Great interview for fans of drag racing history.
Racers Roundtable with Danny Sullivan & Tony Stewart - Bitter Rivals
Racers Roundtable with Danny Sullivan & Tony Stewart - Bitter Rivals
Big Daddy and Shirley
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Did you see 'Heart Like a Wheel'? Plus read a pretty good amount of how she got into drag racing. Imo, she was the opening door for female drag racers and well, I'm all for that.
They've both had quite the storied lives!
Don's book, Close Calls, is a good read. It's about all the times he's come close to death - and they weren't all on the drag strip. Shirley came very close herself in her crash in Montreal in '84.
Don's book, Close Calls, is a good read. It's about all the times he's come close to death - and they weren't all on the drag strip. Shirley came very close herself in her crash in Montreal in '84.
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Great media fabricated drama, rivalry & competition
Don was a real innovator, he did it 1st, when nobody else would even try,
a bunch of times...
I don't think they really liked each other
until much later in life looking back on the stuff, they laugh at their antics now
Alway like to hear history, for/from Don Garlits
seems like Shirley's recollections is/are a bit skewed, at time, she's still bitter
she hate the name that got her where she is, 'Cha Cha' moniker, that made her rich
her morals (messing around with a married Connie) weren't the best either,
but she was an icon, for damn sure, she won & it opened many doors
for women in the sport, she won championships, after Don already won several...
She was a pistol & she got under a few peoples skin, purposely make waves
right wrong or indignant, 'women's lib' stuff at the time
She's still bitter... a lot of resentment still...
Connie (Kalitta) really helped & trained her, showed them how
& her son John Tobler to be a winning Crew Chief (RIP John), in F/C & T/F
Connies Bounty Hunter 71 (?) Mustang FC was a cool car, she got her F/C license in...
Repainted it of course, pink & gold
Bigs was racing for 12+ (?) years already
Bounty Hunter T/F Dragster, Connie went back to T/F, his 1st love
Scott Connies kid
(RIP Scott, died needlessly in a F/C, hit a mobile light-rig, shouldn't been there in the safety trap
at the end of the track, sad ****, knee jerk reaction went 1000' competition)
It was a cool story, with a bunch of drama, controversy too...
All because Don (& Connie signed it 1st, he took the paper to others) signed her comp license,
when nobody else would
Class act by Don
Cha' Cha' 72 (?) Roadrunner F/C Plymouth/Amile sponsor,
Keith Black motors/tuner
lil' known or talked about S/SF Dart, car Don Drove
the long 'dart 2'
Don's 1st alleged 200mph pass in T/F ever, Island Dragway 1964
some say it was Chris Karamesines (spell)
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Announcer is wrong a lot, clueless, but the interview was why I posted it
she mellowed 'a bit' by this time
this was my home track for decades Baylands/Fremont Raceway
fastest track in the west, at or near sea level, mineshaft RAD
she mellowed 'a bit' by this time
this was my home track for decades Baylands/Fremont Raceway
fastest track in the west, at or near sea level, mineshaft RAD
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I'll try to not get started too much, and try to not get the thread deleted or moved to politics, but...
Mr Garlits THOROUGHLY disliked that wench. She was - probably still is - a bitter, spiteful backstabbing individual. Hates men, but sure knows how to use them. Walked around braless to get attention, then complained about men noticing. Was handed opportunities and breaks just because she squats to urinate. Was handed lots of stuff, including imnsho, wins/championships for political posturing. All this 'she opened doors' blather is just that - there were women drag racers - and successful ones too - before her; look at Shirly Shahan or Judy Lilly for examples. What muldowney did was show how to get attention, consideration, sponsorship etc for simply being female, and then screaming when you didnt get your way because of 'sexism' , chauvinism, whatever. Failure or lack of performance is ALWAYS some man's fault... She is wholly a political poster child, stoked by complicit 'Media' . Again, just my humble opinion.
I will add however that I did have the opportunity to 'crew' for Mr Garlits for a few days in the early 80s. A good friend of mine at the time was something like 2nd cousin to Mr Garlits crew chief, so when they were in this end of the world, we went to be 'helpers'. I was privileged to see first hand some 'behind the scenes' stuff and to be around Mr Garlits [and Mrs Garlits] from 'inside the ropes'. Mr Garlits is the real deal - innovator, racer, forgot more about Fuel than any 30 other racers will ever know and genuine person. Good man. Intense on race day and extremely focused, but good guy. muldowney is a resentful, petulant bitchy hag/leftist political hack that couldnt get a ride in a gokart if she had a penis, and probably cant even change her own oil. Just my opinion of course, 1st amendment and all that...
Mr Garlits THOROUGHLY disliked that wench. She was - probably still is - a bitter, spiteful backstabbing individual. Hates men, but sure knows how to use them. Walked around braless to get attention, then complained about men noticing. Was handed opportunities and breaks just because she squats to urinate. Was handed lots of stuff, including imnsho, wins/championships for political posturing. All this 'she opened doors' blather is just that - there were women drag racers - and successful ones too - before her; look at Shirly Shahan or Judy Lilly for examples. What muldowney did was show how to get attention, consideration, sponsorship etc for simply being female, and then screaming when you didnt get your way because of 'sexism' , chauvinism, whatever. Failure or lack of performance is ALWAYS some man's fault... She is wholly a political poster child, stoked by complicit 'Media' . Again, just my humble opinion.
I will add however that I did have the opportunity to 'crew' for Mr Garlits for a few days in the early 80s. A good friend of mine at the time was something like 2nd cousin to Mr Garlits crew chief, so when they were in this end of the world, we went to be 'helpers'. I was privileged to see first hand some 'behind the scenes' stuff and to be around Mr Garlits [and Mrs Garlits] from 'inside the ropes'. Mr Garlits is the real deal - innovator, racer, forgot more about Fuel than any 30 other racers will ever know and genuine person. Good man. Intense on race day and extremely focused, but good guy. muldowney is a resentful, petulant bitchy hag/leftist political hack that couldnt get a ride in a gokart if she had a penis, and probably cant even change her own oil. Just my opinion of course, 1st amendment and all that...
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padam
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What I hate about ANY show about racing, is if there’s a female driver, EVERY man (except the hero of the story) is against her and any woman driver.
I have never seen that at the track. I couldn’t care less and I haven’t heard a male driver complain about a woman driver. (Amateur level of course. )
I have never seen that at the track. I couldn’t care less and I haven’t heard a male driver complain about a woman driver. (Amateur level of course. )
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