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| Swamp Rat 34 shown at an IHRA national event in Norwalk, Ohio (Jeff Burk photo) |
For all intents and purposes, Garlits' last big racing/driving accomplishment was his Top Fuel win at the 1987 Winternationals. It was, if I've tallied it right, the sport's record 110th win of his fabled career. In addition to that 1987 career-wrapper, Garlits can claim three NHRA Winston Top Fuel World Championships, a whopping 10 AHRA Top Fuel world crowns, and three IHRA championships. Throw in five Bakersfield March Meet championships, eight U.S. Nationals titles, three Popular Hot Rodding championships, five NHRA Winternationals championships, four geese a-gaggling, and partridge in a pear tree, and you've got a continent of accomplishment.
However, even if Garlits' win tally didn't edge out Force's almost 100, he would deserve the nod.
He was the guy who put drag racing on the map. His name was like that of Babe Ruth in baseball, Jack Dempsey in boxing, or Albert Einstein in intellect. Everyone knew who he was. He stood for drag racing. Even the blow-dried TV sports hosts knew Garlits' name. Only Shirley Muldowney and John Force have even come close in that area of name recognition.
His innovations like the perfection of the rear-engine dragster, his taking on NHRA and their U.S. Nationals with his own Labor Day extravaganza in 1972, and his comeback after losing half his foot in 1970 are just a few of his biggest credits. And as good as these were, there was one other thing that, for this writer, stood out.
Today drag racing has been wounded by the type of economy we live under. John Force, the Elvis of Funny Car and the highly deserves-to-be current King of the Sport has accomplished one hell of a lot but he did so under very different conditions than did Garlits.
Sure, Force, the best backed Funny Car driver of his era (and every dime of it earned and deserved) has beaten back some hellacious challenges. Cruz Pedregon in multi-millionaire potato farmer/racer Larry Minor's McDonald's cars, Roland Leong's Hawaiian Punch Dodge Daytonas, Al Hofmann's BDS and later Western Auto cars, Chuck Etchells' Kendall Dodges, the WWF wrestling cars of Jerry Toliver, and most recently, Whit Bazemore's Lee Beard-tuned entry are just some of the teams that have tried to topple Force from his 11-year throne with Pedregon being the only successful one in 1992. Save for that, though, everything from 1990 to 2001 has gone to Force.
However, as good as those teams were, there weren't many outside of
them that could really take Force on. As John himself has said himself
many times, "It's about winning and the budget." Those two factors go
hand in hand and now with the total "corporatization" of the nitro end
of the sport, the wins really follow the money. Force fought and clawed
for every nickel he made, but not to the degree Garlits did. Garlits
was drawing blood when Top Fuel racers raced for U.S. Savings bonds.
John has had some very stiff competition, but Garlits had to whip opponents
off track and on track like no on else.
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