MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Top Fuel drag racing champion Shirley Muldowney and International road racer Elliott Forbes-Robinson will be honored by the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame with the dedication of sidewalk plaques on Oct. 8.
It’s part of the Mooresville Motorsports Celebration, which takes place on main street in downtown Mooresville from 4-9 p.m. ET.
Muldowney, professionally known as “Cha Cha” was born in Burlington, Vermont. She was racing on the streets of Schenectady, New York before she made her drag racing debut at Fond Speedway in 1958. Muldowney won her first major event, the International Hot Rod Association, Southern Nationals in 1971. In 1973 she became the first woman to step into a Top Fuel Dragster.
It didn’t take long for Muldowney to find her winning ways dominating Top Fuel as her career flourished into an unprecedented three NHRA Top Fuel Dragster world championships in 1977, 1980 and 1982. However, it was never easy for Muldowney as she met enormous opposition from those who felt big time drag racing was no place for a woman.
Muldowney fought for every inch of her success but when they saw how she could win and fill the grandstands, they knew she was good for the sport.
In 1990, she was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. In 2001, she was named as one of the Top 50 Drivers of 1951-200 in the NHRA and in 2004 she was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. She now operates a charitable organization, Shirley’s Kids, which help children in need in cities where drag racing is part of the community.
Forbes-Robinson, affectionately known as “EFR”, is an internationally recognized race driver born in La Cresenta, California. He is known for his wins and championships in many different series, including the American Le Mans Series, Super Vee, Trans-Am Series, CanAm, IMSA GTU and the World Challenge. He is also known in NASCAR circles as a road course ringer.
In the early ‘60s, Elliott attended Glendale College and qualified as an aircraft mechanic and though he never worked in the industry it taught him about precision engineering, weight saving and aerodynamics. In 1967 he attended an SCCA drivers’ school in a 289 Cobra. He raced the car against Corvettes and Mustangs, winning at Stardust Raceway, Willow Springs and Del Mar. His winning ways got the attention of Carol Shelby and EFR’s career began to take off.
In his 30-year career spanning from 1974 to 2005, Elliott had 51 major victories including multiple wins in the Daytona 24 Hours. He is also well known for creating the Legends Car Series of 600 Racing and designed the original car to launch the series. EFR was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2006.
“This year’s celebration is a special one,” said Don Miller, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the N.C. Auto Racing Hall of Fame. “We will be celebrating our 30th year of honoring the finest drivers in all of motorsports and the Walk of Fame expands its role for the 15th year. The Walk of Fame has become a destination for race fans visiting our region. It brings people to our historic downtown area and enhances their experience while visiting Race City USA.
“The Mooresville Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Town of Mooresville and the Downtown Commission provide tremendous support to continue this great tradition. If you are a fan of motorsports, it is a must see!”