Don Garlits
PHOTOS : MARK J . REBILAS , NHRA
Don Garlits , or “ Big Daddy ” as he is lovingly referred to , is a name synonymous with drag racing . With 144 national event victories , 17 world championships and an exhaustive list of records and barrier-breaking performances to his credit , Garlits ’ on-track accomplishments pale only in comparison to the various , sport-changing innovations he delivered to drag racing .
A life-long gearhead , mechanical master and talented fabricator who also managed a run at Congress as a Republican in his native state of Florida , Garlits built a career and personal brand on pushing the boundaries and stepping outside traditional thinking . Whether it was campaigning the first successful rear-engine dragster , championing the mono-strut wing and driver capsule in Top Fuel , experimenting with sideways-mounted engines , air foils and any number of other powertrain arrangements and add-ons , if it made a lick of sense in his mind ,
Garlits had to give it a go .
Garlits , now 90 years old , is a living legend in drag racing and across the automotive industry . Regardless of one ’ s interest in car culture or motorsports , the name Don Garlits maintains reverence some three decades after he last regularly competed professionally .
Noted drag racing journalist and historian Chris Martin once referred to Garlits as drag racing ’ s “ Babe Ruth ,” and not only for his ability to hit the long ball – Garlits was the first driver ever to surpass 170 , 180 , 200 , 240 , 250 , 260 and 270 miles per hour from a standing start in the quarter mile . NHRA founder Wally Parks called him “ the Muhammad Ali of the sport .”
Garlits , much like the aforementioned sporting superstars , was also a character , a larger-than-life personality . Amidst a plethora of skills , talents and intangible qualities , Garlits ’ innate showmanship has and may well always be his true superpower . – WES BUCK DI
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