![]() ![]() But that didn’t phase Muldowney who won her first funny car race in Lebanon Valley, New York. Despite their amusing sounding name, there’s nothing actually amusing about “funny cars” as they are insanely dangerous, supercharged pieces of methane-powered machinery that can kill you. ![]() When the NHRA did away with the category, Muldowney set her sights on the ever-popular “funny car” category. Muldowney got her National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) license in 1965 and subsequently became the first woman to compete in the “supercharged gasoline dragster” category. Let’s start with my favorite of this kick-ass quad, Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney. It’s about the ballsy women who drove the cars during that era-and there were actually quite a lot of “speed queens” that not only gave their male counterparts a run for their money, but also blazed a trail for other women who wanted smoke up the track.Īnd since I know you’re curious, here’s a shot of “Jungle Pam.” Though her attire says otherwise, it must have been cold that day.Īlthough there were many notable women drag racers who were active during the 60s and 70s, today I’ll be focusing your attention on three of them: Janet Guthrie, the first woman ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and in the Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race the “First Lady of Drag Racing,” Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney and Carol “Bunny” Burkett, who famously worked at the Playboy Club in Baltimore for a brief period in order to help fund her racing career. But this post isn’t about buxom blonde race track cheerleaders. Though Liberman would pass away unexpectedly in 1977, Hardy would continue to appear at racing events. If you were into that scene, you probably spent a lot of time fantasizing about Pam Hardy aka “Jungle Pam” who accompanied driver “Jungle Jim” Liberman across the country clad in go-go boots and form-fitting, barely-there outfits that showcased her bodacious “assets” while she showboated on the track and in the pit for her adoring fans. During its heyday, specifically the mid-1960s through the early 1970s, the National Hot Rod Association incorporated the use of gorgeous women/models to help appeal to the fanboys. Like many fields of work, the drag racing scene was and is fairly well dominated by men. Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney on the cover of ‘Sunday News Magazine’ in 1978. ![]()
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