In the early 70’s, a
group of friends and I would go to the drag races at Twin City Drag
Strip in Oldsmar
FL. We’d run our cars in the
bracket races they held every Friday night.
If I remember correctly, it was $5 to get in and $10 to race. Joan and I had seen each other on those
Fridays nights but we hadn’t been introduced. Our first date was in October
1972 and we were dating pretty regular by the spring of 73.
On one of these Friday nights in 1973 Don “Big Daddy” Garlits
would be making some exhibition runs including his signature Fire Burnout. I borrowed my fathers 35mm SLR camera with a
50mm lens and planned to get a picture of that fire burnout. Because the lens was so short I had to get
very close to the track or the picture would just be a bright spot in a field
of black. In the past I saw photographers
get next to the track so I crawled down the embankment near the track but well
back. I didn't want to be in the “line of fire”, so to speak.
At this point reality started to set in and I began thinking
this maaaaay not be such a good idea.
Well, I was sort of committed and I wasn’t going to back out now,
especially in front of my new girlfriend. So, there I was, waiting for the big
show. I knew I’d only have one chance to get the shot.
VARRRUM KATAT-KATAT-KATAT
the galloping sound of the dragster echoed through the surrounding forest. The air was electrified with energy and
anticipation. Don gives it a little throttle
and the machine leaps like a pouncing cat. T.C. Lemmon was standing by with his
customary jug of RFI traction compound and methanol. He spreads the mixture on
the track in front of the slicks.
Don punches the throttle, the rear tires stand tall and the
night becomes day. I panned to lead the
dragster just a bit and click; I got the shot, for better or worse. The spectacle is over as fast as it began..
My ears are ringing; my heart is pounding as hard and as fast as the KATAT-KATAT-KATAT
of the motor as I scramble up the embankment and back to the safety of the
regular spectator area.
Obviously these were the days before the instant gratification
of digital photography so I had to wait almost a week to get the film back from
the lab. It wasn’t the best of the
hundreds or maybe thousands of pictures of the famous Don Garlits burnouts, but
it was good enough, and it was mine! I had
3-5x7’s printed and kept them in a folder in one of our “picture boxes” where
all the photos of various outings, events, birthdays and Christmases got
tossed. Over the years I’d run across
those 5x7’s while looking for something else and do a little reminiscing. We’ve traveled up and down I-75 hundreds of times and ever since
it opened in 1984, I’d see the signs for the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing and
think of that night so many years ago.
Nov 2015.
We spent the summer traveling and have returned to our former home of Salt Springs, FL to take care of some business, catch up on doctor appointments and re-fit our camper for the next leg of the adventure, heading west to California.
We spent the summer traveling and have returned to our former home of Salt Springs, FL to take care of some business, catch up on doctor appointments and re-fit our camper for the next leg of the adventure, heading west to California.
We’re staying with friends (Shell and Claire) who are
members of the Marion County Corvette Club.
The club is having a car show on the grounds of the Garlits museum. Joan and I decide to go see some of the cool
Corvettes, meet some new people and go to the Museum. The Corvette club has had other shows on the
museum grounds and Shell and Claire described some of the “behind the scenes” tours
Don lead for the club. He shares some
great anecdotes and stories about his more than 60 year in the sport. I’m
thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if we could tag along on one of those behind the scenes
tours?
In the days leading up to the event, I’m thinking about the
picture of the fire burnout and wonder if I still had it. We sold our house in April, deciding to travel
the US
in an RV. The liquidation of over 40
years of “stuff” was fairly traumatic
and toward the end it got pretty brutal trying to decide what was really
important and what wasn’t. I remembered throwing
away a lot of old pictures of scenery and events that really had no emotional value.
But did I get rid of those 5x7’s, I wasn’t sure!
All our possessions that weren’t essential for our travels
are stored in a 10x10 storage unit. It’s
Friday morning, the day of the Corvette Club welcome dinner at the museum. I'd drive the two miles to the
storage unit to try and find those photos.
I had an idea where they might be but after going through that box, I
didn’t find them. Oh well, I’d do some
re-arranging and see if there were any other candidates. As soon as I saw the "picture box" I knew this might be
it. I opened it up and there they were,
right on top, yellowed a bit with age but in the same folder they came in from
the photo lab 43 year before. The yellowing
just enhances the color of the flames.
Pictures in hand and a black medium point magic marker
clipped to my shirt, we were off to the dinner not knowing if Don would be
there or if we’d get a chance to talk to him.… and maybe get his autograph on
the pictures.
We got there a few hours early so we could go through the
museum. As we were buying our tickets we
showed the picture to the girl behind the counter, she said “I’ve seen that
picture before.” That stopped me dead in
my tracks. I knew that picture has been
in a box in our house and had rarely seen the light of day. I assumed she was referring to the many pictures
in the museum, much better than mine, showing similar fire burnouts. The other girl says “There’s TC”, his ghostly form back-lit
by flames. You can even see a little
white smug that’s his ever present gallon jug of magic elixir that causes the
flames. She then takes us to the
memorial dedicated to TC Lemons, Don’s good friend and crew chief.
On the website, they say it takes 2-3 hours to see the over 300 cars Don
has collected over the years. That’s
probably not enough time. I’d recommend
spending a few hours in the morning in either the drag racing building or the
antique car building , have some lunch, and then spend a few hours in the
afternoon in the other building. We didn't allow near enough time.
The dinner was progressing as we listen to the various speakers
including a GM rep who’s telling us about all the technology in the new Corvettes. At the end of the presentation, the club
president announces that Don is going to open “his garage” and give a demonstration. HOT DOG, here’s our chance! We filed out of the tent toward one of the
other building that’s not part of the public museum. “Don’s Garage” is a museum unto itself, housing
some of his current projects. Tonight though, he was going to tell us about the evolution
of the HIMI engine from a Ford flat head through the ARDUN to the HIMI that
made him famous. |
| Don “Big Daddy” Garlits |
After the presentation, he’s talking to various people and
I’m waiting around for my opportunity.
It’s getting late and I’ve just about decided I’d try to talk to him
tomorrow, the day of the show.
As it turns out we were the last ones in the line walking
past him on our way out the door. I hold
up the picture for him to see. He takes
the picture and looks at it as I tell him I took that picture of him over 40
years ago. He says that was at ??? drag strip
(can’t remember the name he said). I said no, it’s Twin City Drag Strip. He looks at it again and says yeah, they both
had the same kind of tower. He said would you like me to sign these? I said yes please! I pulled out my magic marker and he signs all
3 copies. I thanked him and we walk out
the door.
 |
| Rick and Don |
That evening, Joan and I put a time line together to try and
determine what year the picture was taken. Our consciences was it had to be
sometime in 1973, probably spring. We
decided to try to find the dragster in the museum when we went to the Corvette
show the next day. We were hoping Don
would be around so we could ask him.
When we pulled into the parking lot on Saturday morning, we saw
the large door at the end of the garage was open and a banner proclaimed “Don’s
Garage Sale”.
 |
| Swamp Rat 37 |
There were a few of the cars, not currently in
the museum, out front including his current project, the electric dragster,
Swamp Rat 37.
 |
| World record, 185.60 MPH, 7.05 E.T. |
 |
| Don’s Garage Sale |
We walked in the vast space and there he was sitting behind a table covered with books and posters for sale. On the other side of the “garage” were rows of shelves stacked high with various car parts and household items. This really was a garage sale!
We got Don’s attention and showed him the picture once again
and asked if he remembered which car he was driving. He looked at the picture and paused for the briefest
of moments and said… Do you see that roll bar; it has red primer on it. We only did that on one car, that’s Swamp Rat
19. It’s in the museum; get the girls to
show you where it is. I had to look
reeeeally hard at that old yellow photo the see the slightest hint of red on
that roll cage, but after he called attention to it, I could see it. We later found out he only ran that car for
a year, selling it to Graham Withers of Australia in 1974.
 |
| Swamp Rat 19 |
 |
| Click to enlarge |
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| Joan & Rick & Swamp Rat 19 |
