Drag-racing legend Shirley Muldowney diagnosed with lung cancer

— -- Famed drag racer Shirley Muldowney has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will have her right lung removed Wednesday.

The 75-year-old Muldowney, who started racing in the 1950s and won three NHRA top fuel championships from 1977 to 1982, has a Stage 2 tumor in her right lung, according to a news release from her agent.

"I urge everyone to keep up with their health and get chest X-rays as often as possible to make sure they are OK," Muldowney said in a statement.

"I'm a fighter, always have been, and I'm going to fight this as best I can with everything I got."

Muldowney still does appearances at races and has started to a charity for children in need. She will have to skip some scheduled appearances while she recovers from surgery.

"I'm ready for the pain to stop. It's been getting worse the last few weeks as they did biopsies and the pre-op stress tests to make sure I was strong enough to have the surgery," she said. "Everything is good, so we're getting it done."