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TALLADEGA, Ala. - Former three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney was recently inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala., joining CART figure Bobby Rahal, former NASCAR President Bill France Jr., hydroplane racer Bill Muncey, and NASCAR short-tracker Charles "Red" Farmer in the 2004 class.
Muldowney, voted fifth in NHRAs Top 50 Drivers list in 2001, was a true pioneer in a sport dominated by men who didn't exactly welcome her into the fold. By joining the 107-member hall, she becomes just the second female racer enshrined and only the fourth inductee from the world of drag racing.
"This makes me a three-time Hall of Famer," said Muldowney. "I already made the motorsports hall in Novi, Mich., and the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame, but this one is special because it takes in all of motorsports. For whatever reason, it just seems like this one is at the top of the list in everyone's mind."
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame honors those who not only have distinguished themselves as the best in motorsports, but those who have distinguished themselves as an important part of history, reaching new heights while shaping the world of motorsports. Muldowney certainly meets the criterion.
For more than 40 years, Muldowney went about destroying the gender barrier in drag racing by beating her male rivals at their own game in Top Fuel, the sport's quickest and fastest category. Her three NHRA titles and 18 national event...