Shirley Muldowney, also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
Muldowney signing autographs in July 2017 at the Automobile Driving Museum
Muldowney's 1986 dragster
Muldowney selling photographs to benefit her nonprofit, Shirley's Kids, at the 2023 DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 338 miles per hour (544.0 km/h) and finishing the 1,000 foot (304.8 m) runs in 3.62 seconds.
Two Top Fuel dragsters side by side during an NHRA event in 2012
2009 NHRA Top Fuel championship trophy
Engine of a top fuel car