1970s
Women Drag Racers in the Third Decade
Nita Blaylock
She drove a '72 Camaro named "She Bull" on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1972. She won over the field of eight at the circuit race at U.S. 13 Dragway.
Nita Blaylock (circled) with other ladies on the 1972 Miss Universe Pro Stock Drag Racing circuit
Judi Boertman
1943-
In 1971, Judi Boertman, from Muskegon, Michigan, became the second woman ever to win an eliminator crown at a national event when she won the stock division at the NHRA Summernationals. She beat her husband, Dave (a five-time winner) when he red-lighted in the finals. She was in his Winternationals-winning L/SA Dodge Coronet wagon, and he was in his J/SA '71 Charger, with which he had won the Gatornationals. Both cars were sponsored by The Rod Shop. Although some questioned whether Dave gave her a gift in the win, she had waded through eliminations successfully to reach the finals. Judi admitted to being more at home--at home--than under the hood, where her husband handled the performance duties with their race cars. "I know where the radiator is and the oil stick," Judi confessed, "but that's about it. I sure don't like to get all that gooey grease under my fingernails."
Jean Brown
Jean Brown, a 7th-grade home economics teacher in Clinton, Maryland, was the wife of well-known drag racer Taylor "Mousie" Brown. They got married in 1968. She competed from 1971-74 in the Miss Universe and Miss America Drag Racing circuits, driving a Super Stock Camaro and a Vega Pro Stocker. Click here to view video 2013 interview with Mousie and Jean Brown; her segment begins about the 3:00 minute mark.
Liz Burn
1949-
In the 1960s, Liz started going to drag races in England with her boyfriend, Ollie Burn. The two later married and had two children. Ollie decided he'd like to try drag racing. One thing led to another and Liz began racing, too. "I got involved purely by chance really," said Liz. "Ollie had bought this car and decided to put me in the hot seat. "We knew absolutely nothing about how to prepare a car for racing back then. I got the car to the starting line and it just died." She was so embarrassed that she let Ollie drive the car the rest of the season. But when Ollie bought a dragster in about 1972, she began driving it. In 1973, they bought a AA/FD and Liz became the second woman outside America to be licensed to drive a top fuel dragster. She raced it for three years, with a best clocking of 213 mph at 6.98 seconds. From 1975-79, she drove a top alcohol dragster and a AA/A alcohol-fueled '32 Bantam roadster. She won the European Championship two years in a row. In 1980, her marriage to Ollie ended and she retired from racing. In 1990, she remarried (Peter Rowland) and had another son, too. In 2010, she published the diary that she kept during her racing years--Drag Racing: Through the Eyes of a Woman.
Terri Byers
1954-
Terri Byers, a housewife and mother of two from South Bend, Indiana, began drag racing in 1977. Having been taught by her husband, Steve, she began chalking up victories at various drag strips in Indiana in the late 1970s. She raced in the Super Pro bracket in a car named "River Rat."
Mary Carland
ca. 1953-
Mary Carland, from Pontiac, Michigan, started drag racing as a teenager. A tall brunette, she was a beauty contest winner, fashion model, and did TV commercials--all before graduating from high school. She garnered lots of attention in the press in 1970-72 for her varied interests.
Carolyn Casey
1948-
Carolyn Casey, from Hastings, Michigan, took a class win in Y/SA at the 1975 U.S. Nationals with her '68 Chevelle. At the 1976 Nationals, she took a class win in W/SA.
Ann Clem
1946-
Ann, of Edinburg, Virginia, drove a '69 Camaro, named "Annimatic," on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1972. She was a winner at the race that year at Cecil County Dragway. She continued racing in 1973 in the Miss Universe Pro Stock Circuit. At Eastside Drag Strip in Virginia, she won in a match race against Jean Brown. She continued racing in 1974, competing on the Miss America of Drag Racing circuit in a Vega. Her husband, Wayne, built and maintained her car. Ann was an 8th-grade math teacher in Falls Church, Virginia. Ann started racing because of her friendship with Jean Brown, who had been her college roommate. "One day Mousie [Jean Brown's husband] called while I was painting the kitchen," said Ann. "He said he'd borrowed a car and wanted Wayne [Ann's husband] to come help switch his engine to the car and he wanted me to drive. I assured him I couldn't. But after I did, I was hooked." Ann and Wayne's marriage unraveled and they divorced in 1987.
Ann Clem (circled) with other ladies on the 1974 Miss America of Drag Racing circuit
Pennie Davy
ca. 1945-
Pennie Davy, of Gainesville, Virginia, drove a Dodge Dart, named "Superstition," on the Miss Universe Pro Stock circuit in 1973. She had married Bruce Davy in 1964, but they divorced in 1990.
Liz Deacon
Liz drove a Super Stock Camaro on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971.
Nancy Dodgion
1946-
Nancy Dodgion, of Bothell, Washington, began drag racing at least as early as 1976. Her husband, Ken, prepared a '62 Plymouth Savoy in SS/GA, racing it in the Northwest and British Columbia. She raced at least through 1978, with a '65 Dodge.
Ann Marie Donaca
1946-2001
In the late 1970s, Ann Marie drove a streamlined B econo dragster, named "Foxy Lady," powered by a 355-inch Chevy. In addition to driving dragsters, she raced motorcycles and was a model. She was an international lecturer, a cancer survivor, and former Mrs. America. In 1981, her parents were killed by a drunk driver and Ann Marie was passionate in speaking out against it.
Maureen Fairbairn
ca. 1948-
Maureen started drag racing by at least the early 1970s. Her husband, Eddie, crashed his '27 T roadster hot rod. He decided to rebuild it into a drag racing car. He named it "Devil Woman" and Marie drove it in the AA/SR class in the 1970s and 1980s in New Zealand. "My fastest time in the car was 9.3 at 147 mph, which very fast back then," Maureen said. At one time she was recognized as the fastest woman in the Southern Hemisphere and was also New Zealand's fastest woman for a short while. She and Eddie own American Auto Parts in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Yvonne Fredlund
Yvonne Fredlund, from Uppsala, Sweden, began drag racing at least as early as 1978 when she raced a '75 Vega in E/SA. The car was named "Madame Chic." By 1981, she was racing the car in the Pro Street category sponsored by Pioneer Stereo. After winning the Swedish championship, she got an offer to race in Top Fuel in 1986, but declined because she was pregnant.
Amy Faulk
1948-
It was about 1969 when Amy Faulk, from Memphis, first drag raced. "My husband Kenny raced," as Amy recalled. "One day, just completely out of the blue, he goes, 'You're going to race.' And I had no desire whatsoever. I'd watched him, but until you line up on the Christmas tree and experience going down there, you don't know what you don't know." At that early year, NHRA required that she get a license to race. "I was awful to begin with. I mean, terrible. Probably if I hadn't been so bad, I might not have stuck with it. But you know, when you make a fool of yourself, you can either quit, or you can decide to get better, learn and then beat the guys that were making fun of you. We were the turkeys. Everybody wanted to line up against me because I was inexperienced and an easy win, they thought. And I was, for a while. Then we started doing well." It was ten years in the making, but in 1979 Amy won the NHRA World Championship in Super Stock with her '67 Camaro. She was the seventh woman to win an NHRA national event and the first woman to win an NHRA national event in Alcohol Dragster. She continued racing top alcohol dragsters into the 1990s. She is widely regarded as the winningest woman in racing. She is also the CEO of the Hypertech performance company. Click here to watch a very interesting video of Amy talking about her career in drag racing to a group of women in 2018.
Margaret Glembocki
1944-
Margaret Glembocki, a mother of two living in Salinas, California, became the sixth woman to win an elimination title at an NHRA national event with a Super Stock Eliminator win at the 1977 Fallnationals. She had qualified fourth in a field of 63 cars in her SS/KA '69 Camaro. She first started drag racing in 1964. She raced a '57 Chevy in the late 1960s. She continued racing well into the 1990s.
Patti Hannes
ca. 1951-
Patti Hannes, mother of three, was reportedly the only woman drag racer in Chicago in the 1970s. She had been riding motorcycles since she was 15.
Shelley Harmon
She drove a Super Stock Chevy II on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971. [Note: A Shelley Harmon was a Hurstette on the Hurst Shifter Performance Team in the 1970s, but it is not known if that lady was the same as the lady who raced in 1971.]
Cathy Henry
1952-
Having grown up in Ohio with an older brother who was a drag racer, Kathy helped him as a crew member. When she moved to Colorado Springs in 1970, she married Lanier Henry, an avid drag racer. Lanier encouraged Kathy's racing as she moved through super stock, modified, gas, and altered race cars. In 1977, she got her license and began racing an econo-rail dragster.
Carol Henson
1944-
Carol, from Alexandria, Virginia, started competing in drag races in the late 1960s with a Plymouth Road Runner, but had an itch to go faster. She bought Dennis Whitestone's "Warlock" '69 Camaro in late 1970. She began competing with the car on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971-72, and was declared the overall circuit champion in 1971. She competed on the Miss Universe Pro Stock circuit in 1973. That year, she also married Dennis Whitestone, who was crew chief on her cars. She began running in the alcohol BB/FC ranks in 1975, the first woman to be licensed in that category. In that car, she became the first woman to drive a pro comp car under seven seconds in 1976. She reportedly dabbled in witchcraft as a hobby and worked as a cocktail waitress during her early racing years, when she got the nickname "Crazy Daisy." She and Dennis divorced in 1988, but Carol continued racing alcohol funny cars into the 1990s.
Leslie Hubbell
She drove a '69 Chevelle on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971.
Carolyn Hunt
She drove a '72 Hemi Cuda, named "Unicorn," on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1972.
Bonnie Johnson
She raced on the Miss Universe Pro Stock circuit in 1973.
Cook Jordan
ca. 1953-
With the help of her younger brother who did the mechanical work on her 1972 Mustang, Cook Jordan began racing at Tucson Dragway in 1972. For four years, she was a consistent winner in the Powder Puff and showroom stock competition, and made a fair showing in the King of the Hill competition that also included Top Stock winners.
Carol Kile
1944-
Carol Kile, from Baltimore, began drag racing in the Powder Puff events in 1970 at strips in Maryland. She drove a Super Stock '68 Mustang on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971.
Eva Kjellin
1945-
Eva, from Sundsvall, Sweden, began racing a Chevy-engined AA/FD, sponsored by Quaker State, at least as early as 1977, continuing into the 1980s. Click here to see video footage of her racing her dragster.
Rodalyn Knox
1946-
Rodalyn and her husband, John, from Weare, New Hampshire, began drag racing in the 1960s. Rodalyn first raced in the mid-1960s, piloting the family '63 Ford in the Powder Puff events. In 1967, she shared driving duties in class racing with her husband at the wheel of their '66 Plymouth Belvedere. With his wife's success, John decided to devote the 1969 season to preparing a race car for Rodalyn to drive in 1970. That year she set an AHRA record in D/SA. In late 1970, she gave birth to their second child. She first had success in 1972-73 with an injected nitro A/FC Duster on the East Coast Fuel Funny Car Circuit. The team built several cars that gathered many wins throughout the years. When Rodalyn and her husband, John, decided to step up to AA/FC in 1978, they bought the low-slung Chevy Monza from Bill Leavitt and renamed it the "Country Girl." Using the rare Milodon Hemi, the team had a mediocre year in 1979 and decided to quit funny car racing. Living in Weare, New Hampshire, Rodalyn and John decided to become tractor pullers instead.
Jeannie Lightfoot
ca. 1947-
Beginning in 1970, Jeannie raced a Carroll Shelby Mustang at road races and drag races for four years in Florida with some success. She moved to Reno, Nevada, in late 1974. Lacking a nearby drag strip, she continued her drag racing in California at the wheel of a turbocharged '74 Pinto.
Julie Luneack
1947-
Julie Luneack, of Breckenridge, Michigan, took a class win in I/SA at the 1974 U.S. Nationals with her '69 Chevy. Her husband, Greg, owner of a speed shop, had drag raced more than two decades.
Judy McCormack
1943-
From Milford, Michigan, Judy took class wins in W/SA at the 1978 and 1979 U.S. Nationals with her '72 Comet. She continued racing through the 1980s, 1990s, and was the number one qualifier in Stock at the 2000 U.S. Nationals.
Nancy McCormack
ca. 1938-
Nancy, a housewife with two children from Milford, Michigan, started drag racing to join her husband, Jim, in his hobby. She enjoyed much success with her Ford Fairlane 500 station wagon, even more than her husband. In 1965, she raced it at the U.S. Nationals.
Fran Mellott
1936-2018
Fran Mellott drove a Super Stock '69 Camaro on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971. She won races on the circuit at Highway 258 Drag Strip in North Carolina and Suffolk Raceway in Virginia. Her husband was Captain Jerre Mellott. They lived in Hustontown, Pennsylvania.
Ann Marie Donaca
1946-2001
In the late 1970s, Ann Marie drove a streamlined B econo dragster, named "Foxy Lady," powered by a 355-inch Chevy. In addition to driving dragsters, she raced motorcycles and was a model. She was an international lecturer, a cancer survivor, and former Mrs. America. In 1981, her parents were killed by a drunk driver and Ann Marie was passionate in speaking out against it.
Mary Ann Method
1949-
Mary Ann, from Kennewick, Washington, took a class win in T/SA at the 1979 U.S. Nationals with her '61 Chevy wagon. Mary Ann competed with good success well after 2000. She was a two-time national event winner who competes in stock eliminator with her husband, Cal. The first race she entered was at Winternationals in the mid-'70s. "My husband was racing before we met," she said. "We'd been married six years and I was going to all the races with him when a driver who was supposed to race with him didn't show up. It was the '75 or '76 Winternationals, I can't remember which. I just took over the entry. I went out to Irwindale to learn how to drive, and raced the next weekend. You couldn't do something like that now, but it was OK back then. I went four rounds, one more than my husband. It was just dumb luck. I hadn't learned yet how many ways there are to lose. All I was worried about was cutting a light and getting to the other end." Her two Stock Eliminator wins at a national event came in 1994 and 1995, both at the Champion Auto Stores Nationals at Brainerd.
Geneva Nash
1947-
After marrying Dwain Nash in 1965, he recruited his wife, Geneva, to drive his race cars in the early 1970s. Living in Visalia, they confined most of their racing to California. After Dwain's death in 2005, Geneva continued to race her top dragster with the support of a good crew.
Kitty O'Neil
1946-2018
Kitty O'Neil is known as "the fastest woman in the world." An illness in early childhood left her deaf, and more illnesses in early adulthood cut short a career in Olympic diving. She worked as a Hollywood stuntwoman. In 1976, she set a land speed record for women in a rocket car. She recorded an average speed of 512.710 mph, a record that still stands. In 1977, she set an unofficial world quarter mile record at El Mirage Dry Lake of 392.54 mph. After that, she began making exhibition appearances with a Ky Michaelson-built rocket-powered dragster at drag strips throughout the nation in 1977-78. Click here to see a short video film about Kitty O'Neil.
Bonnie Jean Philson
ca. 1948-
Bonnie met Leroy Philson in the late 1960s while she was competing in the Powder Puff category and he, a successful black drag racer, in a higher class. In the late 1970s, Bonnie got a chance to drive Tom Blankenship's '73 Plymouth Duster BB/FC. Bonnie then drove a '79 Monza alcohol funny car that the Philson's co-owned with Greg Maher from 1979-85. From 1988-94, Bonnie drove a succession of Camaro Pro Mods. She raced a radical '58 Chevy Pro Mod from 1996-2004. The bulk of her racing has been done in northern California. Bonnie raced in five decades, a deserving accomplishment.
Peggy Pierce
Peggy Pierce, from Aurora, Colorado, got into drag racing alcohol funny cars in the mid-1970s with her husband, Rick. Her first car was a Vega BB/FC that she raced in 1975. In the mid-1970s, Rick and Peggy also purportedly bought Art Ward's old "Assassination" racer, that Peggy destroyed in driving it head-first into the guard rail at Denver International. From 1976-77 she drove a '76 Corvette BB/FC. When she ended up in the sand trap at Bandimere in 1977, her husband took over the driving duties. She primarily stayed in Colorado to race.
Lynn Poole
Lynn drove a Chevelle, named "Rabbit Habbit," on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1972. She continued racing with a Camaro Pro Stock car, competing on the Miss America of Drag Racing circuit in 1974.
Lynn Poole (circled) with other ladies on the 1974 Miss America of Drag Racing circuit
Roz Prior
In 1973, Roz Prior's husband, Dave, bought the Chevy-engined "Age Machine" dragster from Bruce Brown. The cockpit was too tiny to fit Dave comfortably, so Roz was drafted to drive it at drag strips in their native country, England. From the start, she showed great promise and blossomed into a very capable driver. In 1974, the Priors bought Dennis Priddle's "Mr. Six" Chrysler Hemi top fueler. They renamed it "Fast Lady" and Roz's excellent times justified its name. In 1975, they got some backing from Revell model kits and Roz adopted the name Miss Revell. In May 1975, she turned 6.98 at 213 mph at Snetterton. In 1977, the Priors began campaigning a new rear-engined top fueler with a 426 Hemi that they called "Maneater." In 1978, they replaced the engine with a 484 inch Milodon Hemi. Roz recorded her best run of 6.42 seconds which stood as the ET record for British women for twenty years. They campaigned this top fueler through at least 1983. Roz also drove the Hellbender jet dragster in 1982. Roz was inducted into the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2006. Click here and go to the 2:37 mark to view a 1978 TV interview with Roz Prior.
JoAnn Reynolds
ca. 1949-
The Utah racer began her fuel career in 1978 in a AA/Funny Car. The car was Rick McMichaels' "Pink Chablis" '77 Vega. Her husband, Mike, drove their top fuel dragster. One week after getting her NHRA funny car license, she faced Mike in a husband vs. wife match race at Bonneville Raceway in Salt Lake City. Handling difficulties plagued the short-wheelbase car through 1979. JoAnn later gained a measure of success in a Top Fuel car that she began driving in 1980. JoAnn was only the second woman to get a top fuel license, number two behind Shirley Muldowney. She and Mike were the only husband-wife team in the nation, each with their own dragsters. But their marriage unraveled and JoAnn went out on her own in 1981. She had been timed at 6.30 and 229 mph at Ontario in late 1980. She qualified sixth in the top fuel field at the 1981 AHRA Winternationals at Tucson Dragway, but was beaten in the first round when she she had to shut off on the line with no oil pressure. "She has no conception of what she's doing," Shirley Muldowney, who also lost in the first round, said of JoAnn. "I wish her all the luck and she can be a good driver with more experience, but the chances of her getting hurt are very high." But JoAnn's dreams of being the next big-name top fuel woman driver fizzled out in 1981. With her funny car license still intact, she did some driving for Bob Weidline's BB/FC in 1983, but the earlier heady days of racing were in the rear-vew mirror for JoAnn.
Rae Richy
Rae Richy, from Pitman, New Jersey, competed with a Mustang sponsored by Mosley Speed Center on the 1973 Miss Universe Pro Stock circuit.
Pam Sanders
1952-
Pam Sanders, from Evansville, Indiana, raced a '69 Camaro prepped and maintained by her husband, Jay. Racing in the 1970s, she set NHRA national records and copped North Central Division championships. She took an I/SA class win at the 1975 Indy U.S. Nationals at 12.86 seconds at 104.65 mph. At both the 1978 and 1979 U.S. Nationals, Pam won the K/SA class in a '78 Plymouth Volare.
Linda Schultz
ca. 1956-
Linda, a sister of Roberta Schultz, competed on the Miss Universe Pro Stock circuit in 1973 and on the Miss America of Drag Racing circuit in 1974. She drove a '71 Maverick Pro Stock car owned by her father, Walt "Tex" Schultz. Linda's racing nickname was "Virginia Imp."
Linda Schultz (circled) with other ladies on the 1974 Miss America of Drag Racing circuit
Roberta Schultz
1957-
Roberta Schultz, from Woodbridge, Virginia, competed on the Miss Universe and Miss America of Drag Racing circuits in the early 1970s with a '73 Pinto Pro Stock. "I wanted to drive when I was 15," said Roberta, "and my mother talked my father into it." The "Baby Imp" team of Roberta Schultz usually ran their car as a BB/FC funny car, but made extra money by tipping the can a little with nitromethane. The Schultz family-owned Mustang usually never ran over 25% nitro when they hit the occasional IHRA National event, NHRA Divisional event, or match race. The attractive Roberta was more successful in BB/FC, racing as a popular match race and divisional competitor well into the 1980s. Roberta married promoter and fellow racer, Tod Mack, and the couple became part owners of the International Hot Rod Association for a time.
Linda Shortzer
Linda Shortzer, from Maryland, drove a Super Stock '68 Mustang named "Sinbad" on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971.
Betty Smith
In 1977, Betty Smith, of Tucson, took a class win with her Chevelle at the AHRA National Open at Tucson Dragway in D/SA.
Lois Stensland
ca. 1949-
Lois's boyfriend, Woody Vetos, introduced drag racing to her in 1973, racing her '73 Nova at drag strips in South Dakota and Minnesota. She competed in bracket races, and less infrequently in class races. She had a son from a former marriage. She and Woody married in late 1975.
Darlene Wilkins
1948-
Darlene Wilkins, of Effingham, Illinois, won the Super Stock Eliminator at the 1975 IHRA Gateway Nationals at St. Louis International Raceway.
Lena Williams
1949-
Frank and Lena Williams, from Palmdale, California, were successful primarily in the 1980s with gas dragsters and alcohol funny cars. Lena began driving their cars in the 1970s. She was the leading qualifier in Top Comp at the 1978 AHRA World Finals, but lost to eventual winner, Terry Green, in the second round.
Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson, from North Carolina, drove a Super Stock Plymouth GTX on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971.
Carolyn Wood
Carol Wood, from Maryland, drove a Super Stock '69 Camaro on the Miss Universe of Drag Racing circuit in 1971 and a 427 Corvette, called Wood's Wild Wheels, on the circuit in 1972.
Charlene Wood
1955-
"I started my interest in drag racing when I was in high school in Schoharie," Charlene Wood recalled. "My stepfather would take me up to South Glens Falls Dragway, which is where I met Gary." Gary and Charlene got married, established their home in Wilton, New York, and had their first child in 1974. Their drag racing life for them in 1974 revolved around their baby daughter, who they would sometimes take with them to the races--and sometimes leave with an aunt. But racing was a constant. They had two race cars--one for Gary and one for Charlene. Gary was the mechanic on both. Just 20 years old, Charlene became the first female points champion in NHRA's Northeast Division in 1975. She took the championship in the Stock Division in her '72 Pontiac LeMans station wagon. In 1976, she won the NHRA Grand National in Quebec, becoming the fifth woman in NHRA history to win a national event. She stopped racing in 1980, running her last race when she was seven and a half months pregnant. She was inducted into the NHRA Division 1 Hall of Fame in 2020.
