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
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!😁
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!
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 👍👍👍👍👍👍🤗🤗
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 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 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"
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.
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.
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!
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 !
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! 😎
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!!!!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
@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.
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/
He's the man. I agree with him about the corporate money in drag racing. I has ruined the sport. Instead of shortening the track they should limit them to 1 engine
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!
Read my comment above.
Betcha his lawnmower mowed that lawn awful quick!!
One of the toughest drag racers to ever pull the trigger.
Fantastic human being.
Fantastic human being for sure. That guy slept on our couch for a while when I was a kid.
Reason he’s called. BIG...... Biggest heart, Thanks for the memories!
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.
Wow that is so cool to hear both my son's are Eagles.
No words can explain what this gentleman has done for the sport an hardships he an his family has went thru.. the man,the legend, Big Daddy.😎😎
quoted Don : Gas is for getting to the track, alcohol is for drinking and nitro is for racing.
There ain’t but one Big Daddy!!
Big used to take all the money home and leave his competitors scratching their heads!!
I thought Ed Roth was also "Big Daddy?"
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
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've had a couple of conversations with him over the years, what a great guy.
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!😁
You got that DAMN RIGHT!
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!
Now that is how to roll. God bless Big Daddy.
I met Mr. Garlits in passing at Seattle International Raceway in the mid 70's. He was kind and attentive to fans that greeted him. A true gentleman.
Best of the Best.........growing up Don Garlits showed what it is to be a nobel king..... he still is.
Big Daddy has always been my favorite and I have always liked his philosophy about his work ethic and he his no nonsense toward his engines
I used to build models of his cars in the mid 70,s wish I still had them
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 👍👍👍👍👍👍🤗🤗
Visited the museum in 1990...Don is famous for running the Chrysler Hemi's but he also loved his Flatheads!
For most kids super man was there hero... as a kid growing up BIG DADDY was my my hero....
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.
Great interview. I met him once and he is the same to everyone, whether you’re famous or not.
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.
A mentor in my mind & I lv that Jesus Cross !
Not many people in this world like Don. Hats Off too you🙏🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I have had the pleasure of meeting this man and I can tell you he is the most personable and interesting person you could ever meet.
Don you are a true pioneer and may God always bless you for being true to how your dad taught you don't work don't eat money don't grow on trees.
Big Daddy & Miss Shirley are my faves! Thanks for sharing this wonderful interview!👍😎
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
That's why big daddy is # 1 and will always be in the heart's of everyone . 👍👍
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"
Big Daddy is the BEST!!!! 👍🤜🤛
One of my heros.
Thank you Mr Garlits You are a good man !
What a legend!!
The GOAT. God bless him.
Baby in diapers pulling a wagon bricks all day? Poopy diaper and bottle fed? Nice story. In my old age my memory gets enhanced.
Awesome, thank you Don, And thank you very much for this video Rick !
I saw him at the Dragfest ,Church Fenton ,,UK 1964.along with Tony Nancy ,Tommy ivo,and Dante Deuce
what a great guy! I found some negatives to photos I took in 1981 in PHX AZ, when he crashed. Mailed them to the museum, & his brother thanked me...
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.
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 talk to him at the spring nationals in ohio...very nice guy ,,it was in the 80s as i still have my 79 chevy van ..good times back then .
Indeed, legacy, I took picture with him at 1985, with love from Kuwait
His museum is awesome.!!!!! Go everytime your in ocala.big daddy is rite .you don't work you don't eat.!!! True American legend.
There will only ever be one "BIG."
He kept me glued to the drag racing magazines
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!
My hero growing up watching him race 😎
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 !
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! 😎
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!!!!
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.
I visited the Garlits Museum twice in my life, it was a honor and a privledge to be able to see it. .................................. Jim.
It's been a long time dream to meet this man. I pray that someday real soon that I could go Mr. Don!
A living legend
And my all time favorite fuel racer
Don is a class act thanks don Eric from canada
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.
Man, I could listen to this all day..
What’s not to love about Don! Great guy!
Big Daddy's the man always will be the man and if you ever in the area of Ocala Florida stop it is museum and take it in you will not regret it
Love this man.
God Bless you Don Garlits
I read his autobiography years ago. Good story. Great, brilliant man! Met him years ago at a race at Dragway 42 in Ohio.
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.
Grew up in Lodi and Turlock. Was lucky enough to live in a time when you could go cruising and of course street racing.
Amen Don. Drag racing today is boring. Seems like 50 percent of the time, they smoke the tires or blow the engine.
He needs to Lecture at a Local College for their PhD program
all colleges are liberal now!
No one else in the world like Don Garlets! BIG DADDY FOR PRESIDENT
Great interview! Love Garlits!
What a ride in life his guy has had.. all the best daddy.
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.
Happy Birthday Don, another win under your belt
Big, is the last of drivers/team that piqued my love of drag racing that is all but gone today.
I was at indy when he finally got his first 300 mph pass .I was about 10 feet away while he was doing the interview.
Good on you for posting this, Rick!!
Met him at the Goodwood Festival Speed. Really friendly guy. Amazing to see him!
The Biggest man in racing that fit in a slingshot......
I met him and shook his hand back in the early 80's at a drag strip in Palm Beach FL. I was about 12, I knew who he was, and was like holy sh**!
You don't work, you don't eat 💪🏿💯
Great video Rick, thank you bro!👍🏻☮✌🏻️
You are a very lucky man to get the opportunity to meet Donna God ..
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.
A class act.
Great man!
Me and a buddy were at his museum two months ago. We ran into him there and he gave us a personal tour of his shop and his electric dragster.
@GEO Mason Still there.
@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.
God fearing man! That's his foundation.
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/
Big is still the man !!!
Nice job capturing this!
Amazing
A true pioneer in drag racing. In almost every other part of his life, especially his "political campaign" era, reprehensible.
That was a very cool video
Swamp Rat , 1965 Golden Triangle Drag Strip, nitro fueled & corn dogs, like yesterday. Big Daddy Don
Garlits for Congress! Should fave won instead of that dummy.
I went to race and got a poster he autographed
Too cool 😎
A friend of mine worked with Connie swingle , you want to hear some stories?
Freedom
He's the man. I agree with him about the corporate money in drag racing. I has ruined the sport. Instead of shortening the track they should limit them to 1 engine
Your a hell of a man Don Garlits