Rain Gives Garlits Time to Rework Illegal Car

Another day of intermittent rain Friday prevented top-fuel and funny cars from qualifying for Sunday’s Chief Auto Parts Winternationals, but at least one driver was pleased with the delay.

Don (Big Daddy) Garlits, the defending Winston World champion and four-time Winternationals winner, was found to have an illegal car as he sat in the staging lane late Thursday afternoon at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona.

A National Hot Rod Assn. official found that the uprights holding the rear wing on Garlits’ top-fuel dragster were only 23 inches apart. New rules call for a minimum of 30 inches.

“I’m the guy who worked with (Competition Director) Steve Gibbs to design the wing span rule, and they tell me I have to modify my car or I can’t race,” Garlits said indignantly.

Had it not rained, Garlits would have missed Thursday’s qualifying session and at least the morning run Friday.

“We had to take the mounts off the car, and Herb Parks (Garlits’ crew chief) took them to Gardena to a shop where he could build some new ones,” Garlits said. “He didn’t get back to Pomona until about 3 a.m. By the time we got them welded and had the car ready, it was past noon.”

Big Daddy was ready for the 2 p.m. qualifying round Friday, but more rain washed it out.

At least four other cars, those of Gene Snow, Doug Kerhulas, Randy Troxel and Bill Miller, were also found to be illegal, but they had been notified Tuesday and had time to comply.

For some reason, Garlits’ car had passed technical inspection, but while he was waiting in line to qualify, another inspector measured the width between the struts and told Garlits of the illegality.

“The change was supposedly made for safety purposes, yet my car is one that has proved to be the safest,” Garlits said. “Last year, I had 36 passes over 260 m.p.h. That’s more than all the others put together. With that record, you’d think they would have used my construction as the example, wouldn’t you?

“Gibbs acknowledged that my structure was OK, but he said he didn’t want any repercussions if he made the other cars comply and not mine.”

The rule was changed before Jan. 1 and was printed in the 1986 NHRA rule book, according to Carl Olson, director of safety.

“Garlits was part of the committee working on that very area,” Olson said. “The change was made after input from the top-fuel drivers. I don’t know why he didn’t know it.”

Garlits said he hadn’t made any changes on his car since it ran a national-record 268.01 m.p.h. at Pomona in last October’s World Finals. Instead, he was busy designing and constructing a new full-bodied top-fueler that he hopes to drive in the Gatornationals March 13-16 at Gainesville, Fla.

“It’s going to look like a stretched out funny car,” he said. “The wheels will be inside the body, and I’ll be inside a canopy bubble. We’ll use the same chassis, with the 260-inch wheelbase, and the same engine, but with the wheels covered, we hope to cheat the wind.

“The idea is to punch a little cleaner hole in the atmosphere, like an arrow, and hope the rest of the car gets through the hole with a minimum of friction.”

Gary Ormsby, twice a runner-up here last year, to Joe Amato in the Winternationals and to Gary Beck in the World Finals, has a distinctively different-looking top-fueler this weekend. The entire engine, which is mounted in the rear, is covered with carbon fiber bodywork. It looks like a March Indy car.

“Our bodywork bears no resemblance to Ormsby’s at all,” Garlits said. “Our rear end will not be covered, because I want to be able to get at the engine as quickly as possible between runs.”

With two days of qualifying already washed out, getting into Sunday’s 16-car fields could come down to a one-run shootout today.

“The way things have turned out, it gives those of us who were at Phoenix two weeks ago an advantage,” said Shirley Muldowney, who ran a 5.59 elapsed time there at Firebird Raceway in her first outing after missing 19 months with leg and foot injuries.

“We got things sorted out at Phoenix and we’re ready. Some of the guys were planning to use Thursday and Friday to find their settings, and now it’s too late.”

Garlits wasn’t at Phoenix, but the 54-year-old veteran isn’t worried.

“The rain don’t bother me none,” he said. “All I need is one run.”

As long as his car is legal, that is.