We can chalk that up to a bunch of OLD, WHITE men who to this day doesn’t give the first shit about women or minorities first that matter achieving success on the drag strip, NASCAR track, or the dirt track
The problem is she thinks her Shit doesn't stink. I was at the last race she in the Peanuts Dragster. I tried to get her autograph along with a little girl along side of me begging Shirley her to come over the rope sign the hero card. In true Shirley fashion she turned her back to the fans.
What a woman, what racer, what an all round incredible human being. I cannot imagine what it mush have been like to sit next her and listen to what she had to say. Thank you for doing this Wayne! There will never be another racer, man or woman like the great Shirley Muldowney!
I was there at the NHRA Spring Nationals at National Trails in Columbus, Ohio when Shirley became the first woman to win a championship! Love you, Cha Cha!
I met Shirley back in the late 70s at the Winter Nationals at the old California Speedway. My cousin and I had pit passes and we hung out for a while at her pit. I say this, she was determined and driven to win and so was her small crew. Great lady and a fierce competitor.
What an admirable woman!! I watched Shirley and Don in Sacramento years ago, what a race. Later my niece, Ashley Pettyjohn become a young guns drag racer. Sadley was in a car accident, and passed away from complications shortly after. Thank you Shirley for being a kind an down to earth lady!!🕊️🕊️🕊️👍
WOW! I met both of you 20 years apart. Wayne you were very gracious when meeting you at Stahl's Museum in Chesterfield Twp. Mi a few years ago. On the other hand, I met Shirley when I pulled her over for speeding in Ray Twp. MI. Yes, I let her go with a smile. You are both awesome!!
Saw her at Heartland years ago. She was out and came up into the bleachers to watch the finals. She sat five foot from me. I got to say hi to her and that was great! Helluva woman.
Decades ago I watched the movie Heart Like a Wheel with my wife and two young daughters. My wife is not into cars at all, they are nothing more but an appliance. But she loved the movie and how Shirley competed in a mans world and won!!!! Awesome lady.
I'M 71 YEARS OLD AND WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, IALWAYS HAD THE HOTS FOR SHIRLEY "CHA-CHA" MULDOWNEY... ALL THESE YEARS LATER, I STILL DO❣️... DANICA PATRICK, YOU ARE A FAR SECOND 👍🏻😎
Shirley broke the boundaries in drag racing's top class, and she did it in a "top class" fashion! She exhibited just what it takes to break into a "man's sport", achieving excellence and earning the respect of her male competitors, particularly the ones whose doors she blew off! Thank you to another classy individual, Big Daddy Don Garlits, who was a great help in making sure that Shirley got her Top Fuel license! You both were very positive influences to the sport of drag racing. Thank you both for the many great memories! 🏆🏆🏁🏁
I give her credit for ❤ and the balls to run that flat out ! Remember her as a kid late 70s 80s. She had nothing to be worried about nor should she care now ,she made it ! Thanks Shirley !
As a kid in the early 1970’s my Dad’s best friend was Earnie Hall. Earnie was a AA top fuel dragster driver and I had the awesome experience of going many times to Portland International Raceway. Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudome, Jungle Jim, The Mongoose, The Snake, The Hawaiian etc. just to name a few. What a great experience at a great time in this nations history. I consider myself lucky. Shirley was a pioneer and overcame so many obstacles to become one of the “Great Ones”. Great to see her still doing well.
Seeing my first Indy 500 race in person about 1982 brought chills to my spine and tears to my eyes because on TV it does the reality of it no justice. I imagine it’s the same in drag racing.
Oh it's truer in drags. You're closer to the action, you can see pretty much all of it from one spot, and the SOUND...nearest thing to it is an extended, amplified volley of rifle fire, and that's only at idle...the sheer roar when a fueler launches feels like it's going to dislodge your soul. (And I haven't been to a drag race in about fifty years. That's how memorable it is.)
She was at her peak when i was a kid and becoming drag racing crazy. She was my favorite driver then and always will be. I'll never forget the sight of that pink car with the Pioneer sponsorship.
I remember her funny car run @ Cordova Dragway in Ill when her shoots didn't open...she came back 'laying ' across the 'hood' holding corn stalks...long time ago...love this lady - thx for the fantastic interview "Cha Cha"!
Love this. Haven't seen (or heard!) a drag race, live as Shirley describes it, in probably fifty years. But still remember it, especially that sound. And Shirley was a favourite. Saw her run once, in a Kalitta team AA/FC Mustang, at Cayuga, Ontario, about 1972; it had been at the same strip a few years earlier where Don Garlits had signed Shirley off for AA/FD...
Great Lady with a sense of humor; Renegade raceway in Washington, 1970s: my best friend and I got to race her after the night’s events. She and Connie in her crew truck, us in his dad’s Javelin. She blew our doors off! What an honor!
Wow, made my eyes leak. I really need my eye doctor to figure this out. At the end, you can hear it in her voice. I can not ever say it enough. What an awesome lady.
When I saw the movie "Heart like a Wheel" in the early 1980s I became an instant fan, incredible lady. 'Cleetus McFarland' is our local drag racing hero at The Freedom Factory in S W Florida.
The very first drag race I ever watch was a Shirley Muldowney race. She is my all time favorite driver and I do have a Cha-Cha funny car and one of my prize possessions is my pink dragster die casts. Shirley is the greatest, never miss a chance to see anything about her. Thanks you Shirley for make me a race fan and a huge fan of yours.
THANK YOU Shirley.for thrilling use at Irwindale Raceway in S California. I'm 65 yrs old and remember hearing the ground shaking 12 miles away in Arcadia calif. Love you. I was ten yrs old. I have a belt drive on my harley Davidson. Because I remember. Those days.❤❤❤❤❤❤
LOVE her I was a Drag Race fan going to the Drags watching and being a weekend warrior with my Corvette trying to bracket race. She is such an inspiration.can't wait to see this documentary
All the remaining racing legends should be recorded! I met Jim Hall and Johnny Rutherford recently and they share little details that aren’t published.
Love you Shirley. I saw you race the large father in Edmonton Alberta at Capitol raceway i believe in 1975 or 76 when i was in grade ten or eleven. If i remember correctly you beat Big Daddy. Both of you Legends..Amen
Good times watching Shirley at KCI Raceway in the day. Along with the other "biggies". Shirley was class in the day and class now. Wayne thanks for this interview! Going to watch the video!
My daughter raced quarter midgets from when she was 8 to 12 and met Shirley at a car show in Sacramento in 91 and could not have been treated better. Had my daughter stand by her while she did an interview and then continued to sign autographs, she didn't brush anyone off.
Yes you are correct that is why I quit watching NASCAR. It seemed like more emphasis was placed on the sponsors product then on the actual racing. I don't want to watch a 500 mile commercial.
Decades ago I went to the Florida GatorNationals with a friend. We were walking through the pit areas and stopped at Shirley Muldowney's pit area. We were watching her mechanics work on her dragster. Then, the motorhome door opened, Shirley came out and jaws dropped. Yes, she was absolutely stunning, but that is just a male's observation. She was also the most successful and famous female drag racer in America. We later watched her pilot her dragster down that quarter-mile.
Saw more than a few drag races on TV, that Shirley was competing in. And saw a few where she crashed, and it always scared me when a crash happened. And I’ve worked on cars for the last 40 years, never worked on a race car or dragster but I’ve been next to a few when they got started up. I’ve also fired a few hot roads up with open headers, and no exhaust manifolds that I built and while loud enough to feel them they didn’t even come close to the level of a dragster or nascar engine loud. Only thing I found that was louder, was the whine of a jet engine.
Thank you, Wayne. Great inteview of someone I truly admire. Shirley overcame so many obstacles to become one of the legends of drag racing. I wish I had her tenacity.
My daughter and I were just there yesterday. Hated I missed meeting Shirley when she was there a few weeks ago, but was able to snag one of those BEAUTIFUL lithographs she has had made and autographed from the gift shop for $20. Such a wonderful example of perseverance and dedication to our young people.
I got a chance to talk to her last year in Joliet. She is so cool and a very nice person. Got a autographed poster. So cool. I remember seeing her race on tv. 👍🏻👍🏻
Wow very good interview!!! Thank you both for doing this it was great to see the champion gleaming over her top fuel dragster . The show on Fs1 was fantastic .
Shirley is a Drag racing Legend who doesn't get the respect she deserves!
We can chalk that up to a bunch of OLD, WHITE men who to this day doesn’t give the first shit about women or minorities first that matter achieving success on the drag strip, NASCAR track, or the dirt track
Hell yeah she is the best ever
That Same Old Same She's a Women in a Man's Sport ? Sad But She Was The Best of her Day
Legend. A national treasure. Nuff said. I have always admired her. She's the queen. There will never be another one like her.
The problem is she thinks her Shit doesn't stink. I was at the last race she in the Peanuts Dragster. I tried to get her autograph along with a little girl along side of me begging Shirley her to come over the rope sign the hero card. In true Shirley fashion she turned her back to the fans.
What a woman, what racer, what an all round incredible human being. I cannot imagine what it mush have been like to sit next her and listen to what she had to say. Thank you for doing this Wayne! There will never be another racer, man or woman like the great Shirley Muldowney!
👍😊👏👏👏👏
Well said
When I hear the term “Drag Queen,” this is who I think of. Hey, I grew up in the 60’s & the 70’s reading Hot Rod Magazine. Bless you Cha Cha!
She HATED that nickname.
@@jtuttle11 I never called her that, I was comparing her to the Rue Paul type.
I can so relate, an era that can never be duplicated, so blessed to have lived it and been there. Thank you Cha-Cha...........
The lady is living history!
Seen her in Sanair in 1986,when she came back after her bad accident,
Here is an excellent example of an American Woman that is a great influence on the younger generations to come! God Bless her🙏🏼!
I was there at the NHRA Spring Nationals at National Trails in Columbus, Ohio when Shirley became the first woman to win a championship! Love you, Cha Cha!
I met Shirley back in the late 70s at the Winter Nationals at the old California Speedway. My cousin and I had pit passes and we hung out for a while at her pit. I say this, she was determined and driven to win and so was her small crew. Great lady and a fierce competitor.
I thought every ticket was a pit pass. I know that's how it is in Indy.
The Little girl in pink dragster still givin'em HELL!! Yes Sir! GO Shirl!!
Watched Shirley beat big Daddy at the old Hollywood speedway in Hollywood Florida, both absolute legends! Good interview Wayne!
Yeah the good old days!! Like she's saying, they turned it into a money pit!! And we know the price of parts now!!
What an admirable woman!! I watched Shirley and Don in Sacramento years ago, what a race. Later my niece, Ashley Pettyjohn become a young guns drag racer. Sadley was in a car accident, and passed away from complications shortly after. Thank you Shirley for being a kind an down to earth lady!!🕊️🕊️🕊️👍
Shirley, "I Pack the Chutes". Awesome
If your spinning your not winning.. Shirley is a legend ...
WOW! I met both of you 20 years apart. Wayne you were very gracious when meeting you at Stahl's Museum in Chesterfield Twp. Mi
a few years ago. On the other hand, I met Shirley when I pulled her over for speeding in Ray Twp. MI. Yes, I let her go with a smile. You are both awesome!!
What a wonderful Lady straight forward and honest about the sport
Saw her at Heartland years ago. She was out and came up into the bleachers to watch the finals. She sat five foot from me. I got to say hi to her and that was great! Helluva woman.
Decades ago I watched the movie Heart Like a Wheel with my wife and two young daughters. My wife is not into cars at all, they are nothing more but an appliance. But she loved the movie and how Shirley competed in a mans world and won!!!! Awesome lady.
I'M 71 YEARS OLD AND WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, IALWAYS HAD THE HOTS FOR SHIRLEY "CHA-CHA" MULDOWNEY... ALL THESE YEARS LATER, I STILL DO❣️... DANICA PATRICK, YOU ARE A FAR SECOND 👍🏻😎
I think most of us lol
Shirley broke the boundaries in drag racing's top class, and she did it in a "top class" fashion! She exhibited just what it takes to break into a "man's sport", achieving excellence and earning the respect of her male competitors, particularly the ones whose doors she blew off! Thank you to another classy individual, Big Daddy Don Garlits, who was a great help in making sure that Shirley got her Top Fuel license! You both were very positive influences to the sport of drag racing. Thank you both for the many great memories! 🏆🏆🏁🏁
awesome, no school like the old school ...paving the road to the future GO ! Shirley
SHE IS A ROCK STAR, I remember her well, love it
She is a real treasure what a Woman.
I give her credit for ❤ and the balls to run that flat out ! Remember her as a kid late 70s 80s. She had nothing to be worried about nor should she care now ,she made it ! Thanks Shirley !
As a kid in the early 1970’s my Dad’s best friend was Earnie Hall. Earnie was a AA top fuel dragster driver and I had the awesome experience of going many times to Portland International Raceway. Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudome, Jungle Jim, The Mongoose, The Snake, The Hawaiian etc. just to name a few. What a great experience at a great time in this nations history. I consider myself lucky. Shirley was a pioneer and overcame so many obstacles to become one of the “Great Ones”. Great to see her still doing well.
@ 6:10 Shirley is 100% correct, you must see Top Fuel cars in person, it's still unreal to watch after seeing hundreds of runs.
It is awesome to hear a champion speak. They are different.
Thank you Wayne and Shirley!
I love her humility and honesty. What a legend!
Heart like a wheel was my favorite movie when i was a kid
I love how candid this woman is. The Queen of drag racing!
Back in the late 70's I was fortunate to see her and all the big names at Great Lakes Dragaway in Wisconsin! Great times...
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE RACER AND GROUND BREAKER. SHE PAVED THE WAY FOR SURE!!!
Shirley is one of my favorite drag racers.Such a cool lady.
I had the pleasure of meeting this Wonderful Legend One Day at the Racetrack!! What Great Memory ❤ Thanks for Your Wonderful Story and History 🥰
Now I want to watch" Heart Like A Wheel" again...and again !
Love you Shirley I love your passion for being a great person and role model
Wow brings back great memories! Pleased Wayne interviewed Miss Shirley. All the best!
Absolutely a legend !!!!! Loved seeing her as a kid and I'm 52 now ! Her, Big Daddy, Snake and Mongoose were my idols in the early 80's.
Seeing my first Indy 500 race in person about 1982 brought chills to my spine and tears to my eyes because on TV it does the reality of it no justice. I imagine it’s the same in drag racing.
Oh it's truer in drags. You're closer to the action, you can see pretty much all of it from one spot, and the SOUND...nearest thing to it is an extended, amplified volley of rifle fire, and that's only at idle...the sheer roar when a fueler launches feels like it's going to dislodge your soul. (And I haven't been to a drag race in about fifty years. That's how memorable it is.)
I used to see Her at the Fremont drag strip in the early 70s, along with the Snake and Mongoose, great times.
I was there every race when she was there we came from Antioch ❤
What a wonderful lady I met her and got her autograph at englishtown raceway Park New Jersey.❤👍.
Shirley first woman to dragrace god bless you legend
Deserves more than a like!!! Hearts!!!!
She was at her peak when i was a kid and becoming drag racing crazy. She was my favorite driver then and always will be. I'll never forget the sight of that pink car with the Pioneer sponsorship.
Grew up in that era when tv started covering racing, it was always great to cheer on Cha-Cha!
I remember her funny car run @ Cordova Dragway in Ill when her shoots didn't open...she came back 'laying ' across the 'hood' holding corn stalks...long time ago...love this lady - thx for the fantastic interview "Cha Cha"!
Always liked to watch her race ❤
What an inspiration!
Shirley, this interview is awsome. Just a couple days ago I saw a picture of you and Linda Vaughn standing at a fence
Wayne,what a nice surprise to have Shirley on. Absolutely Awesome.
Love this. Haven't seen (or heard!) a drag race, live as Shirley describes it, in probably fifty years. But still remember it, especially that sound. And Shirley was a favourite. Saw her run once, in a Kalitta team AA/FC Mustang, at Cayuga, Ontario, about 1972; it had been at the same strip a few years earlier where Don Garlits had signed Shirley off for AA/FD...
Much respect for this fine lady.
I grew up in the 70s , this woman was amazing. Nitro methane shakes the ground. She's cool as hell!!!!!!!!!!
Still legendary after all these years!!
I remember as a
7 year old kid and the days she would race at Tucson dragway.
😊 🏎 💭
Great Lady with a sense of humor; Renegade raceway in Washington, 1970s: my best friend and I got to race her after the night’s events. She and Connie in her crew truck, us in his dad’s Javelin. She blew our doors off! What an honor!
Such an awesome lady.
Loved our conversation at the cajun nationals decades ago.
Sweet sweet woman.
Wow, made my eyes leak.
I really need my eye doctor to figure this out.
At the end, you can hear it in her voice.
I can not ever say it enough. What an awesome lady.
So awesome!
What a treat 😊😊😊
I remember watching her when I was a kid. What an epic time in motorsports, and I got to see it happen :)
When I saw the movie "Heart like a Wheel" in the early 1980s I became an instant fan, incredible lady. 'Cleetus McFarland' is our local drag racing hero at The Freedom Factory in S W Florida.
Hell yeah brother!!!!😂😂😂😂😂
Thanks for posting the name of that movie! I never forgot her name after watching that film. Bad ass for sure!
The very first drag race I ever watch was a Shirley Muldowney race. She is my all time favorite driver and I do have a Cha-Cha funny car and one of my prize possessions is my pink dragster die casts. Shirley is the greatest, never miss a chance to see anything about her. Thanks you Shirley for make me a race fan and a huge fan of yours.
She's a legend. Was my mom's favorite.
THANK YOU Shirley.for thrilling use at Irwindale Raceway in S California. I'm 65 yrs old and remember hearing the ground shaking 12 miles away in Arcadia calif. Love you. I was ten yrs old. I have a belt drive on my harley Davidson. Because I remember. Those days.❤❤❤❤❤❤
Great interview Wayne.
I followed her racing from her first advertised appearance at US-30 Drag Strip.
I remember the radio advertisements for US 30. Smoking US 30 drag strip where the great ones run.
Raceway Park Englishtow NJ was the coolest to see all the bigs.
LOVE her I was a Drag Race fan going to the Drags watching and being a weekend warrior with my Corvette trying to bracket race. She is such an inspiration.can't wait to see this documentary
All the remaining racing legends should be recorded! I met Jim Hall and Johnny Rutherford recently and they share little details that aren’t published.
Love you Shirley. I saw you race the large father in Edmonton Alberta at Capitol raceway i believe in 1975 or 76 when i was in grade ten or eleven. If i remember correctly you beat Big Daddy. Both of you Legends..Amen
Good times watching Shirley at KCI Raceway in the day. Along with the other "biggies". Shirley was class in the day and class now. Wayne thanks for this interview! Going to watch the video!
WOW thanks. This REALLY brought back some great memories of my old drag racing days. What an ICON and piller in racing!. Thanks.
My daughter raced quarter midgets from when she was 8 to 12 and met Shirley at a car show in Sacramento in 91 and could not have been treated better. Had my daughter stand by her while she did an interview and then continued to sign autographs, she didn't brush anyone off.
Fantastic! -- Glad I found you, Wayne
She speaks the truth. Once corporations get involved, whatever the endeavor it's fucked.
Yes you are correct that is why I quit watching NASCAR. It seemed like more emphasis was placed on the sponsors product then on the actual racing. I don't want to watch a 500 mile commercial.
Shirley Muldowney great video
Wayne, really miss your show.
...such a badass Lady
Great Woman. Has done a lot to promote Drag racing. Meet her some years ago , great person to talk with.
What a LEGEND!!! I remember wathcing her race as a kid. I remember the movie about her too. So nice to see Shirley doing well!!!
Shirley is one of our national treasures! Looking forward to watching the documentary. Great job, as usual, Wayne.
Great memories of watching her race during the glory days.
Did some work on her cars (aero) back in the 80's. Super nice as was Ron. Nothing but respect and admiration for her.
Decades ago I went to the Florida GatorNationals with a friend. We were walking through the pit areas and stopped at Shirley Muldowney's pit area. We were watching her mechanics work on her dragster. Then, the motorhome door opened, Shirley came out and jaws dropped. Yes, she was absolutely stunning, but that is just a male's observation. She was also the most successful and famous female drag racer in America. We later watched her pilot her dragster down that quarter-mile.
Hell yes. Love me some Shirley ❤
My favorite races were Shirley against Big Daddy! ✌️❤️🎣
I sure love you Shirley! I'm 64 you have always been the greatest in my book ! The two women I always thought , were cool ,,,you and Stevie Nicks !!!!
Saw more than a few drag races on TV, that Shirley was competing in. And saw a few where she crashed, and it always scared me when a crash happened. And I’ve worked on cars for the last 40 years, never worked on a race car or dragster but I’ve been next to a few when they got started up. I’ve also fired a few hot roads up with open headers, and no exhaust manifolds that I built and while loud enough to feel them they didn’t even come close to the level of a dragster or nascar engine loud. Only thing I found that was louder, was the whine of a jet engine.
Hi shirley i love drag racing i go to Santa pod with my brother and watch have got friends race there been going there for46yrs
Amazing ❤
Thank you, Wayne. Great inteview of someone I truly admire. Shirley overcame so many obstacles to become one of the legends of drag racing. I wish I had her tenacity.
Fantastic racer!
I grew up watching her on Sunday afternoons.
wonderful!!
Loved seeing Shirley Muldowney and Don Garlits blast down the 1/4 mile.
My daughter and I were just there yesterday. Hated I missed meeting Shirley when she was there a few weeks ago, but was able to snag one of those BEAUTIFUL lithographs she has had made and autographed from the gift shop for $20. Such a wonderful example of perseverance and dedication to our young people.
I saw Shirley race Garlits in one of their famous match races at Fremont Raceway in the 70s. What a legend.
I got a chance to talk to her last year in Joliet. She is so cool and a very nice person. Got a autographed poster. So cool. I remember seeing her race on tv. 👍🏻👍🏻
Back the mid to late 70s i met her at Bakersfield dragstrip
Wow very good interview!!! Thank you both for doing this it was great to see the champion gleaming over her top fuel dragster . The show on Fs1 was fantastic .