Make Room Gents!

Winnipeg, Manitoba (Jan 05 2012) Some time ago, I came up with a brainstorm to profile the Women of the Drag Racers Association of Manitoba. When I first embarked on the idea, I realized that a precursor of the status of women in the sport, past and present, would have to lead the way. It would speak to the relevance of what female racers have contributed to the sport and what they mean to drag racing today – at Gimli Dragway and every other Canadian drag strip as well as around the world.

Many women are involved in the present day sport; and the numbers are growing. Of course, there are the media familiar names such as the Force girls. Then there are the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Top Fuel Dragster contenders like Cherissa Griffis-Smallwood and Kristen Dennis-Wooton whose 2011 national points standings settled at fourth and fifth respectively. Laurie Cannister placed seventh in the IHRA Prostalgia Funny Car class.

On the 2011 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) points list, Top Alcohol Dragster divas included Karen Stalba (13th), Megan McKernan (19th), Ashley Bart (34th) and Jackie Fricke (35th). In the Pro Stockers, Erica Enders came in with a respectable sixth position and Grace Howell made her debut with a 26th place finish. Angie Smith two-wheeled an eleventh place standing in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Melanie Troxel drove to a fifteenth in the Funny Car category and Alexis De Joria and took number twenty-five in the same class. T/A Funny Car competition ended with Melinda Green-King (21st), Alexis De Joria (39th) and Cassandra Simonton (42nd). Rounding out the classes, Melanie Troxel crossed the final stripe in a fabulous third place in Pro Modified with Leah Pruett coming in at seventeenth. Note that Troxel and De Joria drove double duty in Pro Mod / Funny Car and TAFC / Funny Car respectively. All of these gas jockey gals beat a lot of guys to make it into the Top 50 and proved their deserved places on the honour role!

Top Alcohol Funny Car  rising star driver Cassie "Sassy" Simonton

In 2011, Melanie Troxel competed in two classes -- Nitro Funny car and Pro Mod

Checking into the history books, women in drag racing had huge hurdles to make it into the “Boys Club”. Not only did they get in, but also many went from supportive roles to super stardom!

The first NHRA license ever for women was issued in 1964 and Barbara Hamilton was first in line for the sanctioned right to take her ’37 Willys down Broadway and into the drag racing archives of fame.

Way back in 1958, at New York’s Fonda Speedway, eighteen year-old Shirley Muldowney made her first run and a step onto racing history pages. She also set the pace for female drag racers for decades to come. “Cha Cha” got her first NHRA “Ladies Drivers Permit” in ’65 and progressed to be the first woman to be licensed by the National Hot Rod Association for Top Fuel Dragster in 1973. From there, she became the first person (not just “woman”) to win three NHRA Top Fuel Championships in 1970, 1980 and 1982!  Right from the beginning, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee (2008) faced adversity from drivers to officials to media. Yet, the “First Lady of Drag Racing” percevered and competed equally with the “boys” for over forty years.  With the above mentioned wins, 18 NHRA national event wins and a seemingly never-ending list of “first female” accomplishments, Muldowney made it easier for other woman racers to enter the male dominated world of quarter miling. Not only that, but she actually laid the corner stone for their entrenchment and expected role in the sport.

Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney the “First Lady of Drag Racing”

1966 brought another milestone for women in racing and super stockers when Shirley Shahan became the first woman to win an NHRA national event at the Pomona, California Winternationals. The “Drag on Lady” was racing at seventeen years old, took her first win at the Bakersfield March Meet in California in 1959 and chalked up many more victories right up to 1972 when she unbuckled the harness for the last time. As the story goes, she even raced when she was seven months pregnant! Nineteen years of undisputed skill and determination … another huge contribution that helped to forge the mold for future female racers!

Another gender barrier cruncher made her mark in 1964 when she took her brand new ’64 ½ Mustang to the winners’ circle at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia. According to Carol “Bunny” Burkett, she worked her way into the “man’s world of drag racing” with little resistance, barring the occasional chauvinist who just didn’t like getting beat by a woman. Just like other woman racers of the time, she reports that the sanctioning bodies were the greatest test for equal recognition. Right up to 1972, the NHRA was still issuing “Ladies Drivers Permits”; true testimony to the attitudes of the day.

Carol “Bunny” Burkett

Through tenacity and endurance Burkett travelled countless miles all over Canada and the United States, building her victory record and picking up dedicated fans from all points. During her career, she had blasted her way through the ranks to Pro Stocks and finally to an International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Alcohol Funny Car world championship! Another first for women – a stature that she held until 2008! Her extensive list of accomplishments includes an NHRA Division 2 championship in ‘86, a 1991 IHRA Open Nationals championship and many quarter-mile and eighth-mile world records. Above all, her greatest accomplishments were her recovery from a near fatal 200 mph crash in 1995 at the Fall Funny Car Classic at Beaver Springs Dragway in Pennsylvania and a couple of battles with cancer. After a long post-accident rehabilitation, she got back into racing – even with pins in her back – until her retirement in 2003! In retirement she still promotes charities and special-needs organizations. On and off the track, Bunny has been tops in showmanship, determination and ultimate strength. She is the epitome of a role model for all racers, female or male!

There are dozens more pioneers of women in drag racing. There just isn’t enough room in this article to cover them all! No mater what, don’t judge the book by its cover. Don’t think of female racers as the “tender gender”. Yep, they’re mighty pretty, but there’s a lot of guts and glory behind those “non-hairy, non-bristled” packages.
Women in drag racing have paid their dues and they are taking on the fastest sport on earth with a passion.

On that note, I would like to redirect your reading attention to Canadian Drag Racer Magazine’s Featured Driver section. I am submitting profiles about the Women in Manitoba drag racing, starting with a gal who really flies! Click Here to Read Article Over the next few months we will meet all of them.

Now, that said, there are plenty of females who have the need for speed at every drag strip across Canada. If you have a gal at your track that you would like to have featured, just drop me a note at dalehickey@canadiandragracer.ca.

Photo Credit: Rob Potter / Dale Boeru

Dale Hickey
Canadian Drag Racer Magazine