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362:, in 1976, Muldowney dominated Top Fuel, qualifying number-one by 0.05 second, setting low elapsed time (ET) and top speed of the meet, having the low ET in every round, breaking her own top speed record in the final, and winning the class. An unprecedented three NHRA Top Fuel Dragster world championships followed, in 1977, 1980, and 1982.
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A crash in 1984 crushed her hands, pelvis, and legs, necessitating half a dozen operations and 18 months of therapy. Muldowney was sidelined for a long period, but returned to the circuit in the late 1980s. She appeared on the
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on Feb. 21, 1986, walking with a cane. She
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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
475:
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
460:] 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."
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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.
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In March 2016, Muldowney disregarded a cancer scare to be the official starter of the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Having been given a diagnosis of lung cancer prior to the event, Muldowney was later given a diagnosis of
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Around this time, her husband and she drifted apart; they finally divorced in 1972. "He didn't want to go nitro racing and we parted, but we stayed friends all those years until he passed away ," she later said.
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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
276:. "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 16, she married 19-year-old Jack Muldowney, who built her first dragster.
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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.
53:
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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 [
260:. 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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Muldowney's success met enormous opposition from those who felt drag racing (or any form of motorsport, for that matter) was no place for women. Garlits has said about her:
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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.
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In 1958, Muldowney made her debut on the dragstrip of the Fonda
Speedway. She obtained her NHRA pro license in 1965. She competed in the 1969 and 1970
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is about
Muldowney. Her name also appears in the 1987 Michael Cooper (of Con Funk Shun) song Quickness "with the Shirley Muldowney-es of Quickness"
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Muldowney operates a charitable organization, Shirley's Kids, which helps children in need in cities where drag racing is part of the community.
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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."
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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.
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In 2001, she was ranked number five on the
National Hot Rod Association's 50th-Anniversary list of its Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000.
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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.
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Banquet, Indianapolis, Indiana. She was the first Top Fuel driver to win three NHRA national events back-to-back.
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The next year, she won the AHRA world championship and was voted to Auto Racing All-American team for the fifth time.
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She stepped up to Top Fuel, getting her license in 1973 (making her the first woman to do it), behind the wheel of
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Muldowney selling photographs to benefit her nonprofit, Shirley's Kids, at the 2023 DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
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editor. "Danica who? What about Shirley ... and Shirley? And Judi. And Judy?", written 21 April 2008, at
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signed her application, one of three signatures she needed to make it official; the other two were
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selected her to the All-Star Team, and Top Fuel Driver of the Year, for the second year in a row.
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399:, which Bill Stephens transcribed, and which Sports Publishing L.L.C. published in 2005.
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On October 7, 2022 the NHRA Coin Shirley Muldowney Edition NFT became available on the
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In 1989, she was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame. www.mmshof.org
249:", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the
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Top Fuel Driver of the Year for the second straight season. Shirley also was named
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962:"57 Champions of Queer Feminism, All Name-Dropped in One Impossibly Catchy Song"
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She was the NHRA Winston world points championship for the second time in 1980.
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553:." Samples from the movie made about Shirley are heard in the lyrics of the
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and Connie Kalitta. From 1973 to 1977, she teamed up with Kalitta as the
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as the "best 'natural' driver (top fuel or funny car), no question."
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939:"Kinser, Mansell, Garlits, Lauda, and Muldowney set high standards"
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879:"Shirley Muldowney on her cancer scare: 'I really needed a break'"
272:, on June 19, 1940, Muldowney began street racing in the 1950s in
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981:"NHRA COIN SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY EDITION - NHRA DIgital Collection"
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711:"Her life in the fast lane isn't a drag for Shirley Muldowney"
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
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editor. "The Time Machine: 1973", written 17 August 2018, at
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Her recent activities include the dictation of her memoirs,
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293:. With Top Gas losing popularity, Muldowney switched to
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Listen to a live radio interview with Shirley Muldowney.
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song "Shirley" on the Hungry for Stink album. The song "
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very young age and was able to make something out of it.
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McClurg, Bob. “50 Years of Funny Cars: Part 2” in
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McClurg, Bob. "50 Years of Funny Cars: Part 2" in
241:(born June 19, 1940), also known professionally as "
355:Mustang caught fire at Dragway 42 in Ohio in 1973.
153:Muldowney signing autographs in July 2017 at the
1091:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
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388:Muldowney was described by longtime drag racer
773:Jack Muldowney had major impact on drag racing
484:magazine Person of the Year during the annual
446:about Muldowney's life and career, starred
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56:about living persons that is unsourced or
308:Muldowney won her first major event, the
127:Learn how and when to remove this message
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397:Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track
364:
1066:Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York
747:"In Their Own Words: Shirley Muldowney"
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656:"Where Are They Now? Shirley Muldowney"
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231:International Motor Sports Hall of Fame
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545:Her name appears in the lyrics of the
520:International Motorsports Hall of Fame
1111:Sportspeople from Burlington, Vermont
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1071:Racing drivers from New York (state)
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709:Chandler, Norman (30 January 1981).
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312:(IHRA) Southern Nationals, in 1971.
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604:Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
525:In 2005, she was inducted into the
518:In 2004, she was inducted into the
510:Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
508:In 1990, she was inducted into the
224:Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
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450:. Muldowney would rather have had
16:NHRA champion, drag racing pioneer
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310:International Hot Rod Association
1011:, November 2016, pp. 35–50.
960:Oler, Tammy (October 31, 2019).
857:Racing Pioneer Muldowney Retires
745:McGuire, Bill (March 25, 2009).
624:. nhraonline.com. Archived from
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919:. National Hot Rod Association
877:Fabrizio, Tony (7 June 2016).
805:, November 2016, p.46 caption.
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289:in a twin-engined dragster in
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860:, CBS News, November 10, 2003
831:(retrieved 20 September 2018)
792:(retrieved 16 September 2018)
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654:Lowe, Jaime (July 7, 2005).
297:, buying her first car from
251:National Hot Rod Association
229:Top 50 Drivers of 1951–2000
34:biography of a living person
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1106:Racing drivers from Vermont
1101:21st-century American women
61:must be removed immediately
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906:, Retrieved Apr. 29, 2018.
622:"No. 5, Shirley Muldowney"
268:Born Shirley Ann Roque in
369:Muldowney's 1986 dragster
245:" and the "First Lady of
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210:Top Fuel 1977, 1980, 1982
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155:Automobile Driving Museum
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1081:Female dragster drivers
917:"NHRA's Top 50 Drivers"
842:"Don Garlits interview"
527:Automotive Hall of Fame
814:McClurg, p.46 caption.
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48:Please help by adding
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274:Schenectady, New York
941:. ESPN. May 20, 2008
54:Contentious material
688:"Shirley Muldowney"
628:on January 23, 2004
347:chassis, and his a
270:Burlington, Vermont
205:Championship titles
179:Burlington, Vermont
76:"Shirley Muldowney"
661:Sports Illustrated
541:In popular culture
442:Heart Like a Wheel
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253:(NHRA) to drive a
825:National Dragster
786:National Dragster
721:on July 21, 2012.
715:Los Angeles Times
668:on August 6, 2010
600:Shirley Muldowney
464:Awards and honors
239:Shirley Muldowney
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165:Shirley Ann Roque
142:Shirley Muldowney
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670:. Retrieved
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630:. Retrieved
626:the original
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337:match races
321:Don Garlits
319:'s digger;
247:Drag Racing
1050:Categories
1009:Drag Racer
990:2022-10-10
864:2010-05-01
803:Drag Racer
584:References
170:1940-06-19
117:March 2018
87:newspapers
1041:NHRA COIN
979:OpenSea.
551:Hot Topic
532:In 2008,
496:Car Craft
486:Car Craft
482:Car Craft
478:Drag News
436:The 1983
343:, hers a
325:Tommy Ivo
295:Funny Car
39:citations
883:ESPN.com
829:NHRA.com
790:NHRA.com
694:June 27,
547:Le Tigre
258:dragster
255:Top Fuel
199:Top Fuel
65:libelous
1002:Sources
985:OpenSea
945:May 31,
923:May 31,
889:12 July
752:Hot Rod
602:at the
575:OpenSea
345:Buttera
291:Top Gas
243:Cha Cha
101:scholar
885:. ESPN
549:song "
438:biopic
351:. The
349:Logghe
215:Awards
197:NHRA,
103:
96:
89:
82:
74:
561:" by
502:time.
108:JSTOR
94:books
32:This
947:2010
925:2010
891:2016
760:2019
696:2012
674:2009
634:2009
534:ESPN
331:and
227:NHRA
187:1958
162:Born
80:news
41:for
578:NFT
457:sic
358:In
335:in
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727:^
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555:L7
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