Louise Smith was a successful NASCAR driver from its earliest days, who has become part of the legend of the series.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, 1916, she made her NASCAR debut at Daytona in 1949, although had driven in some local, informal races before that.
Her driving style was aggressive and she often crashed, endearing her to spectators. Her nickname was “The Good Ol’ Gal” and she became the subject of NASCAR legends; it has proved impossible to work out which stories about her are true. For example, she is supposed to have come third in her first race, but failed to stop at the chequered flag, because the team owner had told her only to stop in the event of a red flag. She may also have destroyed her husband’s car in a beach race during her first competition. Neither of these was the 1949 Daytona event, although some reports say that she did flip her car during that race, only to be helped by spectators and carry on. Some sources suggest that this happened in 1946.
Other rumours abounded about her background, with some claiming that she was a moonshine runner who could drive faster than all of the local police.
A newspaper report from May 1950 claims that she “became a driver only last winter”. Searches of newspaper archives bring up nothing from before 1949, so this could be the truth. Other reports suggest that she started racing a little earlier, perhaps in 1948.
Evidence comes from before Daytona in 1949, she was recorded as entering a ladies-only race at Greenville Speedway with her “student” Barbara Peigler in two cars. Barbara had apparently been taught to drive by Louise and was having her first race. This does suggest that Louise had been driving for longer than a couple of months.
She won 38 races during her seven-year career, taking in most of the NASCAR categories, including Grand Nationals (now the Sprint Cup). Most of her wins (28 of them) came in the Modified class. She did eleven Grand National races between 1949 and 1952, with a best finish of 16th at Langhorne in 1949. Langhorne was later described as her favourite track. This was one of three races she entered that year, normally competing against either Sara Christian or Ethel Flock Mobley as well as the male drivers of the time. Both of these women were also present at Greenville when Louise and Barbara raced there, along with Sara Christian’s sister, Mildred Williams. NASCAR’s founder, Bill France, was keen for the three women to race as it was good publicity for his fledgling series.
She never ran even close to a full Grand National season, with 1950 being her biggest campaign. She entered six rounds, qualifying for all except Darlington and finishing two. Both of these were 19th places, at Dayton and Hillsboro. Her second Daytona start ended in a first-lap crash.
After not racing in 1951, she did three races in 1952, but did not finish any of them, two due to mechanical problems and one due to her falling ill early in the race itself at Morristown.
Among the other drivers she raced were Buckshot Morris, Lee Petty, Curtis Turner and Bob and Fonty Flock, Ethel Flock Mobley’s brothers.
As well as mixed events, she often raced against other women. In 1954, she travelled to Knoxville, Tennessee and took on local drivers Mildred Beets and Joyce Gunter, among others. At the time, she was described as “the 1953 Southeastern States women’s stock car champion.” She travelled widely during her career, racing in the northern and eastern states.
This part of her racing life is not particularly well-documented, as her novelty value had worn off somewhat by now and Bill France was no longer promoting her.
Her career ended very suddenly in 1956. She had just finished a race at Bronx, New York and was on her way to Daytona when her husband decided to “rededicate himself to the Lord” with the help of a local preacher. After speaking to her husband and the preacher, Louise decided to follow suit and pulled out of the Daytona event.
After a long period away from motorsport completely, she returned as a car owner in 1971, continuing for some years. She also oversaw the beauty contest attached to the Southern 500 race. The drivers who used her car included Ronnie Thomas in 1978, the year he won Rookie of the Year. While she was racing, she often ran a car for another driver at the same time.
She died of cancer in 2006, aged 89.