Pontiac Pavement Pounders Shootout: Ladies' Day

It's very interesting to observe how things change in the battle of the sexes. Though women race car drivers were a part of the racing scene for as long as there has been a racing scene, they were usually seen as curiosities or, at best, minor players. As a result, women weren't taken very seriously by the racing establishment. By the '50s, though, things had loosened up enough where "Powder-Puff" divisions for women often ran as part of a regular weekend race program.

Pioneers like Shirley Muldowney, Carol Cox, Shirley "The Drag-On Lady" Shahan, Judy Lilly, and Charlene Wood really opened the door for women drag racers all over North America. Interestingly, the main surge of women racers over the last 20 years or so has been the weekend family race team campaigning a bracket car. With dad serving as the crew chief, mom sometimes takes over the driving duties. Other times, she gets a race car of her own to campaign, and don't be too surprised if she built it herself. One thing is for sure, 'tis a fool to underestimate the reaction-time potential of a lady drag racer.

Our quintet of lady racers ran the gamut of experience, from beginner to seasoned veteran. They include Linda "The Pontiac Lady" Spidel with her '64 Tempest; Jamie Taylor with her '01 Grand Prix GT with a swapped-in, supercharged 3800 V-6; Amy "Herdswoman" Richcreek with a '65 GTO; Vanessa Heckaman driving a Grand Prix GT with a 3800 stroker motor; Mary Beth Hess with her 462 Pontiac-powered '66 GTO; and Babe Dyer with a 12-second '99 GTP.

As was true with the last two shootouts, this particular event took place on April 26, 2004 at Norwalk Raceway Park. While the informational charts look pretty much the same, we have altered things slightly by omitting the ages of the participants, as well as the dreaded curb weight versus race weight differential. We didn't want to put these drivers on the spot; the consequences could be too great--not everything has changed with the battle of the sexes.

Owner Bio: Linda "The Pontiac Lady" Spidel

Linda and her turquoise and pink Pontiac are familiar sights at dragstrips all over the East and Midwest. It's a family pastime for the Spidels, as husband Terry and son Brad also race traditional Pontiac-powered drag machines. Terry's '62 Catalina appeared in HPP two months ago, and Brad's centrifugally supercharged Firebird has been seen pulling outrageous wheelies at Norwalk and elsewhere. Linda, a 12-year race veteran, previously ran a similarly painted '65 Catalina, but the urge to go faster had Terry building her the 1,000-pound lighter Tempest, which Brad painted in her signature colors.

In addition to her race car, Linda and Terry also own more than 20 other Pontiacs, including a '56 Safari two-door wagon, a '59 Bonneville two-door hardtop, a '61 Safari wagon, a '66 Bonneville limo, and an '87 T-1000 race car known as the "Lil' Chief."

Owner Bio: Jamie Taylor

While Jamie has only been racing less than one year, her quest for high performance has paid benefits in other areas as well. "I saw a Grand Prix GTX and fell in love with it, but I couldn't quite afford it. So I bought the GT and put the engine in when I was able to afford it." The engine in question was a supercharged 3800 Series II out of a '99 Bonneville SSEi, and it has been breathed on a bit.

The engine conversion actually had a secondary benefit. "I met my fiance while doing the L67 swap. He and a friend were hired to do the swap and teach me about my car, and it went from there." Just imagine how boring life would have been if she had the money to plunk down on that GTX! Jamie's Grand Prix is her second Pontiac; her first was a '92 Grand Am. She also mentioned that her dog is named Cam, as in camshaft.