How Shirley Muldowney, first lady of drag racing, was nicknamed ‘Cha Cha’

NASCAR Cup Series

Updated Mar. 19, 2024 9:20 a.m. ET

If you are a race fan, you probably know the name Shirley Muldowney. Even non-race fans know of Muldowney, the first lady of drag racing. Many will remember her by her nickname “Cha Cha.”

The documentary “Shirley” premieres Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on FS1 and the FOX Sports app. It details her story of fighting discrimination and tussling with many of the biggest names in drag racing on her way to stardom that began in the 1970s.

We’ll let the documentary tell the riveting and inspirational story of the three-time top fuel champion.

But here’s the story, as told in the documentary, of how she got that infamous nickname.

From the 83-year-old Muldowney:

“We went to Sanford, Maine, and the tech people putting class numbers on windows with shoe polish — when it was my turn, here I come up with the big dark hair and the gold, always gold earrings. and for some reason, I think he thought I might have been Hispanic or something. I don’t know … but he

said, ‘Cha Cha’ and he wrote it with the shoe polish on the window of the car.”

Another drag racer told her that could be her nickname.

“Tommy Ivo said, ‘Keep the name and paint it pink’ only because nicknames were synonymous with the sport,” Muldowney recalled.

It didn’t thrill her competitors.

“It exacerbated the irritation for the racers,” said former NHRA broadcaster Bob Frey. “Not only were they getting beat by somebody named Shirley, they’re getting their butt kicked by somebody named Cha Cha. And that was horrible.”

Muldowney eventually stopped using the nickname on her car, but many people only knew her by the nickname.

“I stuck with Cha Cha until I decided to just take it off my helmet one year at Indy,” she said.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.