If you’re looking for a passive drag racing documentary on a legendary drag racer, then Shirley isn’t the one you want to watch.
The Shirley Muldowney documentary, scheduled to air tonight on FS1 at 7 PM EST., is presented in the nature of what was needed for a drag racer, who just happened to be a female, to survive. She speaks softly and carries a big stick to needle the boys, almost as entertaining of a pastime for the four-time Top Fuel champion as winning rounds.
One knows exactly where the show is going when it opens with, “From day one, that fire was there. It was personal; no one was going to stop me.”
And, true to her word, no one did. Neither could fire, a devastating crash or critics.
From the moment the show opens, one can immediately sense the chauvinistic nature of the straight-line sport. In drag racing, it appeared easier for a driver of color to gain inclusion than a female.
Shirley faced the catcalls, the crude remarks, was spit on and even had objects thrown at her.
“I started winning and went for the paybacks, and boy, did they have it coming,” Shirley declared, sitting in a plush, pink chair. “I don’t know a girl out there [today] that could put up with what I had to put up with.”
The documentary is chock full of vintage racing footage, including her piloting the front-engine dragster. There are also interviews from 1970s television shows that would play off the gender angle, and she played the role in award-winning fashion.
The presentation, produced by the trio of Pam Miller, Cindy Sisson, and Frank Wilson, presents one of drag racing’s pure icons that is better than any other documentary about a drag racer. You’ll hear a side of Shirley that you never could have imagined.
From her youth, it became evident Shirley’s passion would include cars. The visit to Fonda Speedway sets the stage for an incredible presentation. And it wasn’t all passion and racing gloves, either. She faced the break-up of her marriage in a straight-up manner as part of the road that took her where she is today.
“None of us, including me, could have envisioned what this was going to turn into,” Shirley said.
Watch the documentary and the road to get there; you will understand why.
