Women racing Funny Cars

If you know anything about motorports, you know Funny Cars are considered to be the wildest class of drag racing. Funny Car fuel systems are key to their immense power and these babies go fast - up to 350 mph. The cars have forward-mounted engines and they’re usually powered by methanol or ethanol.

The first Funny Cars were built in the mid-’60s and were named because the rear wheels had been moved forward on the chassis and the tires were over sized compared to stock. Looking at the cars, they didn’t quite look stock, hence the name “funny.”

Funny Cars must meet a whole bunch of automotive specifications: Like they must weigh at least 2,400 pounds, driver included, and have a wheelbase of 124 to 125 inches. They must have a flame-retardant covering or coating and most important, they must have twin parachutes to help them stop.

When fully deployed, parachutes catch the air behind the Funny Car causing a wind drag that aids the driver to come to a complete and safe stop. Kinda important when barrelling down the track at race with an elapsed time of under 5 seconds at a top speed of about 320 miles per hour.

Women of the Racing World

Shirley Muldowney was the first woman to receive a license to drive a top fuel dragster by the NHRA and the first Top Fuel driver to win three NHRA titles. The “First Lady of Drag Racing” is heralded for breaking the gender barrier over 30 years ago.

In 2006, Melanie Troxel became the first NHRA Top Fuel driver to reach the final round in the first five events of a season. Troxel is a also two-time NHRA champion and record holder in the Alcohol Dragster class.

Ashley Force is the daughter of 14-time NHRA Funny Car division champion John Force. She and her father made NHRA history in Atlanta in April 2007, when they became the first father and daughter to race against each other. A year later, she made history again when she became the first female racer ever to lead the NHRA Funny Car point standings and she claimed her first-ever NHRA Funny Car win.