Garlits at the Southern Nostalgia Shootout
by Marvin T. Smith
Don Garlits was the featured attraction at the Southern Nostalgia Shootout at South Georgia Motorsports Park October 27-29. Big Daddy brought his Swamp Rat VIII recreation to put on a show for the fans. Don make a short blast on Saturday and another on Sunday, and participated in the Cacklefest on Saturday night. He spent hours talking with his fans and signing autographs.
On Saturday, Don suited up and pushed his car down the right lane, turned around and push-started it coming toward the starting line in the left lane. He then turned in staging and made a smokey blast for 330 feet or so to give fans a feel for drag racing the way it used to be. The sticky South Georgia Motorsports Park track surface was not conducive to making a lot of smoke, so when Don idled down the track and reached the finish line where the track had not been sprayed, he nailed the throttle and exploded in a cloud of tire smoke!
On Sunday, Don made a second run: same procedure, with one major difference. When he reached the top end, he again decided to nail the throttle but this time the car spun out making a full 180 degree spin and then went up on two wheels. Don narrowly missed hitting the wall. Luckily everything turned out fine and Don and Swamp Rat VIII were unscathed. Don
said his first thought was that he was going to hurt his museum car! He also said that he had entirely too much horsepower for such a short car. I can tell you that Don doesn't have to worry about having a heart attack!! If he survived this event, he has excellent health! It was quite
a show!
It was a real honor to have Big Daddy at our track. It is only the second or third time he has had Swamp Rat VIII out this year. Thanks Big Daddy for making the Southern Nostalgia Shootout a success.
Photos
Don Garlits was the featured attraction at the Southern Nostalgia Shootout at South Georgia Motorsports Park October 27-29. Big Daddy brought his Swamp Rat VIII recreation to put on a show for the fans. Don make a short blast on Saturday and another on Sunday, and participated in the Cacklefest on Saturday night. He spent hours talking with his fans and signing autographs.
On Saturday, Don suited up and pushed his car down the right lane, turned around and push-started it coming toward the starting line in the left lane. He then turned in staging and made a smokey blast for 330 feet or so to give fans a feel for drag racing the way it used to be. The sticky South Georgia Motorsports Park track surface was not conducive to making a lot of smoke, so when Don idled down the track and reached the finish line where the track had not been sprayed, he nailed the throttle and exploded in a cloud of tire smoke!
On Sunday, Don made a second run: same procedure, with one major difference. When he reached the top end, he again decided to nail the throttle but this time the car spun out making a full 180 degree spin and then went up on two wheels. Don narrowly missed hitting the wall. Luckily everything turned out fine and Don and Swamp Rat VIII were unscathed. Don
said his first thought was that he was going to hurt his museum car! He also said that he had entirely too much horsepower for such a short car. I can tell you that Don doesn't have to worry about having a heart attack!! If he survived this event, he has excellent health! It was quite
a show!
It was a real honor to have Big Daddy at our track. It is only the second or third time he has had Swamp Rat VIII out this year. Thanks Big Daddy for making the Southern Nostalgia Shootout a success.
Photos
posted by David @ 11:33 PM
<< Home