Patricia Mernone
Patricia Mernone | |
---|---|
Born | 1940 |
Other names | Pat Mernone, Pat Young (after marriage) |
Occupation | Automobile racer, organic chemist |
Years active | 1960s |
Patricia Ann Lynn Mernone (born 1940) was an American automobile racer and organic chemist. In 1964, she became the first American woman driver to compete for a national racing title, when she drove in the first American Road Race of Champions.
Early life[]
Mernone was the daughter of Edward Mernone Jr. and Mattie Powell Mernone.[1][2] She was from Falls Church, Virginia, and attended nearby Annandale High School.[3] Her father was a rally driver and race track owner,[4] and he encouraged her to learn how to drive racing cars at Carroll Shelby's school.[5][6] She was a graduate student in chemistry at American University during her racing career.[7][8]
Career[]
Mernone began driving competitively in 1961, in Sports Car Club of America events. She worked with tuner and driver from 1962 to 1964, sharing the wheel of an Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite. Together the pair won the Class G Production category in 1963.[9] In 1963 she was also part of an "all-girl team" with Donna Mae Mims, driving a Renault Dauphine at Marlboro in Maryland.[10]
Mernone was the points leader that summer in the Class G Production category, and "the only woman driver of 200" entries in an event at Thompson Raceway in Connecticut, where she drove a Morgan tuned by van der Vate.[7] On the basis of her regional wins in the Class H Production category in 1964,[11] Mernone was invited to compete in the first American Road Race of Champions in Riverside, California, making her the first American woman driver to compete for a national racing title.[12][13]
In 1964 and 1965, Mernone and teammate [14] drove a Peugeot 404 together at several events.[5][15][16] She raced her Morgan again in 1965,[17] and won an event at Virginia International Raceway.[18] In 1966, she competed in a Formula Vee race in New Jersey.[19] She was an editorial assistant for the American Chemical Society[20] when she raced a Porsche 911 at Virginia International Raceway in 1967.[21] In 1969, Mernone was the subject of a portrait drawing by painter Norman Rockwell, now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.[12]
Personal life[]
Patricia Mernone married a fellow racing driver, Bill Young, who was also her father's business partner.[4][22] Patricia Young was alive and living in Canyon Lake, California, in 2002, when her stepfather Charles M. Kugel died.
References[]
- ^ "Mrs. Mattie Powell". Florence Morning News. August 12, 1970. p. 2. Retrieved July 22, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Powell--Mernone". Monmouth Democrat. 1936-11-05. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Antenna. Annandale High School. 1957. p. 31 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "WIR: 'Summit Point bills will be paid'". The Morning Herald. 1972-09-29. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Staff (August 24, 1964). "The Furious Fun of Pinkie and Pat". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Reimler, Kay (1965-12-11). "The Lady is a Sports Car Racer". The Charlotte News. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Pat Mernone Races at Thompson Today". The New York Times. 1964-07-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "Lady Chemist in Road Race". The Record. 1964-07-03. p. 21. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pete van der Vate". The Road Racing Drivers Club. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ Blunk, Frank M. (August 18, 1963). "37 Cars Entered in Marlboro Race". The New York Times. p. 160 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Not Spectacular". The Baltimore Sun. 1964-01-04. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Patricia Mernone". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ McCormack, Jim (November 13, 1964). "Spotlight on Ascot, Riverside". Long Beach Press-Telegram. p. 28. Retrieved July 22, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Sports Cars at Vineland Speedway Sunday". The Daily Journal. 1964-09-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Shelsby, Earl (1964-08-01). "Two Women Enter Marlboro 12-Hour Endurance Race". The Baltimore Sun. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Blunk, Frank M. (March 21, 1965). "Mrs. Rollo's Team to Compete In Virginia Auto Race April 10". The New York Times. p. S22 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Pat Mernone, Dick Staples Stage Thrilling VIR Race". The Danville Register. 1965-10-17. p. 37. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mernone Wins Top Duel at VIR". The Bee. 1965-10-18. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Blunk, Frank M. (April 17, 1966). "150 Cars Tune Up at Jersey Track". The New York Times. p. 239 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Masthead". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 16 (5): 714. May 1968. doi:10.1021/jf60159a700. ISSN 0021-8561.
- ^ Wilkinson, Sylvia (October 1967). "Virginia International Raceway Event Draws Jennings, Mernone". The Daily Tarheel. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "New Car Raceway Planned". The Evening Sun. 1972-09-27. p. 48. Retrieved 2020-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1940 births
- Living people
- People from Falls Church, Virginia
- American University alumni
- Racing drivers from Virginia
- American female racing drivers
- Annandale High School alumni
- 21st-century American women