Carol “Bunny” Burkett
Carol “Bunny” Burkett married Marion Burkett when she was sixteen and one of the first gifts she received from him was a 1964 ½ Mustang. Marion, Mo to most, taught Bunny to drive at a nearby airport and then they were off to Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, VA where she quickly became a fan favorite. This car was destroyed by a drunk driver and the young couple recognized the need for additional income to follow the dream. Carol took a hostess job at the Playboy Bunny Club in Baltimore, MD where she earned her nickname, Bunny, and together with Mo they were able to purchase a new, poppy red 1967 Mustang that became Bunny’s first dedicated race car.
In 1973, Bunny purchased a Pro Stock Ford Pinto which afforded her an opportunity to book more match races at the local tracks. Within three years, she moved from Pro Stock to a Hemi powered Top Alcohol Funny Car. In years to follow, Bunny would drive cars in almost every class with a career highlight being driving Donny Holbrook’s Top Fuel Dragster in Germany.
In terms of success and longevity, there are few drag racers with a fan base like Bunny. She was a huge attraction for fans from her start in the mid-60s right up until she passed away. Among her major achievements was winning the 1986 IHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car World Championship along with the NHRA Division II Championship and finishing fourth overall in NHRA. When Bunny won the 1986 Keystone Nationals Top Alcohol Funny Car Championship, she became the first woman in history to win an NHRA Top Alcohol event. Her record held for 25 years until Alexis DeJoria accomplished her feat in 2011.
Besides being an excellent driver, Bunny was also an excellent promoter. Unlike many of her competitors, instead of just booking into major tracks and races, she booked herself into smaller tracks and built a large and loyal fan base. She took her time with fans and would often be the last racer to pack up because she would stay until she had talked to every fan. She also successfully leveraged her newfound fame and used ‘Bunny’ as part of her booking promotion and merchandise sales. Among Bunny’s other traits that added to her popularity was her willingness to work with the news media, take time to pose for photos with her fans and to promote her crew as well as herself. Many that crewed for Bunny have gone on to work for professional teams or have become drivers in their own right.
Bunny’s racing career almost ended on Sept 4, 1995 at Beaver Springs Dragway in Pennsylvania when the car she was racing crossed over into her lane and hit her resulting in a horrific crash where the car was totally destroyed and Bunny sustained life threatening injuries including a broken back, broken arms, a broken ankle and a head injury. Those injuries could only keep her down for a year though and she returned to racing at an NHRA event at Virginia Motorsports Park in 1997.
In addition to her other many awards, Bunny received the NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award post humus at the 2020 NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, KY. She was also an active supporter of Godspeed Ministries, Racers for Christ, Drag Racing Association of Women, and breast cancer research and support organizations. She loved sharing her faith in God with everyone around her and proudly displayed ‘God is my pilot’ on her cars. Carol ‘Bunny’ Burkett passed away on April 4, 2020.