'First lady of racing' drove on NASCAR circuit

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Louise Smith, the first woman inducted intothe International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999, has died. She was89.

Mrs. Smith, remembered as "the first lady of racing," was on theNASCAR circuit from 1945 to 1956. Known for her fearless style, shewon 38 modified events.

"It was hard on me," she said in an interview in 1998. "Them menwere not liking it to start with, and they wouldn't give you aninch."

Mrs. Smith died Saturday of cancer, one of her nieces, Dora E.Owens, told the Greenville News.

Mrs. Smith, a native of Barnesville, Ga., lived in Greenville formost of her life.

She got her start in racing when young …