#Swamp attack piano plus

We won't be able to do anything that taints more people means more rules. 'It has to do with population on the planet. 'You want the truth? It will all be gone,' he said. Yet even as he continues to work with race cars, Garlits believes they will be obsolete in 50 years. Asked to define himself with one word, he replied: 'Driven. The gears in his head are steadily turning, looking for more speed, more power, a better way. He is restoring several early Ford flathead intake manifolds and soon will head to Canada for a 'Cacklefest,' with one of his old dragsters towed there from California. 'I did all the editing of photos, everything.'

He recently published 'Don Garlits and His Cars,' a 274-page book about his adventures on the street and drag strip. On March 8, during the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Garlits will host the 2012 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame installation ceremony for Bob Brandt, Don Moody, Ray Motes, the Kuhl and Olson team, Ed Schartman and John Mazmanian (posthumously).Īnd, as 'Big Daddy' is prone to do, he will strap into his Swamp Rat XXXVI, a Drag Pack Challenger running in the BB/SA class, and rip down the track at roughly 140 mph. Garlits is among the 100 people already profiled and is an advisory board member. The event will benefit the Quarter Mile Foundation, which is archiving the history of drag racing orally through Project 1320. Doing the honors, or, as Garlits says, 'being mean to me,' will be drag racing royalty, including Sid Waterman, 'TV' Tommy Ivo, Ed Pink, Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme, Dave McClelland and others. On Saturday, during the Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., a 'Rat Roast' will mark Garlits' 80th birthday. 'Dad has the mechanical, physics genius on his side.' 'My mother's mother played and sang,' she said. She and her husband, Greg, have children ages 22, 17 and 13, who play violin, cello and piano.ĭonna said musical talent runs on her mother's side of the family. She has performed with a number of orchestras and is the pianist for the Central Florida Master Choir. Gay Lyn is a concert pianist, owner of the Capitano Music Studio and adjunct professor of piano at the College of Central Florida. Her daughter is an accomplished stage performer and her son is in college, the only Garlits grandchild with even a slight interest in racing. I hope I have that kind of energy when I'm his age.'ĭonna recently bought a home in Summerfield so she can help her parents while she prepares to take over the family's real estate holdings in Marion County and Tampa, including the museum and gift shop. He's caring for our mother, an awesome task. 'He never sleeps,' said Garlits' other daughter, Gay Lyn Capitano, 52. He feeds her and helps her around their home. She was, ‘It's my way or the highway.' She'd tell Dad, ‘We're doing this.' She looked after her family - her life,' Donna said.Īs Pat struggles with Parkinson's and dementia, Donna said her dad makes time to be sure his wife is comfortable.

'She has been the buffer between Dad and everybody else. 20.ĭonna Garlits, 51, said her mother was the glue that held the family together. It's small and unassuming but a reminder of the day he got back into racing, with his new wife's support.ĭon and Pat will celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary Feb. In his office, Garlits pulls out the trophy he won that day. 'It was a family deal, not all black leather jackets.'

#Swamp attack piano plus

For $1.50 - admission for two, plus a racing fee - he entered the Ford and won his class. He told Pat he wanted to see what they were doing, and she said OK. There was an airport nearby, which had a drag strip. 'We went dancing, bowling, to the beach, and finally got married,' Garlits said.Ī month later, he and his bride went on a picnic to Bok Tower. I said I had to pay them.'īieger's father liked Garlits' new ride much better. 'I drove to work in that plain Jane Ford and the guys wanted to know how much ‘boot' I got for my hot rod. 'I had to finance that Ford for $500,' he said. Garlits was so smitten he traded his hot rod for a bronze 1950 Ford with 10,000 miles on it. He showed up at Pat's parents' hotel and said her father 'didn't like my looks one bit.' He had just turned 20 and was driving a hot rod Ford with a Cadillac engine. She was the girl of my dreams,' Garlits said. They arrived at the lake to see Patricia Louise Bieger and a girlfriend at the public boating area. I was at the gas station - Sunoco, because they had lots of lead and you get could get high compression - and my buddy Wayne Nieman wanted to go water-skiing. 'It was 1952 at Lake Magadalene outside Tampa. But the best day in his 80 years of living, 'was the day I met my wife,' he says.