Shirley Muldowney…shy?                  
What are you, nuts? This woman who stood toe-to-toe with some of drag racing’s most stubborn and cantankerous men more than 40 years ago? The drag racer who asked for nobody’s approval to race and received none anyway but challenged the men, beat them, and earned three championships? The racer who defied disaster when she not only walked again after a devastating crash but competed for a couple more decades?
Yes, that Shirley Muldowney.
The Top Fuel legend seemed fearless. She had no problem smashing through barriers or trampling stereotypes…except in one area. Meeting the other women in the sport, the generations she inspired, seemed too daunting. “I’m kind of afraid to go up to their pits and introduce myself,” she said. “I can’t just barge in there.”
But she was eager to get to know the “modern Muldowneys,” the women who are doing it their way today. Supported by the generosity of Don Schumacher Racing Vice-President Mike Lewis and LuAnn Bishop, DSR director of hospitality and sponsor relations, she knocked down that last barrier at the National Hot Rod Ass’n’s recent Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
At a lavish Saturday breakfast in the megateam’s Oakley hospitality area at O’Reilly Raceway Park that attracted nearly a dozen female drag racers among the 50 guests, Muldowney commemorated the 25th anniversary of her lone Indianapolis triumph by reaching out to other notable women in racing.
“I wanted to be able to meet you one-on-one and introduce myself,” she told the other women. “I kind of stumble around the pits these days and just take it all in, and it’s really overwhelming.
“It’s a lot different than it used to be when I started [in] the rough years. I don’t think it’s any picnic out here today, either,” Muldowney said.
“I think it’s a lot of hard work. I think it takes a lot of talent, and I’m very impressed with the ladies, that you can go out there and be just another racer,” she said. “Show ’em the way home. Show ’em how it’s done. And there’s not a thing wrong with that. So go for it, ladies.”
But maybe it took a three-time champion to put it in perspective for a three-time champion.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Angelle Sampey, who has more victories than any woman in drag racing and like Muldowney has three series championships, had worked with the pioneer on a previous project. She told Muldowney, “You are a very intimidating person. We’ve all wanted to meet you just as bad as you’ve wanted to meet us. But for so many years, most of us may have been afraid to approach you. I was really scared to death to meet you because of all the stuff that you have done. You’re so awesome, and we all look up to you.
“But when I saw that you are a regular person like I am, of course we became friends. You’ve got to be the most awesome person I’ve ever met and one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met, as well. Thank you for everything you have done to lead the way because it hasn’t been an easy road for all of us, just like it wasn’t for you. But you did make it easier for us. You are my inspiration, my whole life. I wanted to be the next Shirley Muldowney of motorcycles. I hope that I have done you proud, because you are definitely my role model. God bless you and I love you.”
 Among the guests was Muldowney contemporary Bunny Burkett, who brought her 42 years of driving experience in both the NHRA and the IHRA and said she is “the self-proclaimed Second Lady of Drag Racing.” She had said she definitely wanted to attend the breakfast, “even if I have to crawl” from her Spotsylvania, Va., home.
Burkett hasn’t missed a year of racing, despite crashes or cancer treatment, and surgery. And she said she doesn’t mind one bit giving Muldowney credit for opening doors for women racers.
“I could never, ever match what Shirley Muldowney has done and is still doing. She mowed down the trees for all of us. She chopped ’em all down. Don’t y’all forget that,” Burkett said.
Also attending were Top Fuel’s Hillary Will, Funny Car rookie Ashley Force, and Pro Stock Motorcycle riders Peggy Llewellyn and Karen Stoffer. Kate Harker (Top Alcohol Dragster), Diana Harker and Candyce Marsh (Pro Modified), and USAC regional midget champion Sondi Eden.
Champ Car Atlantic Series Director Vicki O’Connor also represented open-wheel racing. Attending on behalf of the Lyn St. James Women In The Winners Circle Foundation were Deb Turner and Michelle Marquis.
The only shame of it all was the number of wonderful women who were unable to attend the hastily arranged breakfast. But they’re out there, racing or working on the cars or writing press releases or reporting or shooting photos. And while they didn’t have the chance to meet with Muldowney, they continue to prove that the Top Fuel pacesetter has had a lasting effect on the sport.
But it can go in the books that Shirley Muldowney came to Indianapolis and broke down yet another barrier.