CraveOnline: How did you get the nickname “Cha Cha?”
Shirley Muldowney: I got it in the late 50s when nicknames were synonymous with the sport of drag racing. I think that is sadly missed today. It was a major part of the sport and I think they need to go back to that and just give us a break with some of this corporate stuff. But I went to a race out in Sanford, Maine back in 1959. That’s when they wrote your class number on your window in shoe polish. I was driving a 58′ red Chevrolet with white top, a convertible all lowered, pretty jazzy looking.
The tech guy wrote it on the car in shoe polish along with the permanent number for that day. It was very small but it looked cute and we decided that we would stay with a nickname cause it was shorter than ‘Shirley Muldowney.’ Tommy Ivo told me I was making the biggest mistake of my racing career if I didn’t keep the name “Cha Cha” on the car and paint it pink so I took his advice.
CraveOnline: Shirley, what stands out the most to you during your NHRA career?
Shirley Muldowney: It would be Indy [1982 U.S. Nationals], of course. There’s a lot of people out there and there is only a handful of people who can say they won Indy. There’s a few who have won it multiple times and that’s enviable. All you have to do is win it once and I won it once. I could have won Indy more than once but as far as I am concerned, once was good enough.
CraveOnline: How has the sport changed since you were competing?
Shirley Muldowney: It’s changed in leaps and bounds. Its very ego-driven. The TV has made, at least in their minds, they think they’re household names, but the majority of them, 98% of them, you could see their name outside the circles of drag racing and nobody would know who they are. That’s not a putdown. That’s just simply the way it is. In the motor sports world, we have more than our share of superstars. Our people are equally as good as the Nascar group. Our people are dedicated. They are talented. They are spoiled. They are ego-driven and there’s a good number of them that I can count on more than two hands that are really, great people who would do anything for you.
Then there are some, who will remain un-named, that will cut your throat for your sponsor. To be honest, that hasn’t changed. That’s the way its been since day one. Its very cutthroat, dog eat dog, and that’s the way you have to be in this game.
CraveOnline: When you won your first world title, how good did it feel to stick it to your critics?
Shirley Muldowney: I stuck it to my critics long before I won that, truthfully. It was not only what we did, its how we did it. It wasn’t a countdown, crapshoot, mind you. It was a series of x number of races, x number of points races that we were forced to run by the NHRA. That’s how they set it up back then. It was x number of points, if who ever had the most points, wins, etc at the end of the year, that was your world champion and that’s the way it should be.
I licensed for Top Fuel in 74′ and three years later, I was world champion. You can’t argue with that. The thing about it was, is that I had it won in Indy. I had it sewed up at the U.S. Nationals so that makes Indy even more special to me.
CraveOnline: Speaking of the U.S. Nationals, your iconic victory at that track in 1982 always comes to mind. What do you recall about that final round vs Connie Kalitta?
Shirley Muldowney: I loved sweeping the floor with him. If anyone had it coming, Kalitta had it coming. I enjoyed every minute of it. There was a big spread in the mile per hour between the cars and we won the race. He was a good sportsman at the end of the racetrack. Other than that, it was the win of wins. If anyone had the last say, I had the last say and I will take take that with me for the rest of my life. People remember that race. The stands were full and every person was standing up.
CraveOnline: What makes the U.S. National in Indianapolis so special?
Shirley Muldowney: Indy was always a good racetrack. It wasn’t lopsided. The lines were usually pretty equal. Everybody had a fair opportunity there to bring home the win. I have to commend NHRA. They did a lot to prepare the racetracks so everybody had a square shot at it.
CraveOnline: What’s your state of mind have to be when you step into that dragster?
Shirley Muldowney: Pay attention, stay ahead of it, always, stay ahead of it, and think.
CraveOnline: You paved the way not only for female drivers but female athletes across all sports. How difficult was it being a girl amongst boys during your era? Do you think female drivers face the same challenges today?
Shirley Muldowney: [Laughs] Of course not. They wouldn’t hold up. Their daddy would be over there beating somebody up or the husband would be over there, you know what I’m saying. They have no earthly idea what it was like. Courtney [Force], bless her heart, keep in mind, first and foremost, she’s got a fabulous race car. I could take any girl out there and she would shine just as shiny [sic] as Courtney does in that car. Let’s make sure we got that in the picture.
But she wasn’t the 100th female to win a race, so she’s crying, give me a break [referencing Force crying over losing at Atlanta Dragway in May before winning that honor the following week]. You know what I’m saying? If she’s going to cry over that, let me tell you, in 1973, she would have been bawling her eyes out if she had to put up with what I had to put up with.
I survived because they didn’t realize they were dealing with a street kid. I grew up in New York, living in a four story tenement house with community bathrooms. You want to fight? C’mon in, the water is fine, guys. I can’t even think of any one of them that ever confronted me face to face including Don Garlits. It was all done through the backdoor. That’s what made the championships so fruitful. Winning was everything to me. It was the best revenge and something that will never be duplicated.
CraveOnline: Your rivalry with Don Garlits is legendary. How intense was that?
Shirley Muldowney: [Laughs] It was, let me tell you. That wasn’t hype, it wasn’t trumped up by some publicist…it was real. We really, really didn’t like each other. He hated me. I didn’t like him very much but he hated me [laughs].
CraveOnline: Do you see yourself in any athlete today?
Shirley Muldowney: There is one out there that I do see myself in. I’m not quite as tactful but I see shades of Shirley in Erica Enders-Stevens [Pro Stock driver]. Keep in mind, that’s a hard car to drive and I cannot help but stand back and admire her. She’s a different person than Shirley in a lot of ways. But she’s got some spine and let me tell you, that’s what it takes in that class.
CraveOnline: If they re-made Heart Like A Wheel [Shirley Muldowney biographical film], who would you want to play you?
Shirley Muldowney: Oh, boy. I did have breakfast with a couple dozen actresses during that time when they were auditioning. I was told that 300 women tried to get an audition for that part. How Bonnie Bedelia got it, I don’t know. She wasn’t my choice but I did have breakfast with Jamie Lee Curtis and what a delightful lady she was. She was wonderful and she was my choice. It didn’t happen because she couldn’t pull off 18 years old and the 40 years old.
But somehow Bonnie did and she got it and the rest is history. They just released a new DVD. Its still on cable five or six times a year on television and people just know it. Its pretty nice to have a movie made about you. I don’t know any new actresses out there though.
CraveOnline: What are you up to these days?
Shirley Muldowney: I have two chihuahuas that are my entire life and I moved outside the Charlotte, North Carolina area. I’m making some new friends, I left Michigan and I left the snow. I do some personal appearances. I work with Doug Herbert’s B.R.A.K.E.S. foundation, a free driving course for teenagers.
CraveOnline: What advice would you give drivers today?
Shirley Muldowney: Women, don’t sign anything til somebody reads it. Don’t date a crew member and God almighty, don’t marry one. Just do your own thing. You don’t have to duplicate the way Shirley did it or the way Erica does it. Do it the way it feels best for you. That’s the best advice I could give to any up and coming driver or any aspiring driver.
Photos courtesy of NHRA
Joshua Caudill is a writer for CraveOnline Sports, a surfing enthusiast, an unhealthy sports fanatic, and an expert on all things Patrick Swayze. You can follow him on Twitter @JoshuaCaudill85 or “like”CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
