Its a mentality shift thats good. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Usually its me calling him for comment on someone whos passed, but this time he called me (he was, in fact, the first person to tell me of Ongais passing). It was always wide-open throttle. He first raced at the Arizona Republic/Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway where he qualified 4th and led for several laps only to drop out after 128 laps due to engine problems. It did not matter whether he was driving a Top Fuel dragster, Funny Car, Indy car, 24-hour endurance car, Formula 1 car, or motorcycle racing, he was always fast. Fielding the #25 GM Goodwrench/Panavision March 86C-Buick V6, Ongais dropped out with a mechanical failure. Ongais, racing at age 54 in his first 500 since 1986, finished a creditable seventh after starting from the rear of the field. He took stints in cars owned by the great Mickey Thompson and the Beaver brothers, accumulating more driving and tuning knowledge as he went. He was knocked unconscious by the heavy impact. He drove with bravado and advocated unlimited rules at the Indianapolis 500. Ongais ability to drive these cars near their performance limits unfortunately resulted in a couple of spectacular crashes in Indy. They did score a memorable AHRA win at Lions Dragstrip on the fateful March 8 day that Don Garlits exploded the transmission in Swamp Rat 13, severing half of his right foot. Faster than he could whip a motorcycle through a turn, Ongais became a drag racer and an instant winner. While Ongais was known for his blazing speed at Indianapolis and elsewhere, he also attracted attention for surviving some of the most violent crashes of his era. After setting fastest lap of the race at the Indy 500 despite his rookie status, he went on to clinch victory at Michigan. The best season for Ongais and the Interscope team came in 1978, when he won five races and eight poles en route to an eighth-place finish in the USAC standings. Wow, thats some high praise. Was 1 of only 5 teammates I ever had in #INDYCAR. Thats the difference. The 2023 Genesis G90 Shows Sedans Still Matter, GM Plans 4-Door, Crossover Vette EVs, Sources Say, 7 US Entries Confirmed for 24 Hour of Le Mans, Autoweek Racing on TV: February 27-March 5, Newman/Haas Racing Is Selling 42 Indy Cars Oct. 29, Three-time Indy 500 Starter Rasmussen Dies at 85, How Dixon's Simple Mistake Cost Him Indy 500 Win, Move Over ABBA, Sweden Has a New Racing Superstar, Jimmie Johnson's Indy 500 Experience Ends in Crash, Ayla Agren Is Montoya's Eyes in the Sky for 500, 11 Closest Indianapolis 500 Finishes in History, Larry Foyt Out to Get A.J. WebChapman did state that well into their relationship he learned Ongais was married and had a son. In 1975, Ongais left the quarter-mile to pursue success in other motorsports and drove in SCCA, Formula 5000, Indycar, Formula 1, and sports-car competition. Ongais came into the pits on lap 63 as the leader of the race, but problems during the stop caused it to drag on for a disastrous 46 seconds. The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis, in 1996. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, he was ranked 39th. View their obituary at Legacy.com flowers and lei are welcomed He is survived by wife, Patricia P. Ongais of Keaau; [15] His former Indy car competitors remembered him well after his passing, with Mario Andretti calling him that quiet lion.[16], (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position). He also competed in four Formula 1 races in 1977 and 1978, including two starts with Interscope, with a best finish of seventh in the 77 Canadian Grand Prix. The rides with major teams that could have been his went to less talented but more malleable men. That attitude often got him in trouble, though. A look at seven decades of wild, wheelstanding crowdpleasers, Altered States, Part 2: Breakage, tears, and fears, but ultimately a success story, Altered States: Fear and loathing (and a lot of thrills) on the quarter-mile, Ed 'the Outlaw' Jones: Living life on two wheels for more than 45 years, You never know with nitro: A look back at seven great Funny Car upset wins, Everyone loves an underdog: Here's a list of five great Top Fuel upsets, 30 years ago: The 1992 NHRA season was a year full of historic firsts, Female Pro Stock pioneer Shay Nichols: A life well lived (and then some), Magnificent Seven: A history of female racers in NHRA Pro Stock competition, On the Gas: The drag racing life and times of Danny Ongais, By The Numbers: Pro Stock readies for 900th event 'birthday' in Pomona, That was then, this is now: A look back at the NHRA season 50 years ago. But no one could deny his talent. Ongais was the only native Hawaiian to compete in the Indianapolis 500. 5 Dallara-Chevrolet. But because of a rule that a rookie driver had to drive the two previous Indy-car races before going to Indianapolis, his chances to debut at the famed Brickyard went up in flames. He did not have any of that reputation, quite honestly. But also building a machine of a race team that can develop all year round, not sort of go racing in the season and do development in the offseason. Since arriving in the fall of 2019 at the former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, she said she has watched Arrow McLaren grow while maintaining its gritty origins. Indianapolis became his bete noir. For the next seven races, Ongais replaced an injured Johnny Rutherford at Patrick Racing, who had been driving the #40 Sea Ray Boats Wildcat Mk 9-Cosworth DFX. I thought towards the end of the run, if the fans didnt like this, they dont need to be here. It doesnt happen overnight. I think everyone in the team feels that we should perform and win instead of like, its a luxury to win. A fearless figure on the racing circuit, Ongais was nicknamed "On-Gas" and "The Flyin' Hawaiian."[1]. In 1996, at the age of 54, after nine years away from racing, he served as the substitute driver in the Indianapolis 500 for Scott Brayton, who had died in a crash before the race. How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing win, Dan Wheldon and his amazing last win Switching to the top-fuel category, he racked up an eight-month winning streak, toured Europe and became the first driver ever to hit 200 miles an hour on a British dragstrip. For the 1986 season Ongais only ran the 1986 Indianapolis 500 for Interscope Racing. WebI was with the first crew to reach Danny Ongais (1981) when he had his horrifying wreck. backstretch. WebVersatile American racing driver Danny Ongais died on February 26 of congestive heart complications at age 79, it was announced Monday. His way has, in effect, betrayed his talent and denied his intellect. I got down off the stand and went down to meet him. At the 1964 Winternationals, his dragster defeated a field that included heavyweights like Thompson, the Peters & Frank Freight Train, and Earl Poage. Getting out of the car, Ongais pushed it the length of the quarter-mile dragstrip to claim the championship. Danny faced a ton of heart problems in his old age. Honda reveals Civic Type R pace car for IndyCar events, Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021, The top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021 He has also interviewed a plethora of sporting personalities. 39 on the list of the Top 50 Racers in 2000, the same year that he served as the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion grand marshal and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. In this It would be almost 10 years before he would finally come to Indianapolis. Women comprise nearly 20 percent of its staff with many in the engineering department. Kate Gundlach, a performance engineer at Arrow McLaren, was leafing through a sports car magazine a couple years ago when she stumbled upon a story about Grace Hackenberg, an Oregon-based racing engineer. The Estimated Net worth is $80K USD $85k. Good grief, who can forget Jim Crawford (1990)? No matter how fast Ongais drove his race car, he always wanted to go even faster. On May 15, 1982, Danny Ongais qualified 9th for the Indy 500. I feel like its been so hard to find people in all departments. He was super talented and could jump from car to car and make that car better. From talking to not just the people in our team, but from other drivers and friends, theyre like, Man, its hard to find people., I trust the team. There probably has never been a driver who hit the wall harder more often and was able to survive than Danny Ongais (who died earlier this year). Thats what we like to avoid doing because you lose a little of the human touch that way. I work really well in it, and Im excited to bring her in and experience that. Born in Kahului, Hawaii on May 21, 1942, Ongais remains the first driver from the Aloha State to race in the Indianapolis 500, and hes an appropriate pioneer as May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Its collegiate students wanting to grow a career. Thats exciting. Weve expanded our operations pretty significantly, she said. He was there to do a job. He was always kind of a private person. He moved up to the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster championship and defeated the legendary Don Prudhomme in the 1966 NHRA Nationals in the Top Fuel semifinals. Danny commenced his journey from 11 Indianapolis 500 races from 1977-96 and made many races on his name as the winner. His race director at Interscope Racing Jim Chapman stated Nobody really knew much about him where he lived, his family, stuff like that. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()), Skip Bayless Wife Ernestine Sclafani Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts. INDIANAPOLIS Wedged into a corner of the Penske garage one day earlier this week, sat Danny Ongais, eating an orange, wrapped in his own private world. The engineering is growing more slowly but continuously. (Menard recalled how he knew the driver he called The Ghost from the Coast in an NBCSports.com interview last year. Ongais suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, missing the rest of the season to recover. Its pretty amazing to me with how involved he is with every aspect of the IndyCar organization, the F1 organization. ''His whole heart is in racing,'' said Roger Penske, whose auto racing empire had never before embraced such a prince of darkness. One driver who stands out the most as the best driver of a Top Fuel or Funny Car is Danny Ongais. Nigel Mansells greatest F1 and Indycar drives, How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, How Ericsson unlocked his potential Ongais later attempted to race at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway, the Nissan Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park, and the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix at Nazareth Speedway. He was a motorcycle champion in Hawaii when he decided to come to the mainland United States and go racing. Drag racing, that's been my life, but for Danny, it was just part of where he wanted to go, and he sure got there.. For those of us who saw Ongais race, he was a man who thrived on sheer, raw speed. Shes like, Absolutely. . 18+, UK residents only, T&Cs Apply, Gamble Responsibly. Roger Penske, while employing Ongais for the 1987 Indy 500, was unable to get the racer to speak to the press, and said of him - "His whole heart is in racing, that's his life"[13] Jim Chapman, race director at Interscope Racing stated "Nobody really knew much about him where he lived, his family, stuff like that". Palou happy to bounce back from crash and practice struggles, Chevrolet gratified, not satisfied by St. Pete IndyCar win, Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP, announces WEC plans, Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP The sad news of the death of the veteran racing driver was announced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two days later after his death. Driving for Mickey Thompson, he once put two dragsters into the finals, turned one of them over to Thompson and then beat his mentor. He didnt talk, but he let the car speak for him.. The car went to Al Unser Sr who went on to win a record-tying 4th Indianapolis 500. We cant say their name. pic.twitter.com/X4ZqLkQY4w, Tony Stewart (@TonyStewart) February 28, 2022. And Penske said he would have a car ready for him. He suffered a lot of serious crashes. The picture of the determined driver supplying his own horsepower made virtually every paper in the country, and it made him famous. That victory came one year after Thompson tried to enter Ongais into the 1968 Indianapolis 500, but Ongais was denied because he had almost no experience in open-wheel race cars. So we just are thinking strategically on how can we find candidates with transferable skills outside our industry if we can. READ ALSO: Danny Ongais Wife - Was Danny Ongais Married? I think its a more family friendly way to go racing. I always wanted to be like him. WebDanny Ongais, the only Hawaiian to drive in the Indy 500 and one of the most versatile drivers of his era, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, Ongais died from congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California, on February 26, 2022, at the age of 79. As in any industry, networking and recruiting are cornerstones to motorsports, where big-league success is predicated as much on driver and car as the countless people who support the stars and build the machines behind the scenes for any IndyCar, NASCAR or Formula One team. With sponsorship dollars generally on the rise in IndyCar, and manufacturer money pouring into rival series such as IMSA and F1, it likely never has been harder for hiring across U.S. motorsports. Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired for his speed and bravery in an #Indy500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 in Anaheim Hills, California at 79. Ongais Indy 500 career ended with him leading in four races for 79 total laps. [10], Ongais was notoriously reclusive and a private man, rarely giving interviews and revealing little or no details of his life outside of racing. Thompson and Ongais also teamed up to set nearly 300 national and international speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Mach 1 Mustang during the 1960s. Gundlach, who recently was announced as a finalist for Indys Best and Brightest, previously worked cars that won two championships with Scott Dixon at Ganassi. Ongais died Feb. 26, 2022 from congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California. I think we want people who want to be with the team, so its not so much about trying to headhunt people, he said. There have been other athletes who have taken a vow of silence, most notably baseball`s Steve Carlton. Ongais had no fear. The green flag came out, and we ran side-by-side 220 mph for about 21 laps, sashaying at each other, side-by-side. When you want to build a high-powered racing team, software is really, really important, Ward said. Danny Ongais, who risked his life routinely as part of his job even more than most auto racers died peacefully at age 79. I think weve got a very good tribe of people here, and part of that includes just diversity of humans in general, Gundlach said. The versatile Ongais made 11 #Indy500 starts, with four top-10 finishes. He had refused all requests for interviews this week, and Penske himself could not get his driver to relent. Except Ongais, and he wasn`t talking. In addition to Grace Hackenberg, Gundlach also played a role in the teams acquisition of systems engineer Lizzie Todd, who came from previous roles at Andretti and Penske. The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. The team overhauled its total rewards package (which includes benefits and incentivized bonus plans) to stay competitive with other IndyCar teams as well as the other high-tech and Fortune 500 companies in the Indianapolis, Indiana, region (home to roughly 2 million) where Arrow McLaren is based. Known as the 'Flyin' Hawaiian', Ongais' long career saw him excel in Indy cars, F1 and drag racing. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Chapman did state that well into their relationship he learned Ongais was married and had a son. One long-running debate we had was: Who was Hawaiis greatest drag racer?, I was/am still solidly in the Roland Leong camp. He also raced in Formula One, in 1977-78, in six Grands Prix, recording a best result of seventh. There are those who feel he has not been the same driver since. For the 1984 season Ongais took over as owner of Interscope Racing fielding the #25 Interscope Racing March 84C-Cosworth DFX. Its high schoolers. But he was not an idiot going around and doing stupid things. While deployed in Europe in the early 1960s, he also got his first taste of sports-car racing that would become one of his many fortes later in his career. Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021. He won the American Hot Rod Association AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964, and in the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster championship title in 1965. Ongais next drove in CART during the 1983 CART/PPG World Series season, first appearing at the 1983 Indianapolis 500. This is certainly an exciting company to work for because the brand is quite well known globally, and that certainly helps from a recruitment perspective. NHRA history: Is it real or Artificial Intelligence? And well-deserved. pic.twitter.com/wWOurQyhjT, nascarman (@nascarman_rr) April 4, 2022. The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis in 1996. Ongais dominated in SCCA competition in 1974, catching the eye of media mogul Ted Field, who had recently founded the Interscope Records label. Ward said the schedule was among the reasons that engineer Ryan Kelly chose to join Rossis car after multiple seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. His first Indy-car race came at Ontario, Calif., late in 1976. Why Grosjean's oval commitment shows he's serious about IndyCar. At times, Ongais drove both the trademark orange Vels Mustang Funny Car and Flying Doorstop Top Fueler at the same event; in the dragster, he set the national speed record at 243.24 mph at the 1972 Supernationals at Ontario Motor Speedway in what was the sports first 240-plus-mph national record. The Flying Hawaiin led a very secretive life outside the racing world its known that Ongais had a wife but it is said h had a son who is unidentified for now. There are some inherent advantages for a team in IndyCar, whose 17-race schedule is more manageable than NASCAR (36 races in 37 weeks) and Formula One (which has expanded to 24 races around the globe). The arduous task took nearly two minutes but was met with rousing cheers from the crowd. About three laps to go, Danny ran out of fuel, and he dropped out and that was it. Born May 21, 1942 in Kahului, Hawaii, Ongais began one of the most versatile careers of any driver in his era as a teenager, earning a Hawaii state title in motorcycle racing in 1960. Right from the get-go for me, that was a high-priority item to try and spruce ourselves up. That stems more from drag racing. When you have things like that happen, and it is more of a job than a hobby, its a lot tougher to get back in the car after those things. No ones ever going to say weve got everything figured out. He proved it again in that race and got the job done.. 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