By Jim Newell
Review Staff Writer
From street racer in the early 1960s, to National Hot Rod Association racer, to outlaw tracks and back to NHRA driver, Della Woods has always had that rush to race.
“I always had this need for speed,” said Woods, one of the first female funny car drivers. “Thank god for my brother and husband, who let me pursue this career.”
That need led Woods, a Lake Orion resident since 1972, on a racing career spanning four decades, garnering several honors along the way, including the title of grand matriarch of female funny car drivers from draglist.com in “The History of Women Fuel Funny Car Drivers.”
Most recently, Woods, 76, was inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame on July 16 at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill, PA. Mopar, whose name is a combination of motor and parts, is the parts, service and customer care organization within Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
This marks Woods’ third such honor. She was previously inducted into the East Coast Drag Time Hall of Fame in October 2015, and into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.
While her racing career ended in the 1990s, Woods still likes to roll out her Dodge Daytona and support her community.
Woods and her husband, De Nichols, a Top Fuel racer, brought her Dodge Daytona to the annual Lake Orion Police Association Kids & Kops benefit car show this past Saturday. The event, sponsored by Golling Buick-GMC of Lake Orion, benefits programs that fund youth sports, events and mentoring.
“I just think that it’s really great the police and Golling do such a wonderful job,” Woods said. “I’m proud to be a Lake Orion resident because of them.”
Della’s racing career began in her late teens when her brother, Bernie Woods, built a ’63 Dodge Polara and took it to the Motor City Dragway. Della jumped in and made a 12-second, 120 mph run.
She moved from street racing to getting a license from the NHRA a few years later and traveled the country doing match races, with first her brother and then her husband as her crew chiefs.
But before the success Woods had to contend with several issues. As one of the first female funny car racers she came up against other drivers who did not want to race her.
Her first such incident came when she was pulled from a race track in Michigan after the NHRA revoked her license for being a woman.
Woods turned to outlaw racing, events not sanctioned by the NHRA, and entered races in the south. “That was scary but exciting at the same time,” she said.
She said that during one race in Nashville, Tenn., she and the other racers had to race down a mountainside, the end result being a bizarre and scary prospect for some.
“There were cars in the treetops (at the finish line). Either their brakes gave out or their parachutes didn’t open, so they went right off the track.”
“We had a contract so we had to race,” Woods said. “We were lucky that we did stop.”
Another outlaw racing event in Yellow River race track in Georgia did not have the safety features people are accustomed to today. “People stood right on the track,” Woods said. “There were no barriers or anything to keep them away.”
She eventually got her NHRA license back but quit in 1972 when Bernie got married and opened Bernella’s Auto Parts. She then met De, married, and opened a hair salon in Rochester Hills.
She remembers one time when her husband said they could get a new house or a new race car. “Let’s do the race car,” Della said, of her reemergence in the racing world. “We can always buy a house.”
In 1985 she became the first woman to reach the NHRA semifinals at the Keystone Nationals in Reading, a title she held for 22 years. Her last race was in 1989.
Long-time friend Roy Mickens said racing is ingrained in Woods.
“She’s been a good friend of mine. She just loves racing,” Mickens said. “It’s in her bones.”
“She would probably like to race now, but I said, ‘Della, you’re never getting behind that wheel because we ain’t never going to get you out.’”