Donna Mae Mims
Encyclopedia
Donna Mae Mims was an American race car driver. She was the first woman to win a Sports Car Club of America
(SCCA) national championship. Mims won the SCCA Class H championship in 1963. She was known as the "Pink Lady" of racing because she wore a pink racing helmet and coveralls and had the phrase "Think Pink" emblazoned on the back of her pink racing cars. Mims also competed in the fourth (and last) running of the Cannonball Run
race in March 1979.
in 1945. In the 1950s, Mims worked as an executive secretary at Yenko Chevrolet
in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
.
Mims became a regular participant in the Cumberland National Sports Car Classic in the 1960s. She finished second to Frank Nagle of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, in the Lions Club Trophy race at the Cumberland Municipal Airport in 1963.
In 1963, Mims won the Sports Car Club of America national racing championship driving a pink Austin-Healey 1959 Bugeye Sprite
that once had belonged to Dr. Jonas Salk
. She won the 1963 Class H championship after competing in ten sanctioned races in her Austin Healey Sprite. She placed first in two of the ten races, placed second three times. In the twenty year history of the Sports Car Club of America to that point, Mims was the first woman to win a national racing championship.
Mims became known as the "Pink Lady", because most of the automobiles in which she raced were painted pink. Her cars included the pink Austin-Healey in which she won the championship and a pink Corvette, Corvair, Triumph TR3 and MGB. In 2009, Mims told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "On the back of most of my cars I had 'Think Pink' ... I liked pink ever since I was a little girl." In 1964, the UPI ran a feature story on Mims, noting that the "Pink Lady" not only drove a pink car, but wore a pink helmet and pink coveralls. The feature story continued:
Mims continued to race automobiles for 12 years. In 1969, Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith
wrote a column about Mims when she visited the Los Angeles auto show. Mims described her pre-race rituals to Smith:
She told another reporter, "A lot of the male drivers think I'm out there to prove that I can beat them because they're men. That isn't so. They claim that I sometimes charge into the corners, cutting them off. I don't mean to. I'm just trying to win."
, an illegal road race better known as the "Cannonball Run" from the East Coast of the United States to the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. Mims was part of an all-female team in the Cannonball Run with teammates Judy Stropus and Peggy Niemcek. The women were sponsored by "The Right Bra", drove a 1968 Cadillac
limousine
, and wore tight-fitting shirts and pants and no bras. Mims later recalled being pulled over during the famous race:
Mims and her teammates did not finish the race, as their vehicle was totaled when one of the other drivers lost control of the vehicle in the middle of the night and crashed near El Paso, Texas
. The car overturned, and green fluid from the porta-pottie covered everything. Mims was portrayed by actress Adrienne Barbeau
in the 1981 film
about the race, The Cannonball Run.
After a 14-year racing career, Mims volunteered with the SCCA
, working for many years at the starting grids at races including the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
and Championship Runoffs.
. She requested that her body be seated in the driver's seat of a 1979 pink Chevrolet Corvette
for visitation at her funeral. Some 60 Corvettes were expected to participate in her funeral procession.
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
(SCCA) national championship. Mims won the SCCA Class H championship in 1963. She was known as the "Pink Lady" of racing because she wore a pink racing helmet and coveralls and had the phrase "Think Pink" emblazoned on the back of her pink racing cars. Mims also competed in the fourth (and last) running of the Cannonball Run
Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, if not outlaw, automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien, CT, on the US Atlantic coast, to Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles...
race in March 1979.
Early years
Mims graduated from Dormont High School in Dormont, PennsylvaniaDormont, Pennsylvania
Dormont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 8,593 at the 2010 census and is the most densely populated municipality in Allegheny County. Dormont is a home to a diverse population including young professionals,...
in 1945. In the 1950s, Mims worked as an executive secretary at Yenko Chevrolet
Yenko Chevrolet
Yenko Chevrolet, located in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was one of largest custom muscle car shops of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Don Yenko, son of the dealership founder, first sold specially ordered and equipped Corvairs in 1965 through 1967 as the Yenko Stinger.-History:In 1966, Don Yenko was...
in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802....
.
Automobile racing
She and her husband purchased a fuel-injected Corvette and developed an interest in automobile racing. The Yenko dealership had a division involved in automobile racing, and in 1960, Mims started racing cars with friends from Yenko. She quickly became one of the top amateur race car drivers in the country. She won her first race in 1960, driving her Corvette at the B Production race at the Cumberland National.Mims became a regular participant in the Cumberland National Sports Car Classic in the 1960s. She finished second to Frank Nagle of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, in the Lions Club Trophy race at the Cumberland Municipal Airport in 1963.
In 1963, Mims won the Sports Car Club of America national racing championship driving a pink Austin-Healey 1959 Bugeye Sprite
Austin-Healey Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car which was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, just before that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to...
that once had belonged to Dr. Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk
Jonas Edward Salk was an American medical researcher and virologist, best known for his discovery and development of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. He was born in New York City to parents from Ashkenazi Jewish Russian immigrant families...
. She won the 1963 Class H championship after competing in ten sanctioned races in her Austin Healey Sprite. She placed first in two of the ten races, placed second three times. In the twenty year history of the Sports Car Club of America to that point, Mims was the first woman to win a national racing championship.
Mims became known as the "Pink Lady", because most of the automobiles in which she raced were painted pink. Her cars included the pink Austin-Healey in which she won the championship and a pink Corvette, Corvair, Triumph TR3 and MGB. In 2009, Mims told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "On the back of most of my cars I had 'Think Pink' ... I liked pink ever since I was a little girl." In 1964, the UPI ran a feature story on Mims, noting that the "Pink Lady" not only drove a pink car, but wore a pink helmet and pink coveralls. The feature story continued:
"It's easy to see why men chase after Donna Mae Mims. She's a delightful blonde with an intriguing smile, well-shaped figure and a laughing sense of humor. And much like most other members of her sex, she delights in leading men a merry chase. Only trouble is, Donna Mae doesn't want to get caught. For it's a double life Donna Mae leads, and when she isn't sitting at a secretary's desk she's pursuing her career as 'the pink lady of racing.'"
Mims continued to race automobiles for 12 years. In 1969, Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith
Jack Smith (columnist)
Jack Clifford Smith was a journalist, author, and newspaper columnist who wrote about Los Angeles during its period of greatest growth and increasing influence...
wrote a column about Mims when she visited the Los Angeles auto show. Mims described her pre-race rituals to Smith:
"I psych myself. I remove all my makeup. I think stern. I bristle. I don't talk to anybody. You cannot think nice. Chivalry is dead on the racetrack. You're out there only for one thing. To win. Nobody remembers second place."
She told another reporter, "A lot of the male drivers think I'm out there to prove that I can beat them because they're men. That isn't so. They claim that I sometimes charge into the corners, cutting them off. I don't mean to. I'm just trying to win."
Cannonball Run
In March 1979, Mims participated in the last running of the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy DashCannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, if not outlaw, automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien, CT, on the US Atlantic coast, to Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles...
, an illegal road race better known as the "Cannonball Run" from the East Coast of the United States to the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. Mims was part of an all-female team in the Cannonball Run with teammates Judy Stropus and Peggy Niemcek. The women were sponsored by "The Right Bra", drove a 1968 Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
, and wore tight-fitting shirts and pants and no bras. Mims later recalled being pulled over during the famous race:
"Most memorable is the ticketing event in the wee dark hours as we were pulled over by a Barney Fife look-a-like who claimed he'd been chasing us for 15 minutes at 115 miles per hour. No bribe could corrupt this pure-hearted Don KnottsDon KnottsJesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
, and we were doomed to follow him to the magistrate."
Mims and her teammates did not finish the race, as their vehicle was totaled when one of the other drivers lost control of the vehicle in the middle of the night and crashed near El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. The car overturned, and green fluid from the porta-pottie covered everything. Mims was portrayed by actress Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
in the 1981 film
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
about the race, The Cannonball Run.
After a 14-year racing career, Mims volunteered with the SCCA
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
, working for many years at the starting grids at races including the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Founded in 1982 and first run on September 3, 1983, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is a vintage motor sports car race and multi-day motorsport festival that takes place annually in mid-July in Schenley Park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
and Championship Runoffs.
Death and funeral
Mims died on October 6, 2009 of complications from a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. She requested that her body be seated in the driver's seat of a 1979 pink Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
for visitation at her funeral. Some 60 Corvettes were expected to participate in her funeral procession.