Who was Paula Murphy and why should you know about her? But before that, here are a few terms that will come in handy while deconstructing the phenomenon that is Paula Murphy.
Undaunted
/ʌnˈdɔːntɪd/
Adjective
Not intimidated or discouraged by adversity.
Example: “Undaunted by conventions, Paula Murphy left gender stereotypes in the dust”
Subversive
/səbˈvəːsɪv/
Adjective
Seeking or intended to challenge an established system or institution.
Example: “Paula Murphy subverted how people talk about women in racing by foregrounding skill over gender.”
Trailblazer
/ˈtreɪlˌbleɪzə/
Noun
A person who is the first to do something, paving the way for others.
Example: “Paula Murphy, a true trailblazer, fearlessly paved the way for women in high-speed racing, breaking barriers and setting new standards on the racetrack.”
Paula Murphy first made headlines in 1964 when she became the first woman to traverse the salt flats in a jet-engine car, setting a speed record for women. To put this remarkable feat into context, the 1960s and 70s were very much a man’s world and the racing scene – testosterone-fueled. Even though the second wave of feminism was gaining momentum in the early 1960s, change was right around the corner but not quite there yet.
As one would imagine, the racing scene wasn’t exactly throwing out the welcome mat for women – they had a spot – just not behind the wheel. Paula Murphy’s journey into the world of motorsport sheds light on the unique obstacles she faced in making a name for herself. Picture this: Murphy in the cockpit of a car designed by a man (Walt Arfons) for men, struggling to reach the brake pedal, a pillow stuffed behind her like a makeshift booster seat, and the wind messing up her hair. Not many pre-flight instructions either – just a casual heads-up on where the accelerator was. Talk about learning on the fly!
When asked about her take on the Women’s Liberation movement during the time, Murphy was often reported to reply with – “I was doing my own thing before those two words were ever uttered.” During those tumultuous times when women were fervently advocating for equal rights across all facets of society, Murphy boldly disrupted the most exclusive men’s club of them all. “I feel I’m doing what not too many women do,” she told The Akron Beacon Journal in 1964. “It’s kind of a pioneering spirit. And I get a thrill from the speed. It’s the idea of being in control of this big machine.”
While Murphy’s law is an adage that states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time”, if we had Paula Murphy’s law, it would probably go something like this – “ Anything that can go wrong will go right (or left)”. Turning setbacks into stepping stones and chaos into a comedy of errors, Murphy was becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Known as “Miss STP,” Paula Murphy revved up for Granatelli’s STP oil-additive brand, smashing 365 new stock-car records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963. Her triumphs earned her the title of the first woman to tackle the Indianapolis 500, steering Granatelli’s daring Studebaker Indy race car, the Novi. Making a splash at Bonneville again in 1965, she took the wheel of the STP jet car, Avenger, hitting 243.33 mph despite four inches of water on the ground.
Paula Murphy not only proved her mettle at drag racing but also left her mark in stock car racing, U.S. transcontinental driving, closed-course tracks, and the iconic Bonneville Salt Flats, where she etched her name in the history of land speed records. Murphy also snagged the title of the first woman licensed to handle a nitromethane-fueled car and proudly waved the first fuel funny car licence from the National Hot Rod Association. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America welcomed her in 2017, cementing her status as a trailblazer who put the pedal to the metal and broke through every stereotype that came in her way.
Accomplishing what Paula Murphy did in that time was unheard of by a man, let alone a woman. Being hailed as the world’s inaugural female racecar driver was not always accompanied by favourable commentary. A television newscaster, while capturing her approaching the car, remarked, “She prepares to sit down in the most unusual office ever occupied by a pretty young lass in a miniskirt.” Adding to this narrative, Sports Illustrated, in 1964, inaccurately referred to her as a “girl” and a “29-year-old brunette,” despite her actual age of 36 and her divorced status.
While this kind of rhetoric seems harmless or at best ignorant, it takes away from the narrative of Paula Murphy the trailblazing race car driver. Public discourse of this kind not only underscores the societal limitations about discussing women entering male-dominated spaces but also emphasises the inherent challenges of representation. The use of the term ‘girl’ can be perceived as patronising, and the alternative, focusing on her appearance and age, detracts from her performance, transforming into a tool of distraction rather than acknowledging her achievements.
“They had me putting on lipstick and patting my hair and giving everyone goo-goo eyes for all the cameras,” Murphy told the author Erik Arneson for his book “The Fastest Woman on Wheels: The Life of Paula Murphy,” which was published in August 2023. “I did what I was asked to do”, Murphy added.
In 1973, Paula Murphy found herself hurtling down the Sears Point Raceway in Northern California in the rocket-powered beast known as the Pollution Packer. During the race, her parachutes disengaged from her car, propelling her off the track at a blistering 300 mph, causing her to soar off the end of the track to a height of about 70 feet. Murphy’s wild ride resulted in a bone-crushing crash that left her with a broken neck.
It is crucial to note that fatal crashes were regrettably commonplace in racing during that era. Notably, in 2019, Jessi Combs, holding the current women’s land speed record at 522.783 mph, tragically lost her life in a crash while decelerating on a dry lake bed in Oregon. Following her racing career, Murphy retired in the late 1970s and bought Rocketdyne, a prominent rocket engine company based in Los Angeles.
According to the NHRA website, reminiscing about her racing days, Murphy said “I was a real oddity, and I think a lot of strip operators thought it was pretty good to sell tickets . . . I didn’t have problems getting booking dates. I was very well accepted not only by the tracks but by my fellow racers. Back then, there was a lot of camaraderie between the teams helping one another out. We were a big family.”
On December 21, 2023, Paula Murphy, a trailblazing car racer who captivated the American public during an era enamoured with land speed records, passed away at the age of 95 but her legacy lives on through her remarkable career that demands to be chronicled and celebrated.