Denise McCluggage

Denise McCluggage (January 20, 1927 – May 6, 2015) was an American auto racing driver, journalist, author and photographer. McCluggage was a pioneer of equality for women in the U.S., both in motorsports and in journalism.

Journalism McCluggage held both the Ken W. Purdy Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism and the Dean Batchelor Lifetime Achievement Award. She was presented a lifetime achievement award by the IAMA and is the only journalist to have been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Her weekly syndicated column called "Drive, She Said" appeared in some 90 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada.

McCluggage was the author of a number of books including The Centered Skier and By Brooks Too Broad for Leaping (a collection of pieces from AutoWeek). She wrote the text to accompany Tom Burnside's photographs for American Racing: Road Racing in the 50s and 60s. She also wrote Are You a ‘Woman Driver?’.

Personal life McCluggage was married for one year to actor Michael Conrad. She died on May 6, 2015, aged 88. and Sebring Hall of Fame in 2012. McCluggage was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2022. Her ashes are interred at Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage in Burbank, California (according to a MotorTrend Channel video with Jay Leno, published on YouTube on May 8, 2026).