I remember reading about this 37 years ago, I was always a fan....but what really shocks me is that I'm still not as old as he was when he did this!

I remember watching that race with my dad. That brought back a lot of good memories. Thanks for posting.

Wow, did you see the crowd on their feet? Makes me feel they were in awe of this man's accomplishment! Thank you Don Garlits for bringing us many moments like this, and thanks for posting this.

To go 270 MPH with fan belts for front tires, Big Daddy must have a pair of brass ones.

I was there in 1986 when he blew over. It was a spectacular sight to see. I have been a fan since then. That was my first drag race and I have been going ever since.

I was there, my First National.......I had traveled from LA to attend with an old friend, what an experience.....cheers....

I remember watching this also as a young lad with my Dad,I grew up being a Mopar fan and still am to this day! Mopar rules drag racing,Big Daddy was an innovator for sure and he chose Mopar for a reason,Big horsepower and torque and another engine that Chevy and Ford will never ever be able to touch and that's the iconic Hemi!

The man constantly evolved in racing, ahead of his time..the legend big daddy

Thanks for the video, great memories of a race I was fortunate to be at. What you didn't see and those of us at the top end did get to see was the front end was skipping down the track. The wheels would touch and then be 2-3 inches in the air for 20-30 feet before they touched down again. It was the most hair raising thing I'd ever seen. It was also a sign of his pending blow-over. The front down force was being exceeded by the rear wing. Big was a true innovator.

I was in the stands for this race. I remember gawking at Shirley Muldowney on crutches and a young John Force exploding a supercharger in the Gator National I remember that as the same year, that white flash was like looking into giant camera flash.

And today 9 / 4 /22 Brittany Force ran 299.73 mph in the eighth mile on a qualifying pass at US Nationals.

Thank you for inviting us into your living room. Pretty cool.

I can't even imagine what it's like to be in a dragster at 272 MPH in six seconds! That has to be the ultimate acceleration rush!

@racingformusic "Big" was a man that "did it all'',playing so many roles in the operation. There was "Don, the Chassis Builder","The Engine Builder","The Tuner", and 'The Driver". The man is a genius, and Drag Racing's greatest innovator. From the early days, with "The Chester Fire" in 1959, thru the 60's, the adversity of the horrible accident @ Lion's on 3-8-70 in SR-13,blowing off half of his right foot, and the triumph of SR-14,his 1st rear-engine car. He was, and is the best...BAR NONE.

From the first time I saw Garlits run in 1967... he has been my hero.

Big and Evans. Most feel drag racing's golden era ended in the '70's. But some would argue that it was a long sunset, and this moment just preceded the twilight. It is hard to think that for the most part, Garlits' crash that next year effectively brought his competitive career to a close. Damn near a quarter of a century ago. The old man is still doing his thing-inhaling that sweet, acrid scent of nitro, but the days of battle in the front line become memories. His campaigns will forever shine.

Make that 5.4 seconds!

Don was fast and still is ! I never forget Miami Hollywood speedway Don blew the doors off the Green Mamba Jet Car Epic !!!!!’

"BIG DADDY" GARLITS WAS SOMETHING ELSE...

"Big " was struggling with those V-belts all weekend. In fact, in the Final Round against Dick LaHaie, SR-XXX threw the belts again, tore up the nose-cone, and allegedly a piece of Kevlar from the nose-cone flew into the injector scoop on LaHaie's car and sneezed the blower. The V-belts were replaced with miniature aircraft tires (ultra-lite type).He stayed with those little wheels with SR-30, 31, and 32 (as well as the enclosed canopy) There's only 3 words for Drag Racing...Donald Glenn Garlits

The parking lot was an absolute disaster with 12 inches of mud after several days of rain. Diamond P Sports was awesome.

Swamp Rat -XXX now sits quietly in the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington DC..... if not before they made one last photo shoot out in front… With 96% nitromethane in the tank… And the engine running. With nitro belching out of cylinders the size of coffee cans, and valves the size of silver dollars....Swamp Rat-XXX made a proud cackle that echoed off the halls and walls and corridors of the very place where they keep the artifacts of America. I can’t even write this without being choked up about it.

back when the average new car did 0-60mph in 10 seconds

Amazing Man and a Great !! Driver

the greatist of drag racers, truely the the king,

Dan ran a great race . But ! The legend is a legend for a reason .!!

@racingformusic Yeah,, you know I grew up in So. Cal. in the '60's being born in '61, so I'm accumulating a few years myself. Some day I want to write about all those days and nights with my dad at O.C.I.R., Lions, Irwindale, Pomona, Ontario and Bakersfield-God-Bakersfield. No matter what else happens, I must always think myself a lucky man. I didn't have the pedal-but I was there at ground zero, and it was a hell of a ride bro! From '68 to '89 when I moved away-the things we saw! Better days.

He planned on trying to break the 300mph mark at our track and film it. Then KB did it at Gainesville. Cest la vie.... true story. I watched him testing.

R.I.P Herb. No doubt he was a great help to Big through-out his career.

See that weird man in the back ground with the mustache? That’s my dad...

@TwoEyeCyclops Bernstien ran the 300 in the lane Pastorini was in.

Big is da man. No doubt Herb Parks tuning ability contributed to his success until his life was cut short by that tragic test session accident.

Same lane Kenny went over 300 in I think.....

hemi

!Super Shops Swamp Rat!

Hey - you got your wish didn't you...

is don garlits still raceing

The man was a DRAG RACING GENIUS!!! Up until he came along...dragsters had engines up front

big fatty dan garlics.....j/k GREAT MAN AND GREAT RACER

🐒

And now we've got Biden