The Jalopy Journal

**Ryan** · 10-19-2011, 07:28 AM

"For doctors and lawyers and engineers and people like that, drag racing is release, and one day a week on a ribbon of black asphalt in a field somewhere on the perimeter of a town is like a day spent under a billow of sail. For the others, the ones ...

To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

Bad Bob · 10-19-2011, 07:36 AM

I remember looking forward to my brother taking me to Lions Drags,on the weekend. I had a neighbor with a Fiat Fuel Altered,and he would fire it up,getting it ready for Lions. I would haul ass over there and he would let me sit in it while he tuned it.
I think it is an addiction! After hearing the cars,smelling the fuel,and seeing the speed,you had to get more.....

D-fens · 10-19-2011, 07:45 AM

I met Big once, at Pomona. I might have been 8 or 9 years old.

Asked him for an autograph and made some small talk. He asked me what classes I liked in school, which at the time I thought was a weird question.

Maybe I understand a little better now.

Jalopy Joker · 10-19-2011, 07:45 AM

Thanks for bringing to our attention. Gartlis is bigger than life because of his determination, vision , talent and big balls to accomplish what he has - and still at it. early pioneers of any type of racing were not able to go online and see how it used to be done. they had to create what had never been done before. sometimes now we try to only copy the past, which is cool, rather than create what has not been done before. if you ever get to meet Don Garlits, or any of the early pioneers, be sure to tell them Thanks.

johnybsic · 10-19-2011, 07:48 AM

Good read Ryan.
Theres nothing on the planet that gets me fired up like the smell of exhaust and hi-test fuel. two stroke hits me hard too.
I bought the book "Fuel & Guts" a good while back, Its awesome stuff and I can't get enough
It is a sickness. A horriblle, fantastic sickness.

**mctim64** · 10-19-2011, 08:03 AM

That was fun! Nice morning read.

Joe Grippo · 10-19-2011, 09:47 AM

Man, what a great read. I am life long Big fan. Watched him tuning and running his Drag Pak Challenger in Stock Eliminator this past summer. Qiute a sight, he is as into it as ever...Garlits is never O/T....

6-11_MOPARS-MAPLEGROVE_237 by Joe Grippo, on Flickr

6-11_MOPARS-MAPLEGROVE_236 by Joe Grippo, on Flickr

6-11_MOPARS-MAPLEGROVE_161 by Joe Grippo, on Flickr

**jroberts** · 10-19-2011, 10:10 AM

WOW! What a great piece. Thanks for putting it out here for us all to read.

Waddayacare · 10-19-2011, 10:15 AM

Ya know I saw Big and his Challenger at The NHRA Reunion in Bowling Green this year but never got a chance to see him run. Damn that thing looks good coming off the line.

It still looks weird watching him tune with a laptop instead of a wrench!

flamingokid · 10-19-2011, 10:28 AM

My brother in law got me his autograph last year,which I'm having framed.I met him inm the 80's,but was too overwhelmed to bother.Big is the greatest.

TexasHardcore · 10-19-2011, 11:37 AM

Good story. Garlits was, is, and always will be a ruler.

**Model A John** · 10-19-2011, 11:55 AM

Big Daddy is the man. I had the privilege of meeting him at Wichita Int'l Raceway back in the 80's.

BlownMerc · 10-19-2011, 11:58 AM

I walked out of his museum a few years ago and there is Big standing in the yard!!!! He took time to have couple pics of him and I in front of the museum sign, one of the best days of my life.

a bloke · 10-19-2011, 12:18 PM

Very cool article. I once met a guy from Florida in a bar in Dublin, and told him the only person I knew of from Florida was Big Daddy. Turns out he was touring with the band Motorhead and he got us tickets to the next nights show.
Big Daddy rocks!

SPDJNKY · 10-19-2011, 12:54 PM

Thanks for the article Ryan. Good read for sure.

jbon64 · 10-19-2011, 05:53 PM

damn good read. i've met big and had the pleasure of chatting with him on several occasions. super nice dude and stone deaf !

Rich Venza · 10-19-2011, 05:57 PM

Fantastic article, but the photo is not Don's record setting run at Island in 1964. I was there that Sunday and was lucky enough to get very close the the starting line to take the photo below. Year later, after we got to know each other pretty well doing the Bonneville Streamliner project, Don signed a print for me which I have framed on my office wall. The photographer seen on the opposite side of the track in Robert Bissell who was shooting for National Dragster.

stuart in mn · 10-19-2011, 06:57 PM

There are a couple other SI articles about him in the links at the end of the first article, one from 1979 and the other from 1997. It's interesting to see the changes over the years.

Gator · 10-19-2011, 07:13 PM

Thanks for that. I hate to admit this but first time I ever met Big Daddy - which was to get his autograph on a 1964 Hot Rod mag w/ him on the cover - I said something to the effect of "I'm a big fan of yours" (or something equally as lame).

He didn't acknowledge me at all and for a split second I was thinking ''sheesh what an old grouch''.

His wife was standing there as well - I guess she knew what I was thinking because she motioned to me that he was hard of hearing - no shit, right? I repeated myself a bit louder and once he heard me we talked quite a bit - couldn't have been nicer.

autobilly · 10-19-2011, 07:52 PM

Cool pic Rich!

Very good read, dig the period vernacular. Big Daddy has been a long term idol of mine and at the top of my "would like to meet" list.

10-19-2011, 07:28 AM	#1
Ryan Administrator Join Date: Jan 1995 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 13,617	Fame And Terror At 200 MPH "For doctors and lawyers and engineers and people like that, drag racing is release, and one day a week on a ribbon of black asphalt in a field somewhere on the perimeter of a town is like a day spent under a billow of sail. For the others, the ones ... To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

10-19-2011, 07:36 AM	#2
Bad Bob Old School HAMBer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: O.C. Baby Posts: 22,947	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH I remember looking forward to my brother taking me to Lions Drags,on the weekend. I had a neighbor with a Fiat Fuel Altered,and he would fire it up,getting it ready for Lions. I would haul ass over there and he would let me sit in it while he tuned it. I think it is an addiction! After hearing the cars,smelling the fuel,and seeing the speed,you had to get more..... __________________ "I ain't nobody,DORK!" HAMB Merc Club Townsends Customs & Hotrods

10-19-2011, 07:45 AM	#3
D-fens Grenade Inspector Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Huntsville Posts: 370	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH I met Big once, at Pomona. I might have been 8 or 9 years old. Asked him for an autograph and made some small talk. He asked me what classes I liked in school, which at the time I thought was a weird question. Maybe I understand a little better now. __________________ The problem ain't that there is too many fools, but that lightning ain't distributed properly

10-19-2011, 07:45 AM	#4
Jalopy Joker Old School HAMBer Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Rodsville, CA Posts: 5,828	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Thanks for bringing to our attention. Gartlis is bigger than life because of his determination, vision , talent and big balls to accomplish what he has - and still at it. early pioneers of any type of racing were not able to go online and see how it used to be done. they had to create what had never been done before. sometimes now we try to only copy the past, which is cool, rather than create what has not been done before. if you ever get to meet Don Garlits, or any of the early pioneers, be sure to tell them Thanks. Last edited by Jalopy Joker; 10-19-2011 at 11:40 AM.

10-19-2011, 07:48 AM	#5
johnybsic Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: las vegas Posts: 500	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Good read Ryan. Theres nothing on the planet that gets me fired up like the smell of exhaust and hi-test fuel. two stroke hits me hard too. I bought the book "Fuel & Guts" a good while back, Its awesome stuff and I can't get enough It is a sickness. A horriblle, fantastic sickness. __________________ sunsa bitches... J. Flan (johnybsic)

10-19-2011, 08:03 AM	#6
mctim64 Alliance Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California, somewhere just below Fresno. Posts: 5,001	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH That was fun! Nice morning read. __________________ Y-Block Powered Model A Tudor project http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=667198 "it looks just like a Tellafunkin U-47" http://yblockguy.com/

10-19-2011, 09:47 AM	#7
Joe Grippo Grenade Inspector Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elverson, Pa Posts: 286	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Man, what a great read. I am life long Big fan. Watched him tuning and running his Drag Pak Challenger in Stock Eliminator this past summer. Qiute a sight, he is as into it as ever...Garlits is never O/T.... 6-11_MOPARS-MAPLEGROVE_237 by Joe Grippo, on Flickr 6-11_MOPARS-MAPLEGROVE_236 by Joe Grippo, on Flickr 6-11_MOPARS-MAPLEGROVE_161 by Joe Grippo, on Flickr __________________ Check it out - http://public.fotki.com/JoeGrippo/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joe_grippo/sets/ Last edited by Joe Grippo; 10-19-2011 at 11:51 AM.

10-19-2011, 10:10 AM	#8
jroberts Alliance Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 380	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH WOW! What a great piece. Thanks for putting it out here for us all to read. __________________ Joe Roberts '61 Studebaker R1 powered Pickup '65 Studebaker Cruiser w/original Mckinnon 283 V-8

10-19-2011, 10:15 AM	#9
Waddayacare BANNED Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: NY - The land of Taxes, Fees & NO Gun Rights Posts: 3,917	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Ya know I saw Big and his Challenger at The NHRA Reunion in Bowling Green this year but never got a chance to see him run. Damn that thing looks good coming off the line. It still looks weird watching him tune with a laptop instead of a wrench!

10-19-2011, 10:28 AM	#10
flamingokid Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Olathe,Kansas Posts: 1,051	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH My brother in law got me his autograph last year,which I'm having framed.I met him inm the 80's,but was too overwhelmed to bother.Big is the greatest.

10-19-2011, 11:37 AM	#11
TexasHardcore Old School HAMBer Join Date: May 2003 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 4,749	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Good story. Garlits was, is, and always will be a ruler. __________________ Tune Up or Tune Out.

10-19-2011, 11:55 AM	#12
Model A John Alliance Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: wichita ks Posts: 1,393	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Big Daddy is the man. I had the privilege of meeting him at Wichita Int'l Raceway back in the 80's.

10-19-2011, 11:58 AM	#13
BlownMerc Grenade Inspector Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Jerome Posts: 126	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH I walked out of his museum a few years ago and there is Big standing in the yard!!!! He took time to have couple pics of him and I in front of the museum sign, one of the best days of my life.

10-19-2011, 12:18 PM	#14
a bloke Grenade Inspector Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: edinburgh, scotland Posts: 203	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Very cool article. I once met a guy from Florida in a bar in Dublin, and told him the only person I knew of from Florida was Big Daddy. Turns out he was touring with the band Motorhead and he got us tickets to the next nights show. Big Daddy rocks!

10-19-2011, 12:54 PM	#15
SPDJNKY Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Land of locked up governors Posts: 829	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Thanks for the article Ryan. Good read for sure. __________________ No such thing as too much motor or power, just not enough traction or talent. --HOTRODDON

10-19-2011, 05:53 PM	#16
jbon64 Grenade Inspector Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: central illinois Posts: 357	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH damn good read. i've met big and had the pleasure of chatting with him on several occasions. super nice dude and stone deaf ! __________________ hey........smell my finger 64 nova wagon 63 nova convertible

10-19-2011, 05:57 PM	#17
Rich Venza Old School HAMBer Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Suwanee, GA...but grew up in North Jersey Posts: 4,191	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Fantastic article, but the photo is not Don's record setting run at Island in 1964. I was there that Sunday and was lucky enough to get very close the the starting line to take the photo below. Year later, after we got to know each other pretty well doing the Bonneville Streamliner project, Don signed a print for me which I have framed on my office wall. The photographer seen on the opposite side of the track in Robert Bissell who was shooting for National Dragster. Attached Thumbnails __________________ YES...Fiberglass is traditional!

10-19-2011, 06:57 PM	#18
stuart in mn Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 1,231	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH There are a couple other SI articles about him in the links at the end of the first article, one from 1979 and the other from 1997. It's interesting to see the changes over the years.

10-19-2011, 07:13 PM	#19
Gator Old School HAMBer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: White House TN Posts: 3,985	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Thanks for that. I hate to admit this but first time I ever met Big Daddy - which was to get his autograph on a 1964 Hot Rod mag w/ him on the cover - I said something to the effect of "I'm a big fan of yours" (or something equally as lame). He didn't acknowledge me at all and for a split second I was thinking ''sheesh what an old grouch''. His wife was standing there as well - I guess she knew what I was thinking because she motioned to me that he was hard of hearing - no shit, right? I repeated myself a bit louder and once he heard me we talked quite a bit - couldn't have been nicer. __________________ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough...

10-19-2011, 07:52 PM	#20
autobilly Old School HAMBer Join Date: May 2007 Location: Tweed, Australia Posts: 2,524	Re: Fame And Terror At 200 MPH Cool pic Rich! Very good read, dig the period vernacular. Big Daddy has been a long term idol of mine and at the top of my "would like to meet" list. __________________ RETRO Spec. (tive) -Getting to where you're going by knowing where you've come from.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode