The 1962 NHRA Winternationals were a

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

(NHRA) drag racing event, held at Auto Club Raceway,

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

on 18 February.

History

The 1962 Winternationals were historic for the appearance there of NHRA's first woman class champion. Under pressure from

Peggy Hart Peggy may refer to: People * Peggy (given name), people with the given name or nickname Arts and entertainment * ''Peggy'' (musical), a 1911 musical comedy by Stuart and Bovill * ''Peggy'' (album), a 1977 Peggy Lee album * ''Peggy'' (191 ...

(wife of track owner "Pappy" Hart) and

Mickey Thompson Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s.

, as well as fellow racers

Shirley Shahan Shirley Shahan (nicknamed the "Drag-On Lady") is a pioneering American woman drag racer. Shahan in 1965 became the first woman to win an NHRA pro event.Taylor, p.16. Her husband, H. L., prepared the cars she drove. She became a member of the Int ...

and Roberta Leighton, Carol Cox was the first woman allowed to race at an NHRA national event. Influenced in part by Thompson's preference for

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

s, Cox drove a 1961 Ventura with a 389cui/368HP V8, which was driven (not trailered) to Pomona. Cox won the title in S/SA (Super Stock, automatic transmission), making her the first woman ever to take a win at an NHRA national event; the 9 March 1962 issue of ''

National Dragster The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsp ...

'' recorded her as a "crowd favorite", with a winning pass of 13.06 seconds at , but says nothing about it being a first for a woman, dismissively calling her a "'posder puff' handler". Some racers believe a class win is more difficult to achieve than a handicap (eliminator) win. While Cox gained a lot of attention, "Sneaky Pete" Robinson and Tom McEwen (not yet nicknamed "Mongoo$e") both lost to Jim Nelson in the Dode Martin-owned

Dodge Dart Dodge Dart is a line of automobiles marketed by Dodge from the 1959 to 1976 model years in North America, with production extended to later years in various other markets. The Dart name originally appeared on a 1956 Chrysler show car featuring ...

, on his way to a win in Top Eliminator. Gary Cagle drove

Dean Moon Dean Moon (May 1, 1927 – June 4, 1987) was an American automobile designer. He grew up in Norwalk, California. Moon was around cars and racing from his youth. His father owned "Moon Cafe" and had a go-kart track he called "Moonza", a pun on M ...

's '' Mooneyes'' dragster to victory in Middle Eliminator. Bob Balough's

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

-powered

Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simca bough ...

defeated Doug "Cookie" Cook in Junior Eliminator. "Dyno Don" Nicholson took the victory in Stock Eliminator, over Dave Strickler in the Ammon Smith-owned Chevrolet. In Street, Rich Siroonian, in the Mazmanian-owned 1962 Corvette, lost to K.S. Pittman. Earl Wade, in another 1962 Corvette, defeated Pittman in the final to win Street Eliminator. Hugh Tucker claimed the Little Eliminator win.Ultimateracinghistory
(retrieved 3 October 2018)

Notes

{{reflist 1962 in motorsport NHRA Winternationals