Paula Murphy (June 16, 1928 – December 21, 2023) was an American automobile driver who was first and/or fastest in many speed endeavors. In 1975, she was described as "the fastest woman on wheels" by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Biography

Murphy was born in Ohio on June 16, 1928, and moved to California in 1956. As of 1975, Murphy had been "the only woman to have been allowed to drive an

Indy car IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 5 ...

at speed on the track. That had been in 1963" in a

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...

car with a Novi engine. Murphy was also "the first woman to drive a jet-engined car on the Salt Flats". Murphy was also the "first woman licensed to drive a

nitromethane Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in ...

-fueled car" and the first woman to have a fuel funny car license from the

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanction ...

. In the 1960s and 1970s, she set numerous speed records, including a Mexico to Canada route, a New York to Los Angeles route, the women's

land speed record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

, and the NASCAR women's speed record. She became part of the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles ...

in 2017. Murphy appeared as a guest on the December 1, 1963 episode of ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'', introduced as "test car driver". Murphy died on December 21, 2023, at the age of 95.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Paula 1928 births 2023 deaths American female racing drivers Racing drivers from California Racing drivers from Ohio University of Cincinnati alumni 20th-century American sportswomen