Photo and video courtesy of NHRA. Garlits is very much his father's son, although not in his domestic life. Lets admit it: Theres never been another drag racer quite like Don Garlits, and theres probably never going to ever be anyone like Big Daddy. Heck, theres probably no one else in the world exactly like Donald Glenn Garlits, who turns 90 years young today. More a legend now, indeed. I visited Dons museum on a Sunday one week after Pat passed away. Its the best team Ive ever worked at in terms of mechanics, engineers, commercial. Ron was born on April 13, 1942, in Fairmont, West Virginia, to the late Rueben and Helen (Bunner) Garlits. Indy 1971: 'The Great Burndown'Aug. Don and Pat, his wife of 33 years, live with two spirited Yorkshire terriers and three Doberman pinschers on 16 acres just south of Ocala, Fla., not far from where Big Daddy was born. Hes my competitor, but were going to have a really fun time with these cars, Garlits, who operates his own Museum of Drag Racing on his property at Ocala, said. The couple met in 1952 and were wed in 1953. A forum community dedicated to hot rod owners and enthusiasts. But Gerry launched the build that allowed Gwynn to drive a scale-model dragster equipped with a joystick-like device (which Garlits referred to as a wobblestick) for steering, one similar to what Gwynn uses to guide his wheelchair. Always at the forefront of driver safety, in the wake of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta's fatal crash and numerous other engine explosions and resultant fires, occurring in the last 300 feet of the quarter mile, Garlits declared "I am 100 percent in favor of it", regarding NHRA's proposal to trim the race distance for Top Fuel and Funny Car from the traditional quarter-mile to 1,000 feet, also suggesting that he would support a ban on rev limiters and a return to a 70/30 nitromethane to methanol ratio. I put my mouth out there in front of me like usual and let my ass follow, but thats what inspired me.. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting him and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. The circumstances reminds me of my Dad and Mom, you know she passed away last weekend and she to had alziemers. Because its so easy to get sucked into a more corporate environment. Big Daddy Don Garlits Is Getting Married, and You Can Go to the Wedding Elana Scherr writer Mar 2, 2015 See all 2 photos If you follow the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing page on Facebook. I don't have any hood flutter in my . We needed to fill the car communicator role, and Alex was pretty happy with (Barnhart) previously, Ward said. People get to see how much enthusiasm Zak brings. In 2023, His Personal Year Number is 4. With the explosive growth and importance of computer-based simulation in racing, theres as much emphasis on software engineering now as there once was on traditional mechanics. History lessons relearnedMarch 19, 2008:The debut of the Garlitsglide and how it led to the first successful rear-engined dragster, 2,470 days later June 11, 2008:Don Garlits' historic 5.63 pass stood as the quickest of all time for nearly seven years, 'I was there:' Garlits debuts Swamp Rat 14Aug. PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS: Its crowded at the top with Ganassi and Penske drivers. May great stories and a few laughs. After exhausting the limits of internal combustion, hes tried turbine power and electric power. Hes tried long cars and short cars, light cars and heavy cars. I met Don and Pat years ago at the AHRA world finals in Spokane, great people. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. 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A great American Legend and a great drag racer ! Ultimately, Huff loosely speaking, a younger, less-swashbuckling, more nonchalant, but equally obsessive version of Garlits beat him to it. I think we want people who want to be with the team, so its not so much about trying to headhunt people, he said. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 19512000, Don Garlits was ranked No.1. Scott said more than 50 percent of applications are trending from outside the United States, which has helped the team to hire from Canada, Australia and England (including Chris Stafford, who left a position as the lead mechanic for the Williams F1 team). [1] The first national drag racing meet, sponsored by the National Hot Rod Association was held on an airfield near Great Bend, KS in 1955. Only a few years older than I. He gave her comfort and a familiar face until her last breath. They were more trouble than they were worth . 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Heck, he could probably tell you how many nuts and bolts it took to build Swamp Rat I. Hes not just an icon of our sport, but very probably THE icon, and I say that with tremendous love and respect for people like Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme, and John Force. He's also as candid and controversial as ever. Were putting the resources behind it but trying to do it in a sustainable way thats good to the people that are working here as well and also just to have fun. In 1964, after winning the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Garlits traveled to England, with TV Tommy Ivo, Tony Nancy, Dante Duce and other racers, to participate in the first International Drag Festival, a six-event series that did much to promote the sport of drag racing in the UK. Come join the discussion about restoration, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more! Adding 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi as a teammate to Pato OWard and Felix Rosenqvist, the team will be running three full-time cars for the first time (and a fourth Indy 500 entry for Tony Kanaan). This video highlights some of his greatest moments at this. We all hope and pray for the best for you and Pat. 21, 2014: Ivo, McCulloch, McEwen, Bernstein, Prudhomme, Garlits, and Muldowney share some Pomona memories, Front to back: The rear-engine transition, Part 2Feb. Don had two sons with first wife, Dolores. Word is that he'll be back in a few weeks to try . "We were married 61 years," Garlits said. His expansive Rolodex comes in handy but hasnt been key in expanding to a third car. Don Garlits, being from Florida, was something of an outsider. Donald Glenn Garlits is drag racing's truest outlier; his innovative spirit, mechanical expertise, character, talent and work ethic combined to make him the most transcendent figure the drag strip has ever known. All we can do is look across what corporations and companies are doing when people tell us we could do better in one space or another, she said. Right from the get-go for me, that was a high-priority item to try and spruce ourselves up. We obviously have the resources to tap into and the shared knowledge of the greater McLaren Racing group. "He's doing okay and has gotten most of his memory back," said Francine Head, a Garlits assistant at the Museum. She proved to be a stalwart wife and partner throughout most of Dons racing career, standing by Dons side during the bad times, like his near-fatal explosion in 1970 and blowover in 1986, as well as celebrating the good times in good fun, like Dons historic 1967 win at the Indy Nationals where she handed her husband a shaving kit to celebrate his hard-won victory. The role of Pat Garlits in the career of her husband can never fully be appreciated. In 2008, he was one of the supporters of the presidential candidate Ron Paul. Ill see what I can do help you out. I am going and sitting with him almost every day as does my sister and brother. Don is one of the greatest most down to earth guys you would ever want to meet, and our thoughts and prayers are with them both. Phil Burgess can be reached at[emailprotected], Hundreds of more articles like this can be found in theDRAGSTER INSIDER COLUMN ARCHIVE, Or try theRandom Dragster Insider story generator. The couple would have celebrated their 61st anniversary on Feb. 20. With sponsorship dollars generally on the rise in IndyCar, and manufacturer money pouring into rival series such as IMSA and F1, it likely never has been harder for hiring across U.S. motorsports. When you want to build a high-powered racing team, software is really, really important, Ward said. After all those years of being together. Drag Racing icon Big Daddy Don Garlits joins Joe Castello for a preview of the upcoming International Drag Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Gainesville, Florida, prior to the NHRA Gatornationals. What launched Garlits intrigue was the project he worked on with Las Vegas design genius Mike Gerry in 2011helping popular former Top Fuel driver Darrell Gwynn experience running down the racetrack again. "Don Garlits suffered a mild stroke on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Garlits family confirmed. He was defeated by incumbent Democrat Karen Thurman. All the world was a colorful Circus when Bob Gerdes painted race cars, Top Fuel dynasties: Torrence, Schumacher, Dixon, Garlits, Amato, Shirley, Beck, Some top-shelf books that every drag racing history fan should check out, Yeah, but what if? But when you look back, I think obviously marketing and that kind of stuff is becoming pretty huge in our team. All logos and images are reserved. We visited Garlits museums in Florida in the 1990's. Those races stimulated Garlits curiosity, and he asked Gerry, How fast do you think we could go if we took the gloves off? Gerrys response was that we might go 200 miles an hour. So its been a challenge, but Im really happy with how we managed to hit it in a short period of time. The Garlits brothers were a fearsome force in the drag racing world. Pat, coined by many as the "first lady of drag racing," stood firmly by her husband's side, through the triumphs and glory to the ultimate of trials, before her sad passing on February 2nd following a long illness. 5, 2014:Prudhomme-Nicoll (1970); McEwen-Prudhomme (1978); Don Garlits (1967), in their own words, Just another day with the legendsNov. Garlits will discuss each [] In 1970 he suffered a terrifying accident, when his car exploded and parts of the engine tore off a part of his right foot; this incident led to the invention and development of rear-engine drag racing cars. As I have posted roles throughout this last year, Ive found a large number of youths all around the world thats interested in getting into motorsports. Don Garlits' Swamp Rat 17, the Wynn's Liner, had a very short life in 1973 and is roundly considered to be among the few disappointments of the more than 40 Swamp Rats he campaigned. Hes a great personality to the team. Women comprise nearly 20 percent of its staff with many in the engineering department. Patricia Louise Bieger Garlits, wife of Legendary Drag Racer, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits for nearly 61 years left this world and went over to the other side to spend eternity with Jesus Christ, this afternoon; February 2nd, at 5:53 PM. Racing director Gavin Ward, who oversees day-to-day operations as the direct report to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, started last July after working as head engineer for Josef Newgarden at Team Penske. 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