The Fire Burnout Picture

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’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

Joan & Rick & Swamp Rat 19

What an eventful couple of days.  We got to meet a legend and re-live some memories from the beginning of our lives together over 43 years ago.  A few days later, we celebrated our 40^th Wedding Anniversary.