NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After enjoying remarkable success racing street cars at local events around Schenectady, N.Y., followed by gas dragsters in the 1960s and two fire-plagued years in a nitro Funny Car in the early 1970s, Shirley Muldowney found her forever home in Top Fuel in 1974, and within two seasons, she became the first female winner in what was then an exclusively male-dominated class.

Eighteen-year-old Shirley Roque's first trip down a dragstrip came in 1958, at Fonda Speedway in New York, at the wheel of a 348-powered '58 Chevy. After campaigning doorslammers for several years, she married another former street racer, Jack Muldowney, who built her first dragster. She earned her dragster license in 1965, and the couple raced in the East and Midwest. 

That injected car was followed by a pair of blown gas dragsters, the second being a twin-engine monster with which she competed at the 1969 and 1970 NHRA U.S. Nationals and at Division 1 events. Although Muldowney's driving prowess had earned her several trophies, the racing world had yet to take her seriously. It soon would have no choice.

With Top Gas dying in 1971 and Funny Cars on the rise, it didn't take Muldowney long to find her next challenge. The Muldowneys bought an old Mustang Funny Car from Connie Kalitta in 1972. That August, Muldowney experienced the first of four nasty fires that ultimately would cause her to switch from Funny Car to Top Fuel. The following year, she suffered an even worse fire during qualifying at the U.S. Nationals, then vowed to never drive a Funny Car again. Top Fuel has never been the same since.

Muldowney had earned her Top Fuel license in late 1973 in the entry of Detroit-based Pancho Rendon. Among those in attendance at the Cayuga, Ont., track were Don Garlits, "T.V. Tommy" Ivo, and, of course, Kalitta, all of whom signed off on her license.

After a pair of DNQs at the start of 1974, she qualified for the first time at the 1974 NHRA Springnationals. Muldowney spent 1974 getting her feet wet in a fuel dragster, match racing almost exclusively, though she did attend the U.S. Nationals, where her 241.28-mph speed was the second-fastest of the event. Her successes and determination caught the eye of cologne manufacturer English Leather, which came aboard as a sponsor for the 1975 campaign.

Exactly one year (and three races) after she qualified for her first Top Fuel race, she scored her first round-win over Rick Ramsey at the 1975 Springnationals en route to her first career final-round appearance. She lost that final to Marvin Graham, and a few months later, incredibly also reached the final round of the sport’s biggest event, the NHRA U.S. Nationals, where she was runner-up to Garlits. For her accomplishments, she was the first woman named to the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association All-American Team.

On June 13, 1976, Muldowney defeated Bob Edwards in the Top Fuel final round of the Springnationals to become the first woman to win a Pro class at an NHRA national event. It was just her sixth career start in the class. At the same event, Muldowney was also the first woman to qualify No. 1 in a Pro category with a performance of 6.031 seconds.

Muldowney wasted no time reaching for the next pinnacle, the Winston championship, which she accomplished the following year. Thirty-six years after her last win, she remains tied for fourth among all NHRA female national event winners.

See the complete to-date list of moments on the Top 75 Moments homepage