ABOUT
This page covers (1) an introduction to the compiler, (2) the scope and contents of this website, and (2) other drag race-related websites created by the compiler.
Mel Bashore
Compiler
Retired Librarian/Curator/Historian
I retired in 2013 after 38 years working in the LDS Church Historical Department. My wife and I have been married for over fifty years. Our family includes five children spread out over the U.S. My wife and I divide time between our homes in Utah and the Oregon coast. As I like to say, I'm a beach bum in the summer and a ski bum in the winter. Just a bum. I grew up in Southern California in the 1950s and 1960s. I began going to drag races as a teenager during the years when drag races were started by a guy waving a checkered flag and dragsters were started by a push vehicle (no electric starters). I have fond memories of going to drag races at Pomona, Fontana, Lions, Irwindale, OCIR and Carlsbad. I worked for more than a dozen years at drag strips in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah where I was a tech man.
I received college degrees from University of Utah (B.F.A. in modern painting), University of Missouri-St. Louis (M.Ed.), and Brigham Young University (M.L.S.). I have published widely in historical scholarly journals--and not-so-scholarly publications (e.g., National Dragster and Cycling Utah). I have received awards from American Association of State and Local History, Oregon-California Trails Association, Utah Humanities Council, and Professional Football Researchers Association. I am all over the map with my interests. Life is rich.
About This Website
Women Drag Racers: Pioneers of the First Three Decades
This website includes brief biographical sketches of women who were pioneers in their gender during the first thirty years of drag racing history. They include women drag racers who made a name for themselves at the national level, e.g., Shirley Muldowney. But it also features women who are less well-known. It includes women who raced only in a region, or just in one state, and even those who may have only raced at one particular drag strip. Women in the latter category were only included if a photo and interesting personal biographical detail were found in research. No matter the borders--whether extensive or limited--of their racing area, all these women contributed to the advancement and acceptance of women in drag racing.
Other Websites
My Other Racing-Related Websites
Drag Strip List (This comprehensive encyclopedia of over 1,000 U.S. and Canadian drag strips focuses on historic and bygone tracks with brief histories, links to maps showing their location, reader's memories, etc.)
Drag Strip Deaths (This is the most comprehensive resource about more than 560 drag race drivers who died while racing.)
Land Speed Racer Memorial (The most comprehensive website for information about more than 50 racers who died in the course of trying to set land speed records.)
Drag Boat and Water Speed Record Racer Memorial (The most comprehensive website for information about more than 80 fatalities that occurred during drag boat competition and world water speed record attempts.)
Wheelstanders: Pioneers of the 20th-Century (A chronology of wheelstanders from 1964-2000, with entries giving description, photo of car, video footage, etc.)
Jet, Rocket, and Aircraft-Engine Dragsters: Pioneers of the 20th-Century (Chronology of jet, rocket, and aircraft-engined dragsters from the 1950s to 2000. Entries include description, years of operation, owners/drivers, photos, videos, etc.)
Early Rear-Engine Dragsters: A Sampling of Cars and Drivers before 1971 (This website focuses on the dragsters that had rear engines before Don Garlits revolutionized the rear-engined dragsters in 1971.)