HALL OF FAME EDITION
PAYING TRIBUTE TO FIRST WOMAN TO RACE TO THE CLOUDS JOYCE THOMPSON FORD
Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, will welcome 70 competitors to the mountain on June 23rd, each adding their own story to the history of this iconic event.
Since 1916, fearless racers have faced the challenge of racing to the 14,115′ summit of Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain. As Women’s History Month draws to a close it is fitting to reflect on the very first woman who entered the Race to the Clouds, Joyce Thompson, later Thompson Ford.
First to Enter
Joyce Thompson’s racing career began in the late 1950s and lasted for six years. She raced at Colorado’s Continental Divide Raceway and throughout the South and Midwest regions in her Alfa Romeo and Lancia di Garda.
Residing in Denver, Colorado and working at a graphic design firm, Joyce would make the commute to the mountain every morning for the early practice sessions and then head back to Denver to go to work. She was mostly self-sponsored and had to work to make her racing dreams happen.
A Pioneer
Despite being a woman, and a rookie on Pikes Peak, Thompson remembered no special media attention and didn’t believe she received any special treatment, sharing, “It was certainly not a Danica Patrick-type of situation. I was just another racer.”
Another noteworthy moment on the mountain is that Thompson’s sister, Gerry, made up her pit crew. However, Gerry was unable to go up on the mountain due to the fact that she was pregnant at the time. That didn’t stop Thompson. In fact, she received help with car set up, carburetion adjustments and getting the right tires from none other than Al and Bobby Unser.
Early Press Coverage
Thompson did receive some media coverage, written in the language of the time. A 1960 Colorado Springs Free Press article, stated, “Joyce Thompson, pretty Denver stenographer, Monday became the first woman to enter the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Miss Thompson is the only woman to challenge the masculine monopoly on Pikes Peak…Most of the male contingent were pleasantly surprised.” Lloyd Faddis, president of the Hill Climb Association at that time said he hoped this entry would “encourage more feminine participation in the future.”
Faddis would likely be pleased at the number of women competing in 2023, as well as the women who serve in leadership for the PPIHC, those who manage teams, work on pit crews, provide media coverage and serve as race officials and volunteers on the mountain.
Weather on the Mountain
Thompson entered the Sports Car division – Group 3: 0-1500cc in her Austin Healey Sprite nicknamed “The Termite” for the bright yellow bug her sister, Gerry, painted on the hood of the green car. Thompson laughed as she recalled how the design slowly began to wash off as the rain, hail and snow came down on race day.
Thompson shared her thoughts about the difference between racing at a track and competing on Pikes Peak in a 2014 interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette, “It was such a different kind of race because it was just singular,” she said. “You were racing the Peak and the weather. I was ducking down behind the windshield the whole time, it was hellacious.”
She described reaching the summit, “It was magnificent. There were an awful lot of cars that didn’t make it that year due to the weather. It was very slick, and the conditions changed so dramatically. I was glad to get up on top.” Her time was 22:40.2 in the 45 horsepower Sprite.
Thompson raced only once on Pikes Peak, in 1960, but continued to compete locally and once at the Daytona Speedway.
Leaving the Legacy to Others
“I loved racing. It just broke my heart to give it up, but I was an amateur racer, owned my own cars, rarely had sponsors and I just ran out of money,” recalled Thompson in a 2010 interview with PPIHC Historian, Lisa Haight.
Joyce Thompson passed away in 2021 and was honored in 2022 during the milestone 100th Running of the Race to the Clouds.
Hall of Fame Induction
Joyce’s nephew, Cascade, Colorado resident, Kevin Holt, proudly accepted his late aunt’s PPIHC Hall of Fame induction medal at a special ceremony during 2022’s Road to 100 celebration. He was pleased his aunt and his mother were receiving recognition for their pioneering efforts on the mountain. He shared that his mother, Gerry, was expecting him at the time Joyce raced on the mountain.
Watch Joyce Thompson Ford’s – Hall of Fame Induction Video
Photos by: The Henry Ford, Joyce Thompson; The Gazette. All photos used with permission.
Excerpts from Tall Tales, “Pikes Peak Pioneer” by Lisa Haight reprinted with permission.
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Contact:
Lisa Haight
Communications Manager / Historian
(719) 685-4400
