I remember stopping at his museum in 2004,with my family. Passing by his house, there he was, on his riding lawnmower, I beeped the horn, and he waved back. That is better than an autograph any day!
Don Garlits was an Eagle Scout. When my son made Eagle, Don was nice enough to send him a letter of recognition. Nothing in it for him. A testament to the type of man he is.
He isn’t called big daddy for nothing !!! A true talent and an icon of professional drag racing !!! As far as I see it there will NEVER be another !!! There isn’t another name that says drag racing any more recognizable
Drag racing legend, but also a very smart businessman. I live down the road from his place and watched it develop over the years. A very smart businessman!
My first Indy was 1982 Shirley won her 3rd crown missed 83 went back 1984 an DAD in a truck and tow behind trailer put everybody on the trailer it was something I will never forget the crowd on both sides on the track went crazy the MAN the behind the LOUD petal BIG DADDY Don Garlits Thank You.
I'm 65 now, when I was 16 and just getting my drivers license I already idolized Big Daddy! Been hooked ever since. Life, Don Garlits, top fuel, what a ride!😁
Take that in younger generation boys and girls that is a real man. Your still the greatest in my eyes ever Big Daddy Don since I was a young man and I'm 50 now.
I had the pleasure of meeting Don about 4 years ago( got a nice pic with him + an autograph) at the 2017 NIGHT OF FIRE at Eddyville Raceway Park in Eddyville Iowa .... I'll remember it forever. , what a great day that was 👍👍👍👍👍👍🤗🤗
I met mr. Don in So. Cal in late 70’s and early 80’s, TRUELY THE FATHER OF DRAG RACING, don’t forget about Bob Glidden, another dominating force in the sport
I stopped at his museum somewhere around 1999. I remember his Hemi powered lawnmower. Great man , first at 200 mph in the quarter I think. Great legacy. I saw Swamp Rat v or vI race at Detroit Dragway in the '60's I think. "Be There"
Swamp Rat!!! Have alot of respect for this gentleman. Have one of his top fuel rods at home top fuel starter kit. Cool museum in Ocala Florida need to go!!!!
One year at Spokane, I walked up to the rope Don with the help of his wife was tuning the Swamp Rat, I was the only one there so I stood and watched, a kid came up and wanted an autograph, Don looked said politely "I'm a little busy right now, but please wait." the kid waited, by the time he was done a small crowd had gathered and when he was done he came to sign autographs but told the crowd, "the kid is first, cause I asked him to wait!" he signed and then looked at me! I said Ive got nothing to sign and smiled cause I felt he did the right thing!.....hell of a good guy he is!
The first Hemi he got, he put it in his 1939 Ford tow car. During a race, his dragster with the flathead broke. He still wanted to race, so he ran his tow car with the Hemi. His wife told him to be careful, if it broke that was their ride home. It ran faster than the dragster, so he put the Hemi in the dragster. Then the fun and winning started.
Got to meet him in 94 and 95 in Scribner, Nebraska at the IHRA nationals he took the time with a crowd of people around him to give my best friends and I each an autographed t-shirt and give us shit for our Chevy shirts. Shirley Muldowney was there and Bob Riggle (hemi under glass). What an honor it was to talk to each of them.
I remember running up to watch Don push start his front engine dragster and CDR raceways in Castle Rock Colorado in the 1960's . He was one of the best and I had a pit pass and would run to the fence to watch him run. What thrilll !!! What a sound!!! What a memorie!!! Thank you NHRA back in the day.
I met him several times at the Summernationals at Raceway Park in Old Bridge, NJ. The man is an innovator, fierce competitor, great businessman, and a bit of a mad scientist. Overall, he is just an amazing human being. I remember one year at the Summernationals one of the smaller FC teams was in a bit of a bind because they won the previous round but blew up an engine big time. They were a bit overwhelmed by the task in front of them and went sure if they were going to be able to race the next round. Big D was already out of competition for that race and sent a couple of mechanics over to help them put their car back together.
Big Daddy ( Don ) Was grand marshal at Kindom Drags ! An airport that has been there since WW2. Lodi ca . I was lucky enough to drive him and his wife and two dog's around in the track golf cart ,what an honor !
Don is the John Wayne of drag racing. Back in the late 70's I would always hit the big races at Alamo Dragway in San Antonio. Big Daddy, Shirley, Bernstein, John Force in his Brute Force EZ Wider FC and many other big names were there. Me and my buddies had an after race routine of hitting up our favorite Mexican food restraint (Don Pedro's) around midnight. It was a small place back then and more than once I got to sit a table or two from Big Daddy and his small crew of 2-3 guys as they ripped tortillas and chugged ice tea. Don always wore a dirty t-shirt with grease and oil smudges all over it. I really wanted to say hello and express my appreciation for all he had done for the sport and his fans, and possibly get his autograph, but I couldn't do it. No sir. The man was tired, thirsty and hungry like everyone else who had spent 12 hot hours in the sun and I wanted to him to enjoy his meal in peace. In fact, I would have stood guard at his table if he had asked but of course that didn't happen. Big, if you ever see this I saw every race and have the highest respect for you as a racer and a person.
I've watched this awesome roll model race since my teenage years at the old Hollywood speedway. That was in the early 70's. And no, not Hollywood California, Hollywood Florida. Lol I remember he set the track record against Shirley Muldowney. 225 mph! 😎
@GEO Mason Wow, sounds like you have had a rough time. You are a part of racing history from the old days. Glad to hear you are still turning wrenches. I have been building and racing street cars off and on over the years. I built and raced a 67 Camaro in the early 90's when I was at Ft Bragg. I am currently racing a 12 Roush Mustang with a blower. I built that Coyote engine 2 years ago after I sent a rod through the factory engine. It was the first engine I had built in 30 years. Knock on wood its still running good and has a lot of passes down the track.
@GEO Mason I was a 3rd generation Infantry Paratrooper, I was on active duty for 7 years but only 3 at Bragg. Thanks for your service and welcome home.
I'm from CT and went down to Don's museum over 20 years ago and met Don's dad at the cash register. I asked if Don was around and said he was on the road. What a great museum. I remember seeing Don at CT Dragway back in the 70s. Is the A7 on the stand out front? I worked on the A7Es in the Navy as an AT and made the first Med cruise on the IKE with her in 78-79. I still have my 55 Nomad from 1974 and still play with cars. He has been a big inspiration to me and the auto industry regarding high performance.
I have always had much respect for Don Garlits, I'm going on 72 years old and I can remember reading about him when I was just 11 years old. He's been around a lot of years and set an example for many people in Drag Racing.
if I had been born one era earlier and had the same drive and contact to racing as I had me and he would have been best buddies but he is right the world is a different place and taking down a giant to win is really tough
I can remember when Garlits and Ivo raced at a little 1/8-mile track called Shuffletown in Charlotte, NC. It was a big deal for that little track. Now all that remains is the overgrown strip long abandoned.
Thank you for your response to my interview of Don Garlits. I first met the great man in 1973 when I was teaching a class at San Francisco State University called “The Psychology of Drag Racing.” It was an elective “field study” that lasted one year and included many trips to the drags. When it was over, my students wrote a 15 page paper about what we found as we compared professional and amateur racers. You can find that paper here if you are interested: www.rickgilbert.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/The-Psychology-of-Drag-Racing.pdf Before my visit to the Drag Racing Museum in 2017, I sent Garlits the paper. When I met him to do the interview, he said he’d read the paper and really like it. You can imagine, that made my day. If you liked this interview, I thought you might be interested in how I used the interview in my new audiobook: Sharing Our Stories: Tales of Resilience and Renewal. Don Garlits talks about the hard lessons his father taught him, and what he wants to be remembered for: “A God-fearing man who never wrote a bad check or bankrupted a company.” This audiobook can be downloaded onto your phone, or listened to on your computer or via flash drive. To learn more about the book, please visit my site: www.rickgilbert.net/ricks-book/
