Is it by wins, Maybe most money won, perhaps sports innovations?
I’d say Don Garlets. Big Daddy
Made the rear engine dragster work. Still innovating with his electric swamp rat xxx
and has a way cool museum.

Garlits had a big shop off 275 in Tampa, where the Silk Gardens is now.

When I was growing up, Tampa was a huge drag racing town with three drag strips within a 15 mile radius of Garlits shop. Sunshine, Tampa Dragway and Eagles I think it was called, off race track road.

Every street and every service station had a drag car.

My barber from 2nd grade had a Chevy II Garlits did the engine.

I'd say you're right Garlits.

Garlits, Muldowney and Prudhomme were the BIG Three.

Glidden and Kuhlmann were top innovators too.

Kuhlmann was all over the pages of Super Stock magazine in the 1990's.

Super Stock was the best magazine I saw, for drag racing. I was prescribed for years.

This is a photo of Sunshine a buddy from High School has had since the late 1970's, he recently posted on FB. We'd take our High School cars out to Sunshine, and enter races on Friday night.

Art Malone(rip) Garlits partner, operated Sunshine until 1998. Garlits shop was a short trip across the Howard Franklin bridge from Sunshine. Art Malone is the reason Florida racers are strong, we'd run 41 week points season Sunshine. Art Malone knew drag racing. First round at 8pm and be done by midnight, 300, 400 cars every Friday night.

Sunshine was deemed a historical landmark because of Art Malone and Don Garlits. It'll be there forever, and it's right in the middle of town. They've built the highway that was supposed to take it down, around it. It's a registered historical landmark in the library of congress in DC.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow,

I nominate David Rampey.

I don't know the gentleman ,but I've raced him, and seen him dominate every class he tried.

RIP

That's Rambo, I raced with him too. Speedweek 1995, he had a Pontiac Aspen, looked like a Vega in Florida testing on his way to the Daytona 500. They paid $1500 to win at Lakeland every Wednesday night. After it was over, He said to me that's the first race you ever won, I said it's the third I've ever been in. He said, you're gonna win a bunch more.

$1500 in 1995 has $2650 purchasing power today. That's a good lick for a Wednesday night.

With all due respect for all the great drag racers, and there has been a bunch of them: "The all time best" hands down is Don Garlits.

Bob

Big Daddy Don Garlits was authentic, original.

One look at any of his cars says it all, individual.

I have pictures of Garlits Swamp Rat XXX car in the Smithsonian, maybe I'll dig em out.

Have to be Garlets. Lot of good ones but none have given back as much as he has.

The thing I can't understand is, how was it, Garlits and Muldowney weren't shoe in's for sponsorship, to race Top Fuel for as long as they wanted.

I think I have an idea as to why though. I think as society got more and more politically correct, Individuals such as these two, became less marketable.

If you sit down and watch the old school drag racing from their era, it was 100% un-produced. But that was what made it entertaining. Everyone just said what they were thinking at the moment, on TV. Without fear of who was gonna remove their means of racing $$$.

For Bracket Racing ... my vote goes to Terry Sinke, a true competitor and innovator of our sport.

a) He was the first to figure out an alcohol carb back in the day. He built, sold, fixed and taught many other builders how to tune them.

b) He and Rob Hamilton build many custom rear engine dragsters at S&H Racecars. They were true innovators and you can still see their added safety designs in cars built today.

b) He (and Royce Miller) are the reason we have buybacks today. They were the originators of this.

c) He would travel from state to state chasing big money before anyone even knew what that was. Back then $5k was a lot to race for. He is a Multi-time Moroso winner, Multi-time track champion, Multi-time NHRA and IHRA class winner, Multi-time big money winner.

d) He had ice water in his veins and you could NOT get in his head, (it was quite the opposite when you tried.) He would use your attempt to rattle him and punish you to teach you a lesson, lol. I can still picture him pulling into the water box with his helmet on and cigarette hanging out of it. He would take that last drag and flip it to the side, it was game on then and you better step up or go home.

He's still around, working on carburetors and helping Rob doing machine work at Autofab Race Cars.

Buybacks are because there's not enough cars to pay the purse.

Elected officials offshoring American jobs to Mexico and china, invented buybacks.

Don Garlits by a mile

The Swamp Rat and he earned that nick name..

The guy was tenacious and fearless....

Sure there were others but Garlits topped them all.....

Still going at 88 or 89

He beat them all and was basically what we would call a Junk Yard Dog....

Built his own cars, engines and raced everywhere out of a pickup and a dragster trailer....

I saw him match race in the 70's and he had a ratty Dodge pickup and trailer. That was at Island Dragway my original home track

He ran the first official 200 there in 1964 and it's a pretty short shutdown area....he did go off the end once and it ain't too safe down there....

T/F was dying and Garlits helped revitalize it with help from others and it took off and became huge with corporate America jumping in on many cars.

I went to his Museum in 1984 or 1985 I think it was.....His wife Pat was there and I never saw him.....The place was awesome...

He and Bob Glidden rank up there as the best ever for me.....

Garlits is great and I get that but for me it’s Lee Shepherd. Met Lee, David and Buddy in the late 70’s early 80’s. They built the Comp engines for the guy I worked / raced for at the time -Pat Watson. In speaking with them I got the entire story on there racing progression. You talk about innovation at our level...! These guys were on it! Simply amazing. Lee’s cylinder heads were a work of art. At that time they had a Ford motor spinning a small block at huge rpm so they could strobe all the valve train and learn. God speed to Buddy and Lee.

Good question, Paul.
From a Racer perspective, I would cast my vote for Big Daddy, and 2nd place would be so far back it doesn't matter. For several reasons as mentioned by others above.
I know of several current & recent bracket racers that would probably trailer Daddy 9 out of 10 times in a bracket race, (even when he was in his prime), but we all know it is a different sport now, and if those bracket bombers had to play his game, with equipment from his era, I am certain he would dominate them just as he did his opponents back then.

From a fan perspective - John Force over his career probably brought more popularity, spectatorship, dollars (to NHRA) and fan interest than anyone in drag racing history, and he was not only a great showman/entertainer, but he had more b@lls than most back in his prime, and would often opt for an overly aggressive tune that he knew would either win, or create a spectacular fireball trying. JF would get my Runner-Up.
From a technical/mechanical perspective, I'd say close finish in the Semis, with Glidden getting the nod over WJ.
Honorable mention to the Grump, for his innovative approaches and being a hardcore drag racer & builder. That is my $.02

Garlits Kendall GT-1 Swamp Rat XXXII

Don Garlits with Bob Glidden coming in second for me. The two big names from when I started watching drag racing as kid.

After seeing most agree, Big Daddy could be considered the best, I sniffed around on the ole inter-web and found this very old but good share of his older more deadly days.

https://youtu.be/CnX-XWK6K1E

Tom Reyer add this. Sinke built the first sheet metal intake I ever saw for Danny Crites Baltimore Bandit I think it was called AA/Altered. And I was at the race where he and Royce Miller dreamed up the buyback scheme. But even with all the things you mention he is a long way from the best bracket racer. Shame he was forced out of the drivers seat.

Thanks for the link Paul

I Managed to watch about half of that Garlits video today at work and enjoyed it.

I love hearing him tell stories.

They were a great couple

well Shirley Muldowny certainly "thinks" she was the greatest of alltime ...

Big Daddy #1-- Bob Glidden #2