Garlits/Torrence (1 Viewer)


At one point, Garlits was in a fire suit. Thought, is this a hint? Heh Boy, it would be so cool to see Garlits race, just one more time.... The grandstand just behind where Garlits was standing is the Don Garlits Grandstand. Kinda appropriate, huh?
 
This NHRA pic kicks ass. I read that the car is headed to the Garlits museum. I hope that's true.

Ei9SIVZXgAMRCeW.jpg
 
Cliff Morgan VS Don Garlits - kinda. I went to a race at the old Irwindale Raceway, maybe 1973 or so. Garlits was racing & had to see my hero. So, I get to the track & turn into the road that led to track parking. I had a 1971 Ford Pinto w/ loud exhaust & I nailed it going up the road. See someone, so slowed & it was Garlits, giving me the eye. You dumb kid, ya gonna run me over? So I stopped & gave Garlits the peace sign & a big grin, and Garlits kinda nodded & went on his way. Argh, felt like an idiot. I don't tell this story much..... heh
 
I never got to see Garlits race Top Fuel, but as a kid I thought Swamp Rat XXX with the canopy and spoon nose was just the coolest dragster ever.
Seeing the tribute dragster at the Gatornats this weekend, with Garlits watching on, it gave me a little taste of what it would have been like seeing a Garlits dragster in the staging lanes of Gainesville, ready to beat up on the interstate invaders...and I'm very appreciative of that!
 
The first picture is one I shot at Carlisle Drag-O-Way in Carlisle, Arkansas in 1976; the same track where Dave McClelland got his start. Big also raced there in 1972 or '73. But I can't find those pictures.
The second was shot at the 25th anniversary of Indy in 1979 when he made a pass in the 1965 car.
The third is at Prescott Dragway in Prescott, Arkansas in 1980.
Big made a promotional appearance at the Tulsa track in 2014 or '15 and I took the pictures to him for autographs. He was surprised to see the fire burnout shot.
I've got some others from the Tulsa National Challenges in 1972 and '73 that are on Ektachrome slides.
Garlits 1976 car.jpeg
Garlits 1965 car.jpeg
Garlits 1980 car.jpeg
 
Ted, were you at Tulsa when Wiebe and Jeb Allen crashed?
Vaughn, I was. I’ve got three pictures (slides) of the wreck in progress. That was before I had a motor drive on my camera and had to manually advance the film.
I was near the top row of the bleachers at about the 60 ft mark, which was about where Allen’s car first veered into Wiebe’s.
I’ve attached one of the shots. CB4AAEC3-FA48-478C-BDCC-68AD1B237C35.jpeg
 
Ted, the 3 Garlits photos you shot, photo #1 is interesting. The car had longer than normal headers on it. Wonder what Garlits was trying? I heard back then that longer headers helped the bottom end. And the Tulsa photo shows Jeb Allen. I later heard that they put a new back half on that car & sold it to the Birkey Bunch, who ran it for some years. Wiebes' car was trashed in that wreck. Remember seeing photos of it. That was crazy, but both drivers survived. I think Weibe had a broken leg & Allen had burns to the hands.
 
As a youth, before becoming a keyboard jockey, my dad took me to the PDA at OCIR. I stood, late at night, 6 feet away from Big, watching him turn his car around for the next round. Amazing stuff. Nasty old black Dodge pickup was there also.

Thank you Torrence family. Class move.
 
The interview with BIG and Steve on the starting line was interesting. Garlits was hinting around big time about wanting to take a lap in the Capco car. Would be cool if they were able to put that together.
 
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