Since the moment that young men began modifying and personalizing their automobiles back in the 1940's and 50's, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits was squarely in the thick of this intoxicating pursuit. By the time he had built his first serious dragster, drag strips were popping up all over the country- primitive at best-but wild and untamed racing venues where home-built creations laid the groundwork for today's multimillion-dollar high-performance industry. For the last 50 years, Big Daddy has been on the move, traveling from coast to coast with his series of "Swamp Rat" Top Fuel dragsters, electrifying fans and adding to his already immense legend as an innovator, a visionary, and a champion. In 2001, during the National Hot Rod Association's 50th anniversary, Garlits was named the No. 1 racer on the list of the 50 Greatest Drivers in History. And at that year's U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the sport's most prestigious event, Big Daddy achieved what may be his most cherished personal milestone, covering the quarter-mile in less than five seconds at more than 300 miles per hour for the first time in his storied career. Tales from the Drag Strip with "Big Daddy" Don Garlits is a first-person account of the many memorable experiences this drag racing icon has lived through in his half-century of nitromethane-fueled exploits. The many races, racers, race fans and race tracks which have touched his colorful career are recounted as only Big Daddy can, painting a vivid picture of his life at speed and the triumphs and tragedies that came along the way. Insightful, ironic, humorous, touching-but all true-Big Daddy's remembrances are the next best thing to reliving the glory days of America's quickest and fastest motorsports through the eyes of an American institution.
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About the Author
Bill Stephens is a life-long "motorhead" who became hooked on cars almost from birth. After a 25-year career as a morning disc jockey in Boston, Hartford, and Los Angeles, he moved to automotive television in 1989, producing and hosting the award-winning series "Wild About Wheels" for the Discovery Channel. Since then, he has been involved in the production and/or hosting of numerous automotive programs seen on CBS, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Speedvision, Outdoor Life, TNN, Fox, and the Family Channel. He is currently a member of the ESPN talent team that covers NHRA POWERade Drag Racing, hosts "NHRA2day" on ESPN2, and covers the NHRA for ESPN Radio, espn.com, ESPN Magazine, Autoweek, and Drag Racer Magazine.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a great story!,
This review is from: Tales from the Drag Strip with "Big Daddy" Don Garlits (Hardcover)
This book is just like sitting down and having a conversation with drag racing's greatest driver. I have been a fan of Don Garlits all my life. This book contained details I did not know about familiar Garlits stories. Definitely worth the money and time. I will be re-reading this book, something I never do.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a Don Garlits fan, you will enjoy this book.,
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This review is from: Tales from the Drag Strip with "Big Daddy" Don Garlits (Hardcover)
This book is not so much a history of Don Garlits or a biography but anecdotal and interesting tales about Don Garlits.
Each Tale provides an insight into some of the adventures of Don Garlits. Highly recommended to die-hard fans or drag racing fans looking for interesting nostalgia stories. If you do not know who Don Garlits is or drag racing nostalgist, then this book is not for you. The only negative is that it is too short.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Christmas present for my husband!!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Tales from the Drag Strip with "Big Daddy" Don Garlits (Hardcover)
I bought this book for my husband who has been a drag racing fanatic all his life. He absolutely loves the book and is hoping to have it signed by Don Garlits one day. He says it is written like Garlits talks. Excellent read!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The unshakable roots of NASCAR's stock car racing heritage were sunk deep into the fertile soil of the southern United States more than 50 years ago. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fire burnouts, traction compound, staging lanes, lane choice, good lane, fuel dragster, match race, aluminum heads, drag racing, drag strip Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Big Daddy, Top Fuel, Don Garlits, Art Malone, Top Eliminator, King Hogan, Connie Kalitta, Connie Swingle, Shirley Muldowney, Gary Beck, Super Stocker, Emery Cook, Herb Parks, Labor Day, Lee Petty, Los Angeles, Union Grove, Christmas Tree, Don Prudhomme, Green Valley, Level Cross, Wally Parks, Chrysler Hemi, Drag News, Grady Pickle New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The unshakable roots of NASCAR's stock car racing heritage were sunk deep into the fertile soil of the southern United States more than 50 years ago. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fire burnouts, traction compound, staging lanes, lane choice, good lane, fuel dragster, match race, aluminum heads, drag racing, drag strip Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Big Daddy, Top Fuel, Don Garlits, Art Malone, Top Eliminator, King Hogan, Connie Kalitta, Connie Swingle, Shirley Muldowney, Gary Beck, Super Stocker, Emery Cook, Herb Parks, Labor Day, Lee Petty, Los Angeles, Union Grove, Christmas Tree, Don Prudhomme, Green Valley, Level Cross, Wally Parks, Chrysler Hemi, Drag News, Grady Pickle New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
4
books
cite this book:
- Vietnam War (America at War (Rourke Hardcover)) by Scott Marquette on page 62
- Drag Racing (Action Events) by Jeff Savage on page 145
- Matt Kenseth: Above and Beyond by Kelley Maruszewski in Back Matter
- Mark Martin: Mark of Excellence by Larry Woody in Back Matter
- Jack Arute's Tales from the Indy 500 by Jack Arute in Back Matter
- Chair Shots and Other Obstacles: Winning Life's Wrestling Matches by Bobby Heenan in Back Matter
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