Della Woods

Della Woods (born 1940) is an AA/FC, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) professional dragster driver. She was the first female driver in the five-second bracket in the funny car class, and the first female driver to go to the semifinals at an NHRA national event.[1] She held the latter record for almost 22 years.[2]

Della Woods
Born1940 (age 82–83)
Lake Orion, Michigan, U.S.
OccupationDrag racer

Early racing career

Della Woods and her brother Bernie Woods were from Lake Orion, Michigan.[3] They campaigned match races during the 1960s and early 1970s, with Bernie as crew chief and Della as driver.[4] Woods qualified for an NHRA AA/FC license in 1968 signed by Rodger Lindamood, Don Garlits and Don Kohler, only to have the association revoke the license, saying it was too dangerous for a woman to run in that class. Losing the license caused the brother-sister team to lose several match racing engagements, provoking Woods to call the NHRA and inform them that if they took her license they would have to take the all female drivers' licenses as well.[5]

Career restart

Della and Bernie were forced to quit due to finances in 1972. Della married De Nichols in 1976. In 1982 Della Woods and De Nichols bought the famed Fighting Irish car, the only non-Mopar car she drove, from Dick Rosberg and his partners Novak and McDaniel.[6] Della licensed in Atlanta then started entering national events.[7] They finished 20th in the final standings after qualifying at only eight NHRA events.[1] In 1986 she was in a serious crash at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona.[1]

In 1996 the couple purchased the first 4-second car from Chuck Etchells.[1] They tested at Milan Dragway then had to trailer the car due to other commitments.

Awards

Della Woods was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1999,[1] and the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame in 2015.[8] In 2016, she was inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame.[9]

References
  1. "Woods, Della 1999". Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  2. Burgess, Phil (April 18, 2014). "Fast Females". National Dragster. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016.
  3. Post, Robert C. (2001). High Performance: The Culture and Technology of Drag Racing, 1950-2000. JHU Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-8018-6664-7.
  4. "Woman Driver No Drag on Racing Strip". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 19, 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  5. Peters, Meg (August 12, 2015). "Della Woods on Life, Love, and her Real Passion". The Citizen. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  6. White, Danny. "80s Funny Cars: Midwest Funnies". Drag Racing List. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  7. White, Danny (January 26, 2007). "Funny Girls" (PDF). National Dragster. Vol. 48, no. 2. Glendora, CA. pp. 30–33. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2016.
  8. Hill, Jim (December 29, 2015). "Della Woods: This Funny Honey Never Lost Her Groove!". East Coast Drag Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  9. "2016 Inductees". Mopar Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
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