s.She was married for one year to actor Michael Conrad
Michael Conrad
Michael Conrad was an American television actor.-Career:Conrad had a long acting career in television from the 1950s to the 1980s...
, perhaps best known for his portrayal of veteran cop Phil Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
.
She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
.