She competed in NASCAR's first race on
June 19 ,
1949 at
Charlotte Speedway (not
Lowe's Motor Speedway ). She qualified 13th in the #71
Ford owned by her husband Frank Christian. She let
Bob Flock drive car part way through the race after his engine expired on the 38th lap. He drove the car until it overheated, and finished 14th.
She competed in the second race at the
Daytona Beach Road Course on
July 10 1949 , and finished 18th. The 28 car field also included Flock's sister
Ethel Mobley and
Louise Smith which made it the first race to include three woman drivers. Frank also competed in the race, and they became the only married couple to compete in a NASCAR race. Frank finished sixth in his only career start.
She finished sixth at the fourth race at
Langhorn Speedway , and became the first woman to earn a Top 10 finish. Race winner
Curtis Turner invited Christian to join him in victory lane. Mobley and Smith again competed against Christian in the race, and it was the last NASCAR race to have three women drivers.
She finished fifth at the ninth race at
Heidelberg Raceway in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . The finish was the only Top 5 finish by a woman in NASCAR history
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She raced in six of the eight events in the 1949 season, and finished 13th in the final points standings.
She competed in one event in
1950 . She finished 14th at the 12th race at the
Hamburg (NY) Speedway before she retired.
