While the sport of racing cars in various fashions has been around for nearly as long
as automobiles have existed, there has been a surprising lack of females in the sport
over the years in relation to men.
Still, there have been a few notable female figures that have entered into the world of
sports racing in one way or another, whether as trophy girls or as racers themselves.
As one might imagine, these girls had to be exceptionally beautiful in order to stand
out on the racing scene, and many of them were also exceptionally talented!
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at vintage photos of racing trophy girls not suitable
for all ages.
Linda Vaughn The first figure we’ll be taking a look
at is Linda Vaughn.
Linda isn’t a racecar driver herself, but she certainly made a name for herself on the
racecar scene thanks to her immense beauty!
Linda has often been dubbed the “First Lady of Motorsports”, with Linda Vaughn: The
First Lady of Motorsports being the name of her 2016 autobiography.
Linda entered the racecar scene as a beauty queen during her teenage years.
At the age of only 18, she was named Queen of Speed at Atlanta International Raceway.
Following the racecar beauty queen’s victory at the age of 18, she went on to win numerous
other victories, including being named the Queen of Dixie 400.
However, Linda’s most well-known title she’s won remains that of Miss Hurst Golden Shifter.
As a result of her success as a racecar beauty queen, Linda Vaughn managed to make a few
notable appearances on the big screen.
In 1976, Linda could be seen in the film The Gumball Rally.
Less than a decade later, she could be seen starring alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1983
film Stroker Ace.
Sadly, the latter film wasn’t a big success and Linda exited Hollywood shortly afterward.
Although Linda’s career as a Hollywood movie star didn’t turn out, she’s still a notable
figure in the world of motorsports today thanks to her history as a racecar beauty queen.
She continues to make appearances at fan events today at the age of 78.
She has only been married once in her lifetime, with her only husband having been a man by
the name of Billy Tidwell.
However, she was also notably romantically involved with baseball player Jimmy Newberry.
Barbara Roufs The next figure we’ll be taking a look at
is trophy girl Barbara Roufs, who broke out onto the California drag racing scene during
the 1970s.
Unlike many other trophy girls of the era, Barbara was already in her late 20s when she
found her greatest success in the business and was a mother of two.
Barbara was a favorite subject of famed racing photographer Tom West, who was also a marketing
director at General Mills.
Because of this, Tom got Barbara a side career modeling in advertisements for various products.
Despite the success that Barbara found in her life when it came to being both a trophy
girl and an advertising model, she sadly decided to take her life at the age of 47.
Barbara’s suicide occurred in 1991, and she is still fondly remembered in the drag
racing scene today for her spectacular beauty.
“Jungle Pam” Hardy The next figure we’ll be taking a look at
is “Jungle Pam” Hardy, who broke out into prominence during the 1970s in the Funny Car
racing scene thanks to her work on the team of racer “Jungle Jim” Lieberman.
Pam was still in high school and was planning her college career when Jim drove up to her
on the street and offered to take her out on a date.
When Pam asked Jim what he did for a living, it was her first time hearing about the world
of Funny Car racing.
She became interested in the sport, and was soon accompanying Jim to the track.
Pam quickly became just as interested in the sport as Jim was, and the racer made a place
for her on his team.
At first, Jungle Pam’s duties were simply to place Jim’s Funny Car on the track before
each race.
However, as she became more experienced in the world of racing, she was able to handle
more and more duties as a part of Jim’s racing team.
However, changing regulations later in the 1970s made it so that Pam could no longer
be on Jim’s team.
Prior to that point, Jungle Pam had helped the sport of Funny Car racing become more
popular than ever before.
Sadly, many fans of the sport felt that Pam was drawing people to Funny Cars for the wrong
reason.
Namely, they felt that Pam cared more about her looks than racing.
Soon after Pam was kicked off the team, tragedy struck when Jungle Jim was killed in a car
accident unrelated to racing.
Jim died in 1977, after which point Jungle Pam left the Funny Car racing scene for good
and has lived a relatively normal life since.
Despite the fact that Jungle Pam is no longer involved with the racing scene in any official
capacity and hasn’t been for decades, she continues to appear at fan events and keep
the memory of Jim alive.
If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support!
Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more
Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney The next figure we’ll be taking a look at
wasn’t a trophy girl, but an actual racer!
Linda Vaughn may have been known as the First Lady of Motorsports, but Shirley “Cha Cha”
Muldowney was known as the First Lady of Drag Racing.
The title may have been more appropriately applied to Shirley, as Shirley actually had
what it took to get out on the track!
Shirley was born in 1940 and got into cars when she met a local mechanic named Jack Muldowney.
Of course, the two would go on to marry, with Shirley taking his name.
With Jack’s help, Shirley ended up getting into the world of drag racing.
She won three NHRA world titles over the course of her career, with wins occurring in 1977,
1980, and 1988.
Shirley continued drag racing even after a near-fatal crash that broke her pelvis.
She ended up retiring in 2003, though she’s still around today at the age of 81.
In addition to her contributions to the world of drag racing, Shirley also founded the charitable
organization Shirley’s Kids.
In 1974, Shirley was immortalized in the biopic Heart Like a Wheel, which featured actress
Bonnie Bedelia playing her.
The film featured a titular theme song by artist Linda Ronstadt and stands as a glowing
tribute to a woman who carved an unlikely path for herself in drag racing.
Carol “Bunny” Burkett Finally, let’s take a look at another female
drag racer, this time by the name of Carol “Bunny” Burkett.
Carol was born in Franklin, West Virginia, on May 29, 1945.
Her and her mother ended up being abandoned by Carol’s father, who had been away serving
in World War Ii at the time of her birth.
As a result of the abandonment, Carol grew up in a life of poverty.
During her teenage years, Carol met a man by the name of Murium Burkett, who went by
the nickname “Mo”.
It was Mo who first got Carol interested in the world of drag racing.
Apparently, the young man took Carol to Old Dominion Dragway during one of their first
dates.
Upon seeing what drag racing was for herself, Carol told Mo that she wanted to be a driver.
Mo laughed at the idea, as the notion of there being a female drag racer was considered absurd
at the time.
In addition to the fact that there simply weren’t any female drag racers, there was
also the fact that Carol didn’t even know how to drive at the time!
Despite the world seems to be against her in these aspects, Carol managed to convince
Mo to teach her how to drag race.
When it became apparent that Carol was taking her dream of drag racing seriously, Mo decided
to support her in her quest.
The two tied the knot, and Mo took out a loan shortly afterward to buy Carol a racecar.
The two married when Carol was only 16 years old.
She had her first child at the age of 17, and her second at the age of 18.
Through all of this, she continued pursuing her passion of becoming a drag racer, and
to gradual success!
A brief tenure working as a hostess at the Playboy Club so that she could replace her
car after it got totaled in an accident led to Carol adopting the nickname of “Bunny”.
Carol entered into the 1970s with her new name and a good deal of racing experience
behind her.
Over the course of the 1970s, Carol made the transition from drag racing to Funny Car racing.
It was in the world of Funny Car racing that the female race car driver went on to find
the majority of her career success.
She became a superstar all over North America, with a particular following in Canada.
In 1995, Carol got into a near-fatal accident that many thought she was never going to recover
from.
However, she ended up proving them wrong and getting back out on the track the next year.
Following this, Carol continued racing up until just before her death in April of 2020,
at the age of 74.
While many might think that racing cars is all about the men, there have been several
notable female figures in the world of racecars since the sport’s inception, both in the
form of drivers and trophy girls.
Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Carol “Bunny” Burkett made a
name for herself as one of the first women in drag racing and that Jungle Pam Hardy made
the sport of Funny Car racing more popular than ever before with her striking bust?
As always, like this video to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification bell if
you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their
way!