Paula Murphy, once known as “the fastest woman on wheels,” dies at 95

Paula Murphy, a leading female car racer in an era when land speed records thrilled the American public, died Thursday at an assisted living facility in Prescott, Ariz. She was 95.

Her death was confirmed by her son, Dan Murphy, who said her health had declined after she broke her femur in May.

Paula Murphy gained attention in the 1960s and ‘ 70s when she set records for women in drag racing, in stock car racing, in U.S. transcontinental driving, on a closed- course track and on the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Utah staging ground where land speed records were broken. Craig Breedlove’s exploits on the salt flats inspired a 1963 Beach Boys song named after his jet-powered car, “Spirit of America.”

In the late 1970s and ‘80s, Shirley muld owney became known for winning drag races against men; in the 2000s, Danica Patrick won a race in the Indycar Series. Murphy was never as prominent as either of them, but she was notable for proving in an earlier era that women had the nerve and the skill to race very fast cars.

She first made national news in 1964 when she became the first woman to zoom across the salt flats in a jet- engine car, setting a speed record for women.

Her vehicle was built by Walt Arfons, whowas in the thick of competing against his half brother, Art, and Breedlove. It spewed a 10-foot f lame; its engine screamed; it could be controlled not by steering so much as by the deployment of parachutes.

The car was designed for a man, and when Murphy got into the cockpit, she could not reach the brake pedal. A big pillow was stuffed behind her back, which raised her up in the seat, exposing her upper body to the full blast of the wind. Before taking off, she said later, she had not received many instructions beyond being told where the accelerator was.

Her sponsor, the racing promoter Andy Granatelli, said he would pay her expenses plus $10 for every mile per hour she achieved.

Murphy had to contend with wet conditions. Her vehicle fishtailed for about 1,000 feet and came to a stop in 4 inches of water. She achieved an average speed of 226.37mph, breaking her own woman’s land speed record of 161.29, set the previous year.

“I feel I’m doing what not too many women do,” she told The Akron Beacon Journal in 1964. “It’s kind of a pioneer spirit. And I get a thrill from the speed. It’s the idea of being in control of this big machine.”

In 1975, The New York Times reported that she was known as “the fastest woman on wheels.” By then, she was a racer full time.

“I’m an oddity, a rarity, and that helps,” she told The Anniston Star of Alabama in an interview during her successful years. “I have 60 to 70 bookings every year.”

Being presented as the world’s inaugural female race car driver was not always pleasant. “She prepares to sit down in the most unusual office ever occupied by a pretty young lass in a miniskirt,” one TV newscaster said over footage of her approaching her car. In 1964, Sports Illustrated referred to her as a “girl” and a “29-year- old brunette.” She was actually 36, and divorced.

In 1963, she became the first woman to drive laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “They had me putting on lipstick and patting my hair and giving everyone goo-goo eyes for all the cameras,” Murphy told author Erik Arneson for his book “The Fastest Woman on Wheels: The Life of Paula Murphy,” which was published in August. “I did what I was asked to do.”