By alley - May 7, 2015, 11:07 AM ET

Journalist/racer pioneer Denise McCluggage passes away at 88

Pioneering racer, historian and automotive journalist Denise McCluggage passed away on Wednesday, May 6 at the age of 88.

One of the first female sportswriters in the 1950s, McCluggage covered motorsports and skiing for the New York Herald Tribune (ABOVE: McCluggage, with camera, readies to be among the first to interview Le Mans 24 Hours winners Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill in 1958) before carving out an equally pioneering role as a successful racer. She scored class wins at Sebring in 1961 driving with jazz musician Allen Eager in the GT category driving a 250 GT Scaglietti-bodied, short-wheelbase Ferrari Berlinetta, and at the prestigious Rally Monte Carlo in 1964 driving a Ford Falcon.

Along the way, McCluggage befriended many giants of the era including Hill, Juan-Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss. She went on to enjoy a long career as a published author on racing and motoring – and helped found Competition Press, which later became AutoWeek, where she wrote a weekly column for many years.

McCluggage was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and the SCCA Hall of Fame, and also received the Ken Purdy Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism, the Dean Batchelor Lifetime Achievement Award.

"I've been at both driving and writing a looong time," McCluggage wrote when introducing her website,

DeniseMcCluggage.com,

where she continued her passion for all things internal combustion engine-related...along with a few other things: "I got my first driver's license in 1940. Some 10 years later I was writing about, among other things, cars. Some of those other things will show up here, too. But mostly cars, trucks and a few motorcycles. Well, an airplane or two. Yes, and skis. But mostly cars."

Dan Gurney said: Denise McCluggage was a true original. The way she wrote, the way she talked, the way she behaved and the way she lived her life, nothing was ordinary.

"We had been friends ever since she and her great friend Phil Hill picked me up at the airport in Paris in 1958 to drive south to Le Mans together where we all were scheduled to race. Denise was a pioneering racing lady who was not intimidated by famous men on the track, be it the Nurburgring, Sebring, Riverside or the Targa Florio. She amused generations with her witty observations which she shared in her writings over many decades. I see her in my mind's eye laughing with old pals, Briggs, Phil, Shelby and Stirling. We were young together, we grew old together. I will miss you Denise!"

Lisa Noble, president of the SCCA, said: "'Fearless', 'brave' and 'pioneer' are words that are being spoken today about Denise McCluggage. I prefer to think that she disregarded those and just did exactly what she wanted to do; drive racecars, write and ski.

"Denise once wrote, 'Things change. It is good to notice those changes. What was and what is.' She lived through what was, changed it by her presence and became an influencer in making the sport what it is today. Undoubtedly, Denise broke barriers at the very top levels of motorsport as a driver and journalist. She also got immense personal enjoyment from driving at most every level - from Grand Prix events to SCCA races to car tests for AutoWeek. Her confident passion about cars was understated, almost matter-of-fact, but somehow, Denise dragged you in to share that excitement.

"Denise McCluggage was a hero to me. Without her and a very small handful of other women in those early days, accomplishing what women in the sport do now would not have been possible. She made my life and the lives of decades of readers and fans a richer experience through knowing her personally and through her writing. The world feels a little smaller today at her passing."

Back in 1959, McCluggage appeared on the TV show, "To Tell the Truth" just prior to her second running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. The clip of the show below exemplifies her wealth of knowledge, poise and grace. As Road & Travel magazine put it, "If there was ever a woman that defined 'cerebral personality,' basically someone who genuinely maximizes the potential of their brain and spirit, it's Denise."

She will be sorely missed.