An important milestone happened here in 1966 , when Emery Cook when scorched the strip in Don Garlits ’ radical Dodge Dart , recording the first-ever 200 mph Funny Car run . The car was an early representation of the class with a near-18-foot roadster-type body , mounted on an altered wheelbase . It was also outlawed by NHRA shortly after recording the historic run at Sunshine . The car was promptly retired from drag racing and went into storage for 17 years . No surprise , it eventually wound up at Garlits ’ Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala .

In January , I sat down with Don to hear some of his favorite memories about the track he simply refers to as “ Sunshine .” After giving me a play-by-play of the historic Funny Car run in 1966 , he walked me over to his file cabinet and showed me the original news articles that detailed the incredible 200 mph run recorded 56 years ago . A little while later I walked into the museum and looked at the actual car ... and yes , it gave me chills !

In 1970 , Garlits suffered his horrific

explosion at Lions Dragway in California , which famously cut off the front half of his right foot . While still in the hospital , Garlits went right to work redesigning the slingshot dragster , and sketched some of the earliest rearengine dragster examples from his hospital bed . Later that same year , a revolutionary new design rolled out of Garlits ’ shop , with Sunshine Drag Strip once again playing another role in history .

“ In the fall of 1970 after we completed that new design , we first took it to Tampa Dragway just to start it , but when it was time to make some runs with it we took it to Sunshine ,” Garlits says . “ A lot of cars in that day

– including many of my own – made their first runs there , and I matched raced everybody from Art Malone to Dick LaHaie at Sunshine .”

Another memory he shared was the time Billy Herndon bought the infamous twin-engine dragster from Tommy Ivo and he went to Sunshine to make a run with it . “ Well , he didn ’ t get the parachute

out and he went right across the highway and hit a pine tree in the field across the road ,” Garlits remembers . “ It ’ s a wonder he didn ’ t get killed !”

I sat with “ Big Daddy ” in his office for several hours and listened to one story after another about memorable things that went down at Sunshine , and I remember thinking how cool it is that this amazing track located right in the middle of Clearwater is still open , and you can show up with your daily driver and make a pass down the same track where the first 200 mph Funny Car run took place !

Oh sure , a lot has changed , including the name to Showtime Dragstrip , after the track was

purchased by Robert Yoho almost a decade ago . Track manager Jeff Miller tells me he lovingly refers to the place as a “ working man ’ s track .”

Currently , the facility sits on state-owned property , but Yoho would like to purchase the track outright after the nearby freeway construction is complete .

“ If we ’ re able to buy this property

we ’ d like to do a variety of things , which may even include moving the starting line back and returning the track to a quarter mile ,” says Miller .

There ’ s a lot of possibilities that are constantly being discussed as they patiently wait until the opportunity to purchase the property is a reality . In addition to a robust Wednesday night TNT program , Showtime offers Street Wars on the third Saturday of every month .

“ Three Saturdays a month we hold races on the neighboring oval track and also sprinkle in some small-tire races at the dragstrip ,” says Miller .

The drag strip is also the home base of Tampa Bay Race Rentals , launched by NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor “ Flyin ’” Ryan Oehler .

“ Ryan bought a pair of 2020 Mustangs and they ’ re available to rent for things like corporate outings , birthday parties , etc . We ’ ve had groups as small as 2-4 people and as large as 24 ... and man , you should hear the smack talk when they start racing each other in those Mustangs !” laughs Miller .

There ’ s another local who frequents the track with his Tesla , and can outrun many of the cars that get trailered in . I personally witnessed him stop the eighth-mile timers at 6.08 at 119 mph , but the locals tell me he ’ s gone 5.99 in the car .

So , whether you want to relive the glory days of yesteryear or experience the modern age , historic Showtime Dragstrip is still very much open for business , and ready for you to come make some memories . DI