Kalitta was runner-up at the 1963 Winternationals in Top Gas and at the 1965 Springnationals in Top Fuel. "Shirley, crying, had to use volunteers to rebuild her motor for the semifinal," recalled Moses in Sports Illustrated. "I simply do not rattle.". She was the first person--man or woman--to win three NHRA national events in a row. Kalitta ultimately won a total of 10 NHRA national events, including the 1994 Gatornationals and U.S. Nationals - his final title. Her first race back was against "Big Daddy" Don Garlits--a personal friend of hers. In addition to a bread-and-butter, Kalitta no longer races, but he is the CEO of. Her near-disaster had ushered a new, more safety-conscious era in drag racing with a new tire design. During her career, she won eighteen NHRA National events and was ranked 5th on NHRA's 2001 list of its Top 50 Drivers earning her the title of "First Lady of Drag Racing." Further reading on this source of inspiration: Sports Illustrated, July 18, 1977, p. 26; June 22, 1981, p. 71; February 10, 1986, p. 90, Yes, I'd like to receive Word of the Day emails from YourDictionary.com. Finally, she also changed her trademark color, replacing the hot pink with a vivid purple. In 1980, Shirley won the World Finals by beating her nemesis Connie Kalitta, and in 1982, she won an unprecedented third NHRA Top Fuel Championship. "50 Years of Funny Cars: Part 2" in, Kalitta Motorsports - About Connie Kalitta, "NHRA Story » Kalitta honored with first NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award", "High-Profile First Wins at the Winternationals", "State Police Fatal Accident Unit Releases Findings on Drag Strip Crash that Claimed Life of Scott Kalitta", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Connie_Kalitta&oldid=968657120, International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 July 2020, at 18:18. As she completed a run, her front tire tube snapped, locked the wheels, and sent both car and driver into a spinout and tumble. "I do not rattle on the line," she said of that day. Shirley was left with broken legs, crushed hands, a shattered pelvis, and a severed thumb. Without question, Muldowney was a one-of-a-kind. In 1997, she was honored by the United States Sports Academy as one of the “Top Athletes of the Past 25 Years.” She set new track records the following year all across the United States as well as a new performance record for the International Hot Rod Association. Good story, Gregory. She endured a terrible crash in 1984 that could’ve ended her life, but not even that stopped her.