Big Daddy’ Don Garlits Outlives NHRA Founder Wally Parks, But Not Their Feud
Garlits says Wally Parks ‘was a tough guy to deal with. He was very stubborn.’
The NHRA’s Camping World Drag Racing Series has shifted to the East Coast for the Gatornationals at Florida’s Gainesville Raceway, rekindling reminiscences of legends and records and spectacular disasters.
And to this day, every trip here is like a re-coronation of “Big Daddy” Don Garlits.
Garlits, like this race, has symbolized the sport’s emergence from its Southern California cocoon. But Garlits wasn’t hailed as a grand ambassador for the sport. Instead, in his early days, fans hurled insults at this interloper. “Don Garbage” they called him. He took it as a badge of honor, proudly calling himself and his cars “Swamp
