Last week, while covering the upcoming Billetproof show in Ocala, Florida, we touched on some sad news regarding Don Big Daddy Garlits, the father of drag racing. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. Weve really tried to stretch ourselves to find the best and the brightest no matter where they live, Scott said. Net Worth: $100 Million. 1 mechanic out of F1. Dad was in the hospital nine days last month and that was the first time they had been apart, he has given up and just sits and says he doesn't know how he can go on. Garlits, the man they call "Big Daddy," is the greatest drag racer in history. 27, 2015:Garlits debuts Swamp Rat 14 in Pomona; memories from Woody Gilmore, Don Long, Don Moody, and Wes Cerny. 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. His career has been active since the mid- 1950s. Video: A Solemn Don Garlits Remembers His Amazing Wife Pat, Remembering Atomic Al: Steve Evans Interviews Al Hofmann Back in 1998. He announced for four seasons, from 1988 through the end of 1991. I saw Don and Pat at the SEMA show a few years ago, she was in a wheel chair but I didn't know the circumstances. Truly inspiring. Sometimes its easy to forget that, but I think were doing a good job here. Photo and video courtesy of NHRA. In 1994, Garlits was the Republican Party nominee for Florida's 5th Congressional District. A look at seven decades of wild, wheelstanding crowdpleasers, Altered States, Part 2: Breakage, tears, and fears, but ultimately a success story, Altered States: Fear and loathing (and a lot of thrills) on the quarter-mile, Ed 'the Outlaw' Jones: Living life on two wheels for more than 45 years, You never know with nitro: A look back at seven great Funny Car upset wins, Everyone loves an underdog: Here's a list of five great Top Fuel upsets, 30 years ago: The 1992 NHRA season was a year full of historic firsts, Female Pro Stock pioneer Shay Nichols: A life well lived (and then some), Magnificent Seven: A history of female racers in NHRA Pro Stock competition, On the Gas: The drag racing life and times of Danny Ongais, By The Numbers: Pro Stock readies for 900th event 'birthday' in Pomona, That was then, this is now: A look back at the NHRA season 50 years ago, 'I was there:' Garlits debuts Swamp Rat 14, Pat Garlits: The Great Woman behind The Man, Front to back: The rear-engine transition, Part 2, The Clapshaw Effect: How Don Garlits finally made his first 300-mph pass, Swamp Rat 14 rides again; the history of one of Top Fuel's most important cars, Don Garlits, Bob Taaffe, and the 72-hour car build that led to drag racing lore. By Andrew Wolf February 02, 2014. Thats definitely not a rumor, said OWard, who is entering his fourth season of driving McLarens No. Come join the discussion about restoration, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more! Its high schoolers. 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. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava. Hes run front-engine cars, rear-engine cars, and a sidewinder. Honestly, this team comes from humble beginnings in the IndyCar world. 28, 2012:A salute to the woman behind and always at the side of "Big Daddy", Don-ning my Garlits-Prudhomme trivia capNov. Swamp Rat Spotter's Guide, Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3March 18-275, 2011:The cars of Don Garlits, fromSwamp Rat I-A (1956-60) toSwamp Rat 34 (1993-94, 2002-03). In 2008, he was inducted into the inaugural hall of fame class at, This page was last edited on 28 November 2022, at 21:23. Date of Birth: Sep 24, 1977 (45 years old) Place of Birth: Venice. Don Garlits won the race and set the NHRA record, at 186.32 MHP . 5 Dallara-Chevrolet. Hes tried long cars and short cars, light cars and heavy cars. Our leadership team was just looking for the best, Scott, who also worked at Stanley Black & Decker, told NBC Sports. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. I work really well in it, and Im excited to bring her in and experience that. On March 8, 1970, at Lions Drag Strip,[2] Garlits was driving Swamp Rat XIII, also called the Wynnscharger, a front-engined slingshot rail dragster, when the vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure. Since arriving in the fall of 2019 at the former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, she said she has watched Arrow McLaren grow while maintaining its gritty origins. Weve pulled a No. I think thatll grow into a bigger, better version of a big team than there is. At 87 years old, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits is looking in the rearview mirror - not to reminisce, but at the drivers . I have long maintained the non-controversial view that Garlits is the best drag racer in history and wont ever be moved from that perch but his wife Pat had as much to do with that as he did wheeling the car. I felt the same as you when I saw it. Its like nothing Ive ever seen before.. Indy 1971: 'The Great Burndown'Aug. All rights reserved. We'll give you credit for the submission (of course) and what is cooler than showing all your gang that you have a story on Bang Shift? 21, 2014: Ivo, McCulloch, McEwen, Bernstein, Prudhomme, Garlits, and Muldowney share some Pomona memories, Front to back: The rear-engine transition, Part 2Feb. Hes innovative, inquisitive, indefatigable, and pretty much indestructible. Don Garlits hails from a poor family; he spent his childhood in his hometown, Tampa, where he attended Hillsborough High School. The decision was made to accept the challenge with the new Swamp Rat. But then Brian is a great resource for me, for the team. Its pretty amazing to me with how involved he is with every aspect of the IndyCar organization, the F1 organization. "Big Daddy" retired again before the end of the 1992 season because of a detached retina, a product of the 4g deceleration produced by a Top Fuel Dragster's braking parachutes.[14]. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021. We started from a team that had always been competitive and hungry to find the very last bit, and that is still the backbone here that came from the small, really hungry team. 2023 Power Automedia. Don Garlits' sidewinder Top FuelerMarch 2, 2018:In 1982, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, always the innovator, experimented with a sideways-mounted nitro engine in his Swamp Rat 27. Now Garlits and Huff have become, well, fast friends, no nitro included. 1 staffing priority wasnt hiring. New hires have come from Fortune 500 companies, major brands and other professional sports an eclectic roster of past employers that includes Disney, SalesForce, the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Rays, Republic Airways and Boeing Defense, Space & Security (to name a few). If you embrace it for what it is, the American culture and the IndyCar experience, its a neat option for these guys. PRESS PLAY BELOW TO WATCH DON GARLITS REMEMBER HIS LOVING WIFE PAT THIS IS TRUE EMOTION. Arrow McLaren uses applicant tracking software to determine the best matches on background, education and experience. Your email address will not be published. She took him to the hospital on Sunday. After all those years of being together. Shes a complete unicorn and super hard worker. RIP Pat. Progress always comes painfully slow, but then when you look back over a larger period of time, youre like, Oh hey, weve done a hell of a lot. . People are curious about IndyCar even if theyve not been involved in the past, she said. So its been a challenge, but Im really happy with how we managed to hit it in a short period of time. It is sad he will lose his wife. 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LemonsJan. I think Gavin kind of feeds off that and has a similar style as well.. 20-14 "Drag Racing History". It's HOT!! But when you look back, I think obviously marketing and that kind of stuff is becoming pretty huge in our team. Weve had more people come to us than weve reached out to other people. Hes a great personality to the team. She was the girl of my dreams, he said. He had the house built in 1967 and lived there until he moved to Ocala to open the Drag Racing Museum. Zak also leads the charge in that. Chopped and Sectioned 1948 Chevy Truck owned since I was 15 in 1974. The group of people that are in charge (of) who joins the team, I think they know exactly what we need, and I trust theyre going to make the right decisions. Your email address will not be published. That is still here fueling this and educating all the new people coming in to continue that mentality. (Its) retaining the people youve got, he said. [clarification needed], In May 2014 at age 82, Garlits set a 184mph (296km/h) speed record with Swamp Rat 37, a 2,000 hp battery-powered EV dragster . And I found her in a magazine and just reached out to her.. During his career, he received several prestigious awards; in 1989 he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, in 1997 he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, and in 2004 he became a part of the Automotive Hall of Fame. Schedules, start times and how to watch the 2023 IndyCar season opener, from preseason testing at The Thermal Club, organizational hierarchy was restructured, Its crowded at the top with Ganassi and Penske drivers, Rossis signing was followed by the arrival, was announced as a finalist for Indys Best and Brightest,. Super positive. Thats exciting. She was the girl of my dreams, said Don. People are hungry and people feel like were out here to do damage.. So we just are thinking strategically on how can we find candidates with transferable skills outside our industry if we can. Getting Zak more plugged into the team has been a fantastic side effect of this change, Ward said. Patricia Louise Garlits, aged 79, was widely regarded as the First Lady of the drag racing world. That early T-Bucket's quarter mile performance was 13.5 seconds, at a top speed of 93mph. Get Well Don. He's also as candid and controversial as ever. 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. 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. 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