Kitty O'Neil
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Kitty O'Neil (born 1946 in Corpus Christi, Texas) was a stuntwoman and racer noted for a handful of exceptional accomplishments, despite becoming deaf when she was four years old.
In 1977 in the Mojave Desert, she piloted a hydrogen peroxide powered rocket dragster built by Ky Michaelson to the quickest quarter mile elapsed time in auto history, with a timed run of 3.22 seconds at 396 MPH. During the same time, she also made a quarter mile run with a top speed of 412 MPH. Her records are contrary to popular belief that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters hold the fastest quarter mile times in the 4.4x and 330 MPH range [as of 2005].
In drag racing, hydrogen peroxide "rocket cars" were relegated to exhibition only, and have not been allowed in the United States since the 1980's, although they continue to be run in other parts of the world.
External links
- The Drag Racing List: [All-Time Quickest Rocket-Powered Dragsters] (Alphabetical List by Driver and Year)
- [Space Age Racing: Article mentioning Kitty's world record]
- [Ky Michaelson's first hand account of the record-setting attempts]
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