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PHOENIX (Feb.8, 2003) - Legendary driver Shirley Muldowney, the first three-time NHRA top fuel champion and the first female licensed by the association, today announced that she will tear down the quarter-mile drag strip behind the wheel of a top fuel dragster for the last time in 2003. After a 30-year career that brought her to the pinnacle of highs - three NHRA titles, the 1981 AHRA Championship and a host of other accolades - and some serious lows - a nearly fatal accident in 1984 that kept her sidelined for 18 months - Muldowney is putting the brakes on her top fuel ride. However, Muldowney ensures the send off will be in style and her way. With MAC Tools as her primary sponsor, Muldowney will appear at 6 NHRA national events in 2003, At each event, her MAC Tools top fuel dragster will sport the official Muldowney retirement logo, designed by Action Performance, which celebrates her extraordinary achievement. During the races showcasing her final season, Muldowney's MAC Tools dragster also will feature special paint schemes, including a pink flame, Grease 25th Anniversary Pink Ladies, Terminator 3 and a Last Pass tribute during the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals and the NHRA World Finals event at California's Pomona Raceway. "Shirley Muldowney has devoted so much of her time, skill and effort to top fuel drag racing. She helped the sport make history and is an essential part of it's heritage," notes Fred Wagenhals, chairman, president and CEO of Action Performance Companies. "The NHRA certainly is losing a special presence without Shirley behind the wheel. However, I am pleased that she is sharing her monumental final season with Action and with all her fans. I am proud that Action has partnered with Shirley on so many different events over the years, and I wish her all the best in the years to come. Muldowney began racing in 1958 and has assembled incredible credentials over her career. She still is the only woman to ever win a Top Fuel World Champioship title(s) 1977-1980-1982, and the Top Fuel Eliminator Championships at the NHRA U.S Nationals in Indianapolis. Muldowney's life in the top fuel driver's seat was chronicled in the 1982 feature film Heart Like a Wheel. She also was voted No. 5 on the National Hot Rod Association's top 100 Drivers. Throughout 2003, Action Performance will produce die-cast replicas of Muldowney's final fleer of Mac Tools top fuel dragsters as well as other souvenirs and memorabilia related to her historical Last Pass sendoff. |
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