- - First appearance this weekend since 1984
The Examiner, by Jim Conaway
October 6, 2007
Posted for FlA by TAB
Don "Big Daddy" Garlits will be giving area drag-racing fans a chance to take a trip memory lane this weekend at Kansas City International Raceway. The 75-year-old Garlits will be the featured VIP guest of KCIR's Musclecar Reunion and Nostaglia Drags event Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Garlits plans to delight the gathering by revving up his famed front-engine Swamp Rat 8 dragster.
"I can't tell you how excited we are to have 'Big Daddy' make an appearance at the track," KCIR general manager Jeff Martin said. "It has kept the track phone lines busier than usual and that this is a nice problem for us to have." For Garlits, who spends most of his time these days as the owner and operator of his Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Fla., it will be his first appearance at KCIR since the old American Hot Rod Association Summernationals in 1984.
Garlits and his dragster was tagged with the nickname "Swamp Rat" as a result of Garlits being considered an outsider in terms of a competitor in the sport and his dragster's innovative designs. The bulk of the competitors in the early days of drag racing were racers from the western United States where post World War II provided a large number of military obsolete airfields that were converted to racing facilities and the Nevada Salt Flats provided another natural home.
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From: www.musclecarreunion.com
Don Garlits will be there all weekend to meet new and old fans alike. Don will push start his Swamp Rat dragster just as they did in the 1960s and make some smoke and noise on Saturday night & Sunday afternoon. This is Don's first visit back to KCIR since the old AHRA Summernationals in 1984 if his memory serves him right.
Born January 14, 1932, Donald Glenn Garlits grew up in Tampa, Florida. Just months after Don was born, his family lost their savings in a bank failure. That same year, the orange groves that had brought earlier prosperity, were ordered by the Florida Department of Agriculture to be destroyed due to fruit fly infestation. This economic blow sent Don and his parents from a large home on Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard to a dirt floor shack on the outskirts of town. The meager years that followed taught Don about hard work, long hours, and diligence toward a job well done. Don and his brother Ed, who was born in 1933, did everything together, from milking the cows to maintaining the truck and farm equipment. They learned craftsmanship building model airplanes from scratch, and mechanical skills picked up from their dad were exercised repairing bicycles. The Saturday afternoon movies, and an occasional swim with the guys in the Hillsborough River, were their recreation. Don might have become an accountant, but his General Metals instructor, Howard Fowler, introduced the high school senior to his first look at a new California magazine called “Hot Rod”. Don bought his first car at age 17, a blue 1940 Ford Sedan, with his two-year savings of $345.00. By 1950 he had traded up to a beautiful ’40 Ford Convertible. During this period, Don’s life was job to job, spending his paycheck and spare time on hot rodding. Then, in 1952, Don met Pat Bieger, who was about to graduate from Hillsborough High School. Pat was special, and suddenly Don had an entirely new interest. Don and Pat married in February 1953. With both of them working, they saved a little money, bought a lot, and built their first home. Garlits was reformed. He sold the convertible and settled down - until a Sunday drive took them by a drag strip in Lake Wales. Innocently, Don made a few runs in their 1950 Ford two door sedan, garnered the class win, along with a trophy, and the rest is history. Don’s obsession to out run the fastest guy in Florida led to a series of chassis and engine changes, culminating in the world’s fastest slingshot dragster. Racing appearances and a successful automotive shop, called “Don’s Garage,” now marked Garlits’ business future. It was 1957, and Don’s performances around southern drag strips were drawing significant attention to his name, along with a nice backlog of work in his shop. Americans were fascinated by the speed, sound, and acceleration in Drag Racing, prompting enthusiastic spectator response. As Garlits dominated the Top Eliminator class, track promoters from around the country were offering Don guaranteed money for racing appearances. Disaster struck at Chester, SC in 1959, while Pat was carrying the first of their two daughters. Don suffered horrible burns from a high-speed engine explosion, introducing the risks of fire in fuel racing. Near fatal burns prompted Don to sell everything when Art Malone proposed a racing partnership. Art took over driving the dragster, while Don maintained and tuned the record holding car. Ed worked in the shop, and Don, still healing, traveled with his new driver. Gay Lyn was born in November, which brightened the year for the young couple. Still reluctant to drive, Garlits tried other drivers in search for the ideal replacement, including a cocky young fellow named Connie Swingle. Swingle assisted Don in racecar innovation, and the proven Garlits chassis attracted lots of orders. Pure desire and tireless efforts kept “Big Daddy” in the racing headlines. Chrysler Corp. and Wynns Oil joined the long list of speed equipment manufacturers who sponsored the “Swamp Rat”.
Donna Louise was born in January of 1961. Don enjoyed his family, so when the girls were only a few years old they began traveling together. Racing at tracks hundreds of miles apart, Don often drove all night to make each scheduled appearance. Living out of suitcases, the girls slept in the station wagon, and Pat looked after the four of them.