Getty Former professional race car driver Janet Guthrie is the subject of "Qualified," ESPN's new "30 for 30" documentary.
Qualified, ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary about race car driver Janet Guthrie, will debut on Tuesday, May 28, at 8 p.m. ET.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch the documentary live or on-demand on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
PS Vue — which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch — offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include ESPN.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the movie on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes included with cloud DVR.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the movie on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with both its extensive on-demand library and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
ESPN is included in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the movie on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, cloud DVR is available as an add-on to Sling.
‘Qualified’ Preview
The film details the life and career of Janet Guthrie, an aerospace engineer who became a professional race car driver and, in 1977, became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and the first woman to qualify for the Daytona 500.
“It was really amazing,” Guthrie recently told For The Win of qualifying for the Indy 500 a year removed from a failed attempt. “Anyone who put a car in the field in that era — when as many as 85 cars were entered and only the fastest 33 were going to start the race — would tell you it’s a moment they’ll never forget. And I never will either, especially under the circumstances with an engine that could fail at any minute, with a car that had a handling issue. And when the engine lasted past the checkered flag, oh that was such a wonderful feeling.”
As a woman in a male-dominated sport, Guthrie experienced hostility from fellow racers, the media, and fans.
“Some of it I could laugh at,” Guthrie, now 81, told For The Win. “Sometimes it made me mad. The only important thing was getting my hands on that car on the race track, and I figured whatever came with the territory, I could deal with.”
The film was directed by Jenna Ricker, who wrote and directed the films “Ben’s Plan” (2007) and “The American Side” (2016) and produced “The Overlookers” (2004).
“Like many, I didn’t know about Janet Guthrie; the first woman to race at the hallowed Speedway,” Ricker wrote for ESPN. “But, in 1976 Guthrie was all over the evening news and in every newspaper for her unprecedented attempt to leap from sports car racing to the top levels of motor-sport. Today, her name would stump many an expert in a game of trivia.
“I was instantly inspired by Guthrie’s tenacity and intrigued by her story. Car racing is one of the only sports where men and women compete with each other on the same field at the same time. Once that helmet goes on and that driver climbs in the cockpit, anyone would be hard pressed to identify whether it was a man or a woman behind the wheel. So why did she face such intense scrutiny and resistance from her male counterparts and racing fans? I wanted to know more about this athlete that loved racing so much she gave up a career in aeronautical engineering, went broke, ceded her anonymity, and fought against impossible odds just to have a shot at driving 200 mph. And I couldn’t shake that more than being the ‘first,’ Guthrie’s obstacles and personal sacrifice still resonate 40 years later, and well off the track.”