He chose the latter, resulting in his second major accomplishment. Garlits won the first organized drag race he entered with the first race car he built. Popularity? It and several other of the best fuel dragsters in the country were going to be racing in Cordova, Ill., that summer at the Automobile Timing Association of America event. Funny Car. Scotty Richardson 44. Eddie Hill 13. Bishop has been racing for 33 years and is the defending Super Pro track champion at Brainerd Int'l Raceway. His 1984 Indy win and subsequent return to NHRA competition was the second time his performance and name alone had breathed new life into Top Fuel. Drivers. Top Fuel. With sizes and styles available for men, women, and kids, you can find the perfect t-shirt for any drag racing fan! Both attempts at building a better drag racing mousetrap proved unworthy, but they were evidence of Garlits' intelligence and determination. Ronnie Sox 14. NHRA announcer Bernie Partridge tagged Garlits with the famous and favorable "Big Daddy" nickname at the 1962 U.S. Nationals. Driving two different Swamp Rat dragsters each day of the two-day Fuel & Gas runoffs in 1965, Garlits won Saturday and again Sunday over teammate Marvin Schwartz. He lost in the Top Gas final to Jack Chrisman. Matt Hagan. Jack Chrisman 22. Garlits' self-confidence was flagging when he arrived and realized that he was more than two seconds behind the competition. Bill Jenkins 9. 5.0 out of 5 stars 9. "I liked the idea of two cars lined up side by side, not bumping into one another. 4.8 out of 5 stars 368. Jim Davis has been involved with racing for 52 years and first developed a relationship with Sea Foam in 2003 while racing Super Gas. Brad Anderson 32. Joe Amato 10. Jon Asher writer. Dec 1, 2006. © Copyright 1996-2021, NHRA. Frank Manzo 39. Kenny Bernstein 5. The 1970s opened badly for Garlits when a transmission explosion -- in the fatefully tagged Swamp Rat XIII -- in the final round of an AHRA national event in Long Beach, Calif., cut his car in half and took a portion of his right foot with it. In 2001, he was named #17 on the list of the Top 50 NHRA drivers of all time. The next year, he installed a 2,000-horsepower T58-10 turbine engine in 1,000-pound Swamp Rat 28. 4.6 out of 5 stars 14. Today, he continues to compete in Super Gas and pilots a '02 Chevrolet Camaro. Free Shipping by Amazon. By any measure, Garlits belongs at the top of NHRA's Top 50 Drivers list. Raymond Beadle 19. Gary Beck 23. It was one person against one person, one machine against one machine. Trackmate Drag Racing Software... DP3000/DP2000 Trakmate software and drivers. Dave Kommel fell in love with drag racing in 1960 as a 10-year-old reading about Don Garlits in Hot Rod Magazine. Malcolm Durham 47. Exactly one year later at the race where he was hobbled, Garlits took his rear-engine Swamp Rat XIV to the final again. NHRA's 50 GREATEST DRIVERS 50. Russell James Liberman (September 12, 1945 – September 9, 1977 ) was an American funny car drag racer, nicknamed "Jungle Jim." But how did this lust for the ultimate fast ride evolve into one of the most popular sports in America? MIKE ASHLEY. There was a winner and a loser. The Sea Foam Sales Company has been trusted by mechanics since 1942 and includes one of the best-selling automotive additives in North America. 99. Driver listing by state, name or country. I Strip On Weekends Funny Drag Racing Lover Car Race Gift T-Shirt. From groundbreaking stories on underground grudge and outlaw racing to in-depth interviews with world-renowned racers and exclusive event coverage, Drag Illustrated shines the spotlight on the hottest stories in drag racing. Pat Austin 12. He has raced for 25 years and can be found behind the wheel of his '79 Dodge Aspen that he calls $pendy. Scores of wins? Shirley Muldowney 4. In 1982, Garlits' friend, nemesis, and match race partner, Shirley Muldowney, had become the first to win three NHRA national Top Fuel championships. Antron Brown Austin Prock Billy Torrence Brandon Welch Brittany Force Cameron Ferre Clay Millican Jim Maroney Jordan Vandergriff Justin Ashley Leah Pruett Shawn Langdon Steve Torrence Terry McMillen. Check. Blaine Johnson 35. His schedule includes five NHRA Division 5 events, one NHRA Division 3 event, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national event at Brainerd Int'l Raceway, and the Tri-State National Open in Earlville, Iowa. Warren Johnson 8. He followed with another win at the World Finals in Pomona, and Garlits was stoked for a return to full-time NHRA competition. Skip Navigation Share on Facebook All logos and images are reserved. Mention drag racing to the man on the street and if he knows only one name, it surely is "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. Apply to Car Sales Executive, Line Operator, Wiring Engineer and more! Don Garlits 2. Jack Beckman. Check. NHRA lifted its seven-year-old nitromethane ban for the 1963 Winternationals before dropping it forever at both national events the following year, and Garlits won his first of 35 NHRA national event titles. The winningest driver in NHRA drag racing history, Funny Car driver John Force has become the greatest racer the quarter-mile sport has ever … Check. Drag Illustrated is not affiliated with, nor is it bound by any sanctioning body or association. Elmer Trett 49. Amazon's Choice for drag racing gifts. He ran the first 250-mph speed at the 1975 NHRA World Finals to win his and the first Winston-backed Top Fuel championship; the speed would not be eclipsed for almost seven years. Edmond Richardson 36. He further contributed to the sport in the 1980s when he opened the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Fla., in 1984, but not before experimenting with two different methods of locomotion that were reminiscent of the earliest days of the sport. Garlits was revealed as the No. En route to winning the 1986 Winston Top Fuel title, he was the first to 270 mph, at the Gatornationals in his homestate of Florida. Chris Bishop, Jim Davis, Danielle Davis, and Russ Ginger all hail from Minnesota and strive for success at multiple events throughout the season. on the run, 5.63, was a tenth and a half quicker than the record he had set two years earlier. He has a net worth of $3 million. He came from Florida -- the wrong side of the drag racing tracks in the 1950s -- and he wasn't rich, nor did he have a college education. Rapisarda Racing: Ron Smith: 35: October 28, 1942: Kapowsin, Washington: Ron Smith Motorsports Dragster: Greg Carrillo: 36: April 08, 1959: Glendale, Arizona: Santiago's Mexican … Connie Kalitta 20. "Active" is defined as: currently racing in any of the series tracked by racing-reference.info. In 1957, he was the first to exceed 170 mph; the next year, he was the first over 180 mph. He didn't stop until 1992, when eye trouble, the result of deceleration G forces, forced him from the seat at age 60. Tony Schumacher.