Women in Motorsports Celebrates Racer Paula Murphy
Women in Motorsports North America paid tribute to Paula Murphy, “The Fastest Woman on Wheels” with a VIP screening of the documentary Paula Murphy: UNDAUNTED and a panel discussion held at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 24. [See KEYT news coverage of the event].
The evening included a welcome from Bruce Meyer and the screening of the documentary which is part of the “Left Behind” series on Fox 1 Sports focusing on amazing women.
Murphy, now 94, was the first woman to drive a dragster, and during her 15-year career she set several speed records at Bonneville, set a record at Talladega Superspeedway, and in 1963 was the first woman to take a test drive at the Indy 500 track. In time, she earned the moniker “World’s Fastest Woman Driver.”
Capping off the evening was a panel discussion hosted by award-winning broadcast presenter/reporter, Amanda Busick. The Panel include Louise Ann Noeth (storyteller and land speed racing expert), Paula Murphy (racer subject of the film), Pam Miller (co-producer of the film), and Lyn St. James (racer and co-founder of Women in Motorsports).
“As far as I am concerned, Paula Murphy, she is the pioneer that allowed other women to put on helmets all over the world because she blazed the trail in so many different aspects in motor sports. I take my helmet off to Paula because she helped other women put them on.”
If you’re in Michigan, tickets are still available for the Second Annual Women in Racing Event at the Automotive Hall of Fame on Thursday, June 1. Visit automotivehalloffame.com for information and to register.