Who was the first woman licensed by the NHRA to drive a Top Fuel dragster?

Shirley Muldowney was the first woman licensed by the NHRA to drive a Top Fuel dragster.

Born Shirley Ann Roque, Muldowney began racing in the 1950s and earned her NHRA professional license in 1965. She obtained her Top Fuel license in 1973, with Don Garlits, Tommy Ivo, and Connie Kalitta among those who supported her application.

Muldowney faced strong resistance in a male-dominated sport, but her results changed perceptions. She won NHRA Top Fuel championships in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first woman to win a major NHRA championship and the first driver to claim three Top Fuel titles.

A common mix-up is confusing her with Erica Enders, the first woman to win an NHRA Pro Stock event and a Pro Stock championship. Muldowney raced Top Fuel, the nitro-powered class featuring the sport’s fastest dragsters, and became known as the “First Lady of Drag Racing.”