Don Garlits checking out 2 Hamb Gas Rails!!!

Hopefully I can get some pics of Don Garlits at Cordova IL. Dragway looking over the Gas rails of 2b-banjo & Cowboy Bob. He was very excited to see these & said he had never heard of them. He told us about his early days with his flathead dragsters and how he modified them in those days.
He spent at least 20 mins with us, what a hoot!!!
On Friday afternoon we pulled into the pit lanes for a test run and he showed up on this bike and said he saw us from his pit and came over to watch us run.

 

I like Big cause he aint too big!

 

Cool, good to get some recognition from a legend in the sport.

maybe i should build me one of them..........

 

Cool 2b,I wish it would have worked out for me to be with you guys .....Bill sounded like a lil school girl on the phone , sounded like you had a great weekend ....talk to you soon

 

what kind of times did you turn

 

Cool man, cant put into words what you did!

 

Don is tops in my book!

 

Hi Mudflap, Best 12.288 @ 109.5, 12.292 @ 108.4, 12.421 @ 107.8. Lost the 3rd gear sincho's, so had some shifting woes on other runs. Will pm you more details later.

 

That is awesome. I shook his hand at Beach Bend. He is the coolest in my book. George Shreiber was there talking with him and I met him to. He said he was 71 or something.

You guys are turning some real respectable times!! That is flying!! I wish you could make the pictures bigger! I can't open them up and enlarge them.

 

I will try to get more pics that you can do that to. This was my 1st shot at this. I used Photobucket & thought I used "Message Board" size, what is the best setting to use???

 

I don't think he realized a lot of this stuff is going on until 500+ showed up in his backyard, I think he really is digging it.

You might as well hand him the 1st place trophy when he pulls up if he builds one himself and shows up at the HAMB drags.

 

Shoulda asked him to suit up and make a p***.

 

thats FN awesome
Big Daddy Don Garlits has always been#1 in my books

 

Oh, he knows about em. He's actually on the board.

 

That woulda been great.

Nice guy, down to earth & a true Pioneer in Drag Racing.

 

Yup his only two posts have been about HA/GR

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86866

 

I'm a big fan of BIG. Check out this great video on this link - even though its a T.V. commercial - It has one of the greatest "Quotes" of all time.
http://www.magnaflow.com/05news/05don.asp

L_N_A

 

A co-worker of mine told me about going to the races in the mid 80's, and walking through the pits. The big teams had their areas roped off, semi tractor trailers, and mixing fuel in gl*** beakers and measuring burettes, checking the density, the whole junior chemistry set. Then he sees Don parked in the gr***, beat up pickup, open trailer, mixing his fuel in a 5 gallon bucket with a paint stick. That was the race where he first broke 270mph.

 

That is my idea of the perfect commercial.

 

A few weeks ago in St. Louis at a nostalgia event. Garlits was there, I went to his booth and bought a few things and told him " I have a old dragster straight down this row you might like to look at". He asked "what is it? He stood up to hear my reply. I responded with " period perfect 1964 Don Long style car, direct drive, blown, injected small chevy powered digger". When I said "small chevy". He sat down and said " Yeah if I get out". HA, HA FUNNY STUFF. Interested till I said "small chevy". I though it was great. I respect that man very much. Did everything himself back in the day. Ch***is , paint , lettering eveything. A real racers racer.
Oh by the way HA/GRs are kick ***. Brian

 

i went up to him to get a autograph, he was busy puttin new plugs in the hemi and workin it over...so he still does his own wrenchin......heres some pics from the event!
MEE AND ARNIE THE FARMER

ME AND SHIRLEY

ME AND DON

NEXT MORN AFTER A SWIM, ME AND THE KIDS WALK OUT TO THE CAR...AND HE WAS AT OUR HOTEL!!!

 

OUT HAMB BUDDY 2B AND BOB!!!btw bob...the vid is kinda fuzzy. camera was actin up....mix drink in it at the RR messed it up....... still kool though!

 

my fav pic i took! not bad for a drunk!!!

 

pic sunday on the way through the amana colonys....funny!!!

more drag....

 

there was a ton of other cool stuff there, but i seemed to always be goin to the wrong place when there were elsewhere! i did talk my buddy duncan into goin on a heli ride with me...ive only been on a lil 4 seater plane once durin the 93 floodin and duncan has never left the ground! 15 yrs next month since i flew over the flood, so it was fitting! thanks goodness for xanax and beer!!!!

 

its great to see yall are gettin some notice , big daddy is the man!
excellent pics breeder..

 

Did you invite him out to the HAMB drags?

 

LOVE the pics,,,,thanks