Shirley Muldowney
Encyclopedia
Shirley Muldowney also known professionally as "Cha Cha" Muldowney and the "First Lady of Drag Racing
", is a pioneer in professional auto racing. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association
(NHRA) to drive a top fuel
dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980 and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She has won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
. "School had no appeal to me. All I wanted was to race up and down the streets in a hot rod," declared Muldowney. When she was sixteen, she married nineteen-year-old Jack Muldowney, who would build her first dragster. Jack Muldowney's garage was located at 1701 Upper Union Street, Schenectady at the corner of Regent St. There is still a vehicular business, Tire Warehouse of Union Street, on the same corner.
In 1958, the then eighteen-year-old made her debut on the dragstrip of the Fonda Speedway. She obtained her NHRA license in 1965. She competed in the 1969 and 1970 U.S. Nationals in a twin-engine dragster in the Top Gas classification, but with Top Gas losing popularity, switched to Funny Car
s, buying her first from Connie Kalitta
.
Around this time, she and her husband Jack drifted apart. "He didn't want to go nitro racing and we parted, but we stayed friends all those years until he passed away just recently."
She won her first major event, the International Hot Rod Association
(IHRA) Southern Nationals in 1971. From 1972 to 1977, she teamed up with Kalitta, competing in match races as the "Bounty Hunter" and "Bounty Huntress".
She stepped up to Top Fuel, getting her license in 1973. An unprecedented three NHRA Top Fuel world championships followed, in 1977, 1980, and 1982.
Muldowney's success came in the face of enormous opposition from those who felt drag racing (or any form of motorsport, for that matter) was no place for women. Don Garlits
, the "Big Daddy" of drag racing, has said about her:
Muldowney noted, "NHRA fought me every inch of the way, but when they saw how a girl could fill the stands; they saw I was good for the sport."
A crash in 1984 crushed her hands, pelvis, and legs, necessitating half a dozen operations and 18 months of therapy. She was sidelined for a long period, but returned to the circuit in the late 1980s. She continued to race, mostly without major sponsorship, throughout the 1990s in IHRA competition as well as match-racing events. She returned to the NHRA towards the end of her career, running select events until her retirement at the end of 2003.
Muldowney was described by longtime drag racer Fred Farndon as the "best 'natural' driver (top fuel or funny car), no question."
Contrary to popular belief her nickname Cha-Cha was not given to her by Connie Kalitta. Her husband Jack said it was given to her by a relative after the birth of her son, John. Shirley remembers it an employee who writes the numbers on cars at the track writing it on their 58 Chevrolet in shoe polish. And it just stuck. TV Tommy IVO told her to always include it on her cars.
Recent activities include the dictation of her memoirs, Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track, which Bill Stephens transcribed, and which Sports Publishing L.L.C. published in 2005.
, about Muldowney's life and career, starred Bonnie Bedelia
. Muldowney would rather have had Jamie Lee Curtis
play her; she called Bedelia "a snot," and stated, "When she was promoting the movie on TV shows, she would tell interviewers she didn't even like racing. She got out of race car [sic] like she was getting up from the dinner table." Muldowney had mixed feelings about the film itself, stating, "No, the movie did not capture my life very well at all, but more importantly, I thought the movie was very, very good for the sport."
L7
, an all-female punk
band, featured Muldowney in their 1994 track "Shirley," on their fourth album Hungry for Stink
.
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
", is a pioneer in professional auto racing. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
(NHRA) to drive a top fuel
Top Fuel
Top Fuel racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a mix of approximately 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol rather than gasoline or simply methanol. The cars are purpose-built for drag racing, with an exaggerated layout that in some ways resembles open-wheel circuit racing...
dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980 and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She has won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
Racing career
Born Shirley Ann Roque, Muldowney began street racing in the 1950s in Schenectady, New YorkSchenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
. "School had no appeal to me. All I wanted was to race up and down the streets in a hot rod," declared Muldowney. When she was sixteen, she married nineteen-year-old Jack Muldowney, who would build her first dragster. Jack Muldowney's garage was located at 1701 Upper Union Street, Schenectady at the corner of Regent St. There is still a vehicular business, Tire Warehouse of Union Street, on the same corner.
It was Jack Muldowney who first taught me how to drive a car. Jack was the mechanic. He was the guy who tuned the cars that let the girl beat all the boys. I was a kid from upstate New York with no guidance, no direction. I was headed for trouble, nothing going for me. Then I found the sport at a very young age and was able to make something out of it.
In 1958, the then eighteen-year-old made her debut on the dragstrip of the Fonda Speedway. She obtained her NHRA license in 1965. She competed in the 1969 and 1970 U.S. Nationals in a twin-engine dragster in the Top Gas classification, but with Top Gas losing popularity, switched to Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
s, buying her first from Connie Kalitta
Connie Kalitta
Conrad "Connie" Kalitta is the CEO of Kalitta Air and a retired American drag racing driver, once known as "The Bounty Hunter".He grew up in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and was a 1957 graduate of Mount Clemens High School....
.
Around this time, she and her husband Jack drifted apart. "He didn't want to go nitro racing and we parted, but we stayed friends all those years until he passed away just recently."
She won her first major event, the International Hot Rod Association
International Hot Rod Association
The International Hot Rod Association, also known as IHRA, is the 2nd largest drag racing sanctioning body after the NHRA.-The Carrier Era:The IHRA was formed in November 1970 by businessman Larry Carrier. Throughout this period the organization was operated primarily in the south-eastern United...
(IHRA) Southern Nationals in 1971. From 1972 to 1977, she teamed up with Kalitta, competing in match races as the "Bounty Hunter" and "Bounty Huntress".
She stepped up to Top Fuel, getting her license in 1973. An unprecedented three NHRA Top Fuel world championships followed, in 1977, 1980, and 1982.
Muldowney's success came in the face of enormous opposition from those who felt drag racing (or any form of motorsport, for that matter) was no place for women. Don Garlits
Don Garlits
Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. Always a pioneer in the field of drag-racing, he, with the help of T.C...
, the "Big Daddy" of drag racing, has said about her:
Now, if you ask who do I have the most respect for, I'd say Shirley Muldowney. She went against all odds. They didn't want her to race Top Fuel, the association, the racers, nobody...Just Shirley.
Muldowney noted, "NHRA fought me every inch of the way, but when they saw how a girl could fill the stands; they saw I was good for the sport."
A crash in 1984 crushed her hands, pelvis, and legs, necessitating half a dozen operations and 18 months of therapy. She was sidelined for a long period, but returned to the circuit in the late 1980s. She continued to race, mostly without major sponsorship, throughout the 1990s in IHRA competition as well as match-racing events. She returned to the NHRA towards the end of her career, running select events until her retirement at the end of 2003.
Muldowney was described by longtime drag racer Fred Farndon as the "best 'natural' driver (top fuel or funny car), no question."
Contrary to popular belief her nickname Cha-Cha was not given to her by Connie Kalitta. Her husband Jack said it was given to her by a relative after the birth of her son, John. Shirley remembers it an employee who writes the numbers on cars at the track writing it on their 58 Chevrolet in shoe polish. And it just stuck. TV Tommy IVO told her to always include it on her cars.
Recent activities include the dictation of her memoirs, Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track, which Bill Stephens transcribed, and which Sports Publishing L.L.C. published in 2005.
Awards and honors
- In 1975, she was voted the first woman member of the ten-person Auto Racing All-American team by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association.
- In 1976, she was named Drag News Top Fuel Driver of the Year and voted to the Auto Racing All-American Team for the second time.
- In 1977, she won the NHRA Winston world points championship, becoming the first woman to claim drag racing's most prestigious title. Recipient of "Outstanding Achievement Award" from the United States House of Representatives on October 14, 1977. Named Drag News Top Fuel Driver of the Year for the second straight season. Named Car Craft Magazine Person of the Year during the annual Car Craft Awards Banquet, Indianapolis, Indiana. First Top Fuel driver to win three NHRA national events back-to-back.
- 1980 Won NHRA Winston world points championship for the second time.
- 1981 Won AHRA world championship. Voted to Auto Racing All-American team for the fifth time. Voted Car Craft Magazine All-Star Team, Top Fuel Driver of the Year, for the second year in a row.
- 1982 Won NHRA Winston points championship, becoming the first person to claim drag racing's most prestigious title three times. Voted to Auto Racing All-American Team for the fifth time.
- In 1990, she was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of AmericaMotorsports Hall of Fame of AmericaThe Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum for American motorsports legends. It was originally located in Novi, Michigan and it moved to the Detroit Science Center in 2009.-Museum:...
. - In 2001, she was ranked number 5 on the National Hot Rod Association's 50th Anniversary list of its Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000.
- In 2004, she was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of FameInternational Motorsports Hall of FameThe International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer...
. - in 2008, ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
ranked her 21st on its list of the Top 25 Drivers of All Time, citing her record as the first woman to win a major racing championship.
Personal life
Shirley was married first to mechanic Jack Muldowney (who died in 2007). They had one son John, who served as Crew Chief and Master Fabricator/Chief Engine Builder. He took on those duties in 1978 when Connie Kalitta left the team. Her second marriage was to her former crew chief Rahn Tobler in the late 1980s and they divorced in 2006. Shirley continues to reside in Detroit, Michigan.Cultural references
The 1983 film Heart Like a WheelHeart Like a Wheel (film)
Heart Like a Wheel is a 1983 biographical film based on the life of drag racing driver Shirley Muldowney. It stars Bonnie Bedelia and Beau Bridges....
, about Muldowney's life and career, starred Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
. Muldowney would rather have had Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
play her; she called Bedelia "a snot," and stated, "When she was promoting the movie on TV shows, she would tell interviewers she didn't even like racing. She got out of race car [sic] like she was getting up from the dinner table." Muldowney had mixed feelings about the film itself, stating, "No, the movie did not capture my life very well at all, but more importantly, I thought the movie was very, very good for the sport."
L7
L7 (band)
L7 was an American rock band from Los Angeles, that was active from 1985 to 2000. Due to their sound and image, they are often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...
, an all-female punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, featured Muldowney in their 1994 track "Shirley," on their fourth album Hungry for Stink
Hungry for Stink
Hungry for Stink is the fourth album by the Los Angeles grunge band L7. The title is taken from a personal ad that was seen by one of the bandmembers shortly before the album was released. It was released in July 1994 during their Lollapalooza tour...
.