Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing

Don Garlits is one of the true old school drag racers but he is so much more. He is one of the building blocks that not only made NHRA great but he is an Icon of racing and the way it use to be. His museum located in Ocala, Florida is actually two museums. The first is his History of Drag Racing Museum which contains all but a couple of his famous Swap Rat dragsters. In addition you will find other famous dragsters and cars from the past and tributes to other drivers. There is memorabilia everywhere and more engines and cut away engines than you can count on both hands. the other museum is the Antique Car Museum on the same site. We will have a page devoted to that collection very soon.

If you ever wondered how Don “The Swamp Rat” Garlits ever became “Big Daddy” listen to the interview of Garlits by Trans Am racer Sam Posey at the 2010 Amelia Island Concours; Click on the Audio button below.

Click Here: [audio:bigdaddy.mp3]

Just in case you missed it; Don said “Gasoline is for washing parts, alcohol is for drinking and nitro-methane is for racing!”

You can click on any of the photos below to see a larger image.

The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing is one you should visit if you are ever in Florida. It is located in Ocala Florida a short drive from Orlando. It is one of those museums that has so much content it deserves a building twice as big as it is housed in. You could easily spend an entire day there if you wanted to absorb all that it contains. Unfortunately, because the museum is so tightly packed it is hard to really “take in” most of the cars. This is a flaw in most museums. The admission cost must be low to attract visitors but unless there is an outside funding source there is insufficient funds to provide enough floor space to properly display all of the wonderful cars.

If you liked this, Check Out the Don Garlits Antique Car Museum, Click Here.