Skillman's Little Red Corvette

Compared to the extremely high visibility of Gov. Mitch Daniels, his lieutenant governor, Becky Skillman, operates in relatively obscurity. She does a lot of photo-ops and ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but we don't often hear about her political views or about her personally. A story in the Kokomo Tribune about a speech she gave at a high school summit caught my eye because it shared a side of Skillman not really known to the public. It seems she had a thing for drag racing in her younger days. The Tribune reports:

A long, distinguished career in the Indiana Senate preceded Skillman’s rise to the lieutenant governor’s office, but she didn’t hesitate to give the auditorium full of local high school students a little glimpse back to her own younger days.

According to Skillman, she had more than a passing fancy for the occasional drag race.“My first car was a 1964, cherry red, Corvette Stingray, and I knew how to drive it,” Skillman said. “The boys I raced never expected me to leave them in the dust, but many times I did.”

Skillman must have really stood out in a small town like Bedford in a red Corvette. It would have been highly unusual for any teenager to own a Corvette back then, let alone a girl. Come to think of it, it would still be unusual today. Hat tip to Brian Howey for catching this one.