One of the pioneering women of racing, Donna Mae Mims has passed away as 82 years of age following a series of strokes. Mims became known as the Pink Lady, thanks to her penchant for driving pink race cars. No novelty act, the Pink Lady was one of the top amateur racers in America through the Sixties, winning an SCCA National Championship in 1963 behind the wheel of her bugeye Sprite. Over the years, Mims raced a Triumph TR3, MGB, Corvair and Corvette, all pink with the words Think Pink across the back.
To those who might note the Corvair name as being a bit unusual would be interested to know that Donna Mae’s day job was at Yenko Chevrolet, home of the much sought after Yenko Camaro’s and Corvairs.
Not only was Donna Mae Mims a racer, but she was a hard core adventurer, taking part in Brock Yates’ original Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea memorial Run in 1972. Driving a borrowed limo, Mims and partners Judy Stropus and Peggy Niemcek failed to finish thanks to a high speed roll in Texas. They secured their place in pop culture when the 1981 movie The Cannonball Run featured Adrienne Barbeau as Mims in the comedy recreation.
Mims favorite car was her pink Corvette and she was very active with the Corvette owner’s clubs. She loved the Corvette so much that she had asked that her viewing take place with her in the driver’s seat. Visitors to the funeral home will parade their own Vettes to a reception.
To read the full obituary and get details on this weekend’s visitations and Corvette parade visit the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Photo above courtesy of Steeltown Vette
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I remember her well from Sebring. Auto racing has lost a great one and a pioneer for women’s involvement in the sport. She will be missed. BTW, when she was at her peak the folks at Daytona would not allow women into the hot pits at stock car events. The times have changed thanks to people like Donna.
From all I have read about her I bet she was a lot like Bud…. A wild ride in tha hay.
Did I say that? Must have been a computer glitch. lol
You sir are a bad, bad man. funny, but bad!
She really was a knock-out.
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?q=Donna+Mae+Mims&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDonna%2BMae%2BMims%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8&imgurl=e78d30f6fbe36d8b
Donna Mae Mims was lured to Mosport in the mid-sixties for some sort of promotion, and a deal was struck with a local BMC racer to have his car, an MG Midget I think, repainted pink for her to run that weekend. The car DNFd, but she was taken to be pretty nice, and nicely pretty. At that New Year’s eve party, sometime around 10:15, or so, having well imbibed some golden liquid or other, in just sufficient quantities, my friends & I were talking about her appearance that summer, and I suggested it would cement Canada-US automotive relations if we were to call to wish her a Happy New Year. Egged on by “you wouldn’t dare”, I looked up the area code for either Pennsylvania or Pittsburgh, dialed xxx-555-1212 for the long distance info operator, and GOT HER NUMBER! She was listed JUST LIKE AN ORDINARY PERSON! I dialed. She answered. “Donna Mae Mims”, or, perhaps, just “Donna Mae”. I said something like “My goodness, Donna Mae, what are you doing at home on New Year’s Eve?”, and she replied something along the lines of “Well, I’m just a quiet girl, you know”. I introduced myself as a Canadian mini driver, told her we’d been discussing her recent appearance at Mosport, and finished by saying we had enjoyed same, and that we all wished her a happy New Year, which the whole room repeated, and not sotto voice. She said she wished us all the same, and said a quiet “Good night”.
A sort of silly, drunken thing that one does in their youth, but I treasure the memory.