Shirley Muldowney

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Shirley Muldowney (born June 19, 1940), also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American auto racer.

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 won a total of 18 NHRA national events.

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Racing career

Born Shirley Ann Roque in Burlington, Vermont, on June 19, 1940, Muldowney started street racing in Schenectady, New York, New York. "School had no interest to me." Muldowney said, "I wanted to race up and down the streets in a hot rod." When she was 16, she married Jack Muldowney, who built her first dragster, at 19 years old.

Muldowney made her debut on the Fonda Speedway's dragstrip in 1958. In 1965, she obtained her NHRA pro license. She competed in Top Gas's twin-engined dragster in both 1969 and 1970. Muldowney converted to Funny Car after Top Gas lost its traction, buying her first vehicle from Connie Kalitta.

Her husband and she fell apart at the time, and they finally divorced in 1972. "He didn't want to go nitro racing and we parted, but we remained friends all the years before he died [in 2007]."

Muldowney won her first major event, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Southern Nationals in 1971, winning her first national championship.

Don Garlits signed her application, becoming the first woman to do it), behind Poncho Rendon's digger; Tommy Ivo and Connie Kalitta.) Bounty Hunter and Bounty Huntress were married in a pair of Ford Mustangs, hers a Buttera chassis, and his a Logghe from 1973 to 1977. In 1973, the Bounty Huntress Mustang caught fire at Dragway 42 in Ohio.

Muldowney took the top elapse time (ET) and top speed of the meet in 1976 in Columbus, Ohio, beating her own top speed record in the final and winning the class. In 1977, 1980, and 1982, a record three NHRA Top Fuel Dragster world championships were held.

Garlits has said about her:

"NHRA fought me every inch of the way," Muldowney said, but when they saw how a girl could fill the stands, they realized I was good for the game."

A woman was injured in 1984 when she smashed her hands, pelvis, and legs, requiring half a dozen operations and 18 months of therapy. Muldowney was ruled out for a long time but in the late 1980s, the band returned to the circuit for the first time. Throughout the 1990s and match-racing events, she continued to compete, mainly without major sponsorship. She returned to the NHRA at the end of her career, judging select events until her retirement at the end of 2003.

Muldowney was described as the "most "natural" driver" by longtime drag racer Fred Farndon (top fuel or funny car), no issue.

Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track, Bill Stephens transcribed her memoirs, and Sport Publishing L.L.C.'s latest ventures include the dictation of her memoirs, and Marketing Publishing L.L.C. In 2005, a paper was published in Brazil.

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Awards and honors

• In 1975, she was voted the first woman member of the 10-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. She was the recipient of "Outstanding Achievement Award" from the United States House of Representatives on October 14, 1977, and was named the Drag News Top Fuel Driver of the Year for the second straight season. Shirley also was named Car Craft magazine Person of the Year during the annual Car Craft Awards Banquet, Indianapolis, Indiana. She was the first Top Fuel driver to win three NHRA national events back-to-back.
• She was the NHRA Winston world points championship for the second time in 1980.
• The next year, she won the AHRA world championship and was voted to Auto Racing All-American team for the fifth time. Car Craft selected her to the All-Star Team, and Top Fuel Driver of the Year, for the second year in a row.
• In 1982, she won the NHRA Winston points championship, becoming the first person to claim drag racing's most prestigious title three times. She was voted to the Auto Racing All-American Team for the fifth time.
• In 1990, she was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
• In 2001, she was ranked number five 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 Fame.
• In 2005, she was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.
• In 2008, ESPN 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.