The
world as we know it was “made” by pioneers. Some had the
guts to traverse uncharted oceans in flimsy wooden boats
to populate North America. Others would later have the
nerve to set out across the untamed prairies to settle
the American West. In more modern times men pioneered
the making of the nation’s vast automotive industries.
With the coming of the automobile, racing as the nation
once knew it -- a genteel undertaking usually involving
horses -- gave way to something entirely different. Men
with grease under their fingernails and high octane gasoline
in their blood went head-to-head in every type of racing
imaginable, from going around in circles to seeing how
fast one could go from a standing start in a quarter mile
straightaway.
Notice we said those pioneers were men, and that’s largely
the truth, or was so until a young housewife from upstate
New York arrived on the drag racing scene and stole the
boys’ thunder – and their trophies!
When Shirley Muldowney and her  husband,
Jack, “discovered” drag racing in the 60s, their lives
would undergo a change the likes of which neither could
have foreseen. Shirley would quickly go from taking down
classified advertising information in a local newspaper’s
ad office to being the newspaper’s Sunday Magazine cover
subject with her drag racing Corvette, and that was just
the beginning.
After fighting a protracted battle with drag racing’s
managers, who were determined that no woman would, should
or even could drive anything faster than an absolutely
stock, off-the-showroom-floor car down a quarter mile
drag strip, Muldowney emerged with a license and an even
greater determination to prove her worth in a “world”
dominated by men.
Her first real dragster was powered by a supercharge d
Chevy engine, and beyond winning races, it helped vault
Muldowney onto the national scene, earning her magazine
and newspaper stories and a growing legion of loyal fans.
That early publicity would ultimately turn into the theatrical
release, “Heart Like A Wheel” starring Bonnie Bedalia,
which has recently been released on DVD.
It was the mid-60s, and terms like “women’s lib” were
just beginning to be heard – and women were listening
– and acting. Shirley Muldowney became one of their rallying
points, because she was doing more than talking about
women’s issues, she was actively participating -- and
succeeding – in an activity in which men swore she’d be
a failure. It was just one more proof-positive example
of Muldowney’s beliefs that a woman’s place was anywhere
she wanted to be – including behind the wheel of a 200
mile per hour race car.
Following her tenure in her treasured red dragster – and
the end of her marriage – Muldowney made a giant career
le ap
forward by climbing behind the wheel of her first Funny
Car. A misnomer if there ever was one (and we won’t bother
explaining its lineage), a Funny Car was (and remains
today to some extent) a fiberglass-bodied replica of an
American-built car powered by a 500 cubic inch purpose-built,
all-aluminum, supercharged racing engine burning exotic
nitromethane fuel. Back in the day those cars covered
the quarter mile in about six seconds at nearly 200 MPH.
Today’s versions cover that same distance in about 4.6
seconds at better than 330 MPH.
Muldowney thrived on the match race circuit, where track
operators paid her substantial appearance fees to race
against one or more other hired-in competitors. The so-called
“Battle of the Sexes” was a natural, particularly considering
that Muldowney rarely pulled her punches, either literally
or figuratively, so any pre-race interview was destined
to inflame the crowd, and further enhance her drawing
power.
But, those cars were dangerous. Fire was a constant problem,
and Shirley had her share of on-track incidents, situations
that would ultimately make her one of the best drivers
in drag racing history, although she would continue in
the Funny Car category into the early 70s.
In 1973 Shirley decided to try her hand at Top Fuel dragster
racing. Those long, thin machines that appear to be all
engine and tires at the back, were the sole “prop erty”
of men, but despite their misgivings, the National Hot
Rod Association (NHRA) granted her a license after she
successfully made numerous runs in the late Pancho Rendon’s
car out of Detroit. With the likes of legendary racers
“Big Daddy” Don Garlits, “TV Tommy” Ivo and Connie Kalitta
– all, like Muldwney, members of the Motorsports Hall
of Fame in Novi, MI – witnessing her license runs, NHRA
really had little choice in the matter. In the years that
followed Muldowney would “pay them back” by becoming one
of the sport’s top drawing cards in national event competition
while at the same time generating more publicity then
had any racer before her, man or woman.
Check the accompanying statistical information for a complete
list of Shirley’s accom plishments,
but for now, let’s just list her three NHRA and one American
Hot Rod Association world championships, her induction
into the Sports Halls of Fame for both New York and Michigan,
her being the first woman inducted into the Motorsports
Hall of Fame, her inclusion in the Hot Rod Magazine Hall
of Fame, and her being named both Person of the Year (1977)
and later the “Ollie” Award winner (1985) on the All-Star
Drag Racing Team. The latter, by the way, is emblematic
of one’s career-long contributions to drag racing.
Muldowney’s life would take another dramatic turn when
she was grievously injured in a racing accident in 1984.
Months of painful recovery and multiple surgeries would
result in her still walking with a decided hitch in her
step, but they did nothing to deter her from returning
and winning again. In a true touch of irony, after the
fans began reaching out to help with Shirley’s medical
expenses, the core group who handled things formed the
Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW), which today continues
to help the families of anyone injured in drag racing
competition.
It would be three lon g
years before Shirley returned to her winning ways, earning
a coveted spot, and becoming the only woman member of
the Cragar Four Second Club, which honored the first 16
drivers to record sub-five second quarter mile elapsed
times. That honor went hand-in-hand with Muldowney’s earlier
membership in the Crane Cams 250 Mile Per Hour Club.
Through the
late 90s and into the 21st Century Muldowney did most
of her racing on the match race trail, where she continued
to be a major draw. A lack of sponsorship – critically
important in a world of four second, 330 mile per hour
race cars – kept her national outings to a mere handful,
but thanks to backers like Goodyear, Action Performance
and Mac Tools, Muldowney would close out her active driving
career with the “Last Pass” tour during which she continued
to perform competitively in 2003.
Although she’s since been asked more than once to return
to competition, she really says it all when she recalls,
“I had such a glow about that last year that I wouldn’t
want to tarnish by making a comeback. I’m happy with where
I am, and who I am. But if there’s a place for me somewhere
in drag racing, I’m ready and willing.”
Of that there can be little doubt.
|
