Racer Paula Murphy Obituary & Death Cause: Husband & Kids Mourns Loss

Paula Murphy Obituary- The Fastest Woman on Wheels, Paula Murphy, has passed away at age 95. Murphy died on December 21, as per NHRA. 

In 1966, Murphy became the first woman ever to be licensed by the NHRA to compete in any nitro class. In two days, drag racing has witnessed two legends of the sport depart this world.

On December 20, it was Don Schumacher who bid goodbye to the world after battling lung cancer. The two racers had previously traveled to England in 1973 to take part in a three-weekend trip organized by Tony Nancy.

Murphy was inducted into the  International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2017. Earlier this year, in May, Murphy was honored by the Woman in Motorsports North America at the Petersen Museum. 

Racer Paula Murphy Obituary & Death Cause

Racer Paula Murphy passed away at age 95 on December 21, surrounded by her family. Paula’s death is likely to be old age, but her family hasn’t revealed much about her demise. 

Paula Murphy always kept her personal life out of the public limelight. There aren’t many details about her husband, and it is only known that Paula has one son named Danny Murphy. 

Danny is available on Facebook and has previously shared a throwback picture with his mother. The black-and-white image shows Danny talking to his mother while she is in a car.

Danny is married to Ellen Blondini Murphy and is also a grandfather to a cute baby boy. Earlier this year, on her Facebook handle, Ellen shared two images of Paula Murphy during her time as a racer as a tribute. 

Danny’s daughter, Paula Murphy’s granddaughter, Christina Murphy, resides in Glendale, Arizona. She is married to Adam Edwards, a sports massage therapist. The couple became parents to a baby boy in 2019. 

Fans Remember Paula Murphy Legacy 

After the announcement of Paula Murphy’s demise, many fans have taken to their social media handles to pay tribute to the late racer. 

An Ohio native, Paula graduated from Bowling Green University with a physical education degree. She later shifted to California with her father and her son Danny.

In California, she accepted a secretarial position with Marquardt, an aerospace engineering firm in North Hollywood. She was always interested in driving since her teenage years, but it was in California that Paula pursued her racing career. 

It was in 1963 that Paula decided to quit her desk job and devote herself entirely to racing. She competed in her first drag racing event in 1964 and was offered an Olds 442 by the LA and Orange County Dealers Association.

A year before her first drag racing event, Paula had set a 61-mph women’s land-speed record in a Studebaker Avanti. After that recording setting event, Paula was starting to be known by the name Miss STP.

In 1968, Paula broke the 200-mph barrier and decided to quit drag racing after breaking the record. But she continued racing even after breaking the barrier. 

In 1971, Murphy drove the STP Dodge stock car and broke the NASCAR women’s close-course record. Murphy retired from the racing world after taking part in the World Drive in 1976. 

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