In the 1960s he won multiple drag racing championships and was named one of the National Hot Rod Associations Top 50 Drivers for 1951-2000. Back to Victory Lane, Every Indy 500 Winner from the Dawn of Time, Danny Ongais, 11-Time Indianapolis 500 Racer, Rolex 24 Winner Dies at 79, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Service. In 1981 at the Indianapolis 500 Danny Ongais was involved in a very serious accident on lap 63. Daniel was born on June 10, 1938 and passed away on Friday, October 11, 2019. Even with a short 10-year stint in drag racing, Ongais was still so well regarded that he was voted No. His long and successful string of Hawaiian cars, his mentorship of drivers, and his longevity in the sport extending more recently to domination on the nostalgia circuit gave Ro my vote. For all the problems he had getting up to speed this week, Ongais knew that any driver seated in a Roger Penske-prepared car has a chance to be the anointed one come race day. [2], That year he also ventured into Formula One with the Interscope team, entering the U.S. and Canadian Grands Prix at the end of the season in a year-old Penske PC4. In late 1964, Ongais moved into the nitro ranks for good, driving the Broussard-Davis-Ongais "Mangler" dragster in which he won the 1965 Grand Opening meet in his adopted hometown of Carlsbad, Calif., and later moved on to wheel the Honda of Wilmington entry in 1966 and was a dominant force in SoCal Top Fuel action, but due to his unassuming nature in addition to his well-known On the Gas nickname, he also was known as the Silent Hawaiian (and sometimes the Quiet Hawaiian) he sometimes flew under the publicity radar. But no one could deny his talent. Im new to this role; hes lived it before. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, he was ranked 39th. (The fact that we share the same birthday albeit 16 years apart has nothing to do with it.). 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. The head count was up to 94 by mid-February and is expected to be at least 100 by the end of March. No ones ever going to say weve got everything figured out. He may yet get that chance. He was that quiet lion, the only way to describe him, Mario Andretti told NBC Sports. Click to reveal They required not breaking, but gentling. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the IndyCar Series in the late 1970s. They teamed up with the legendary Hurley Haywood to win the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1979 in the Interscope Porsche 935 prototype. Weve got intense bits of the season. I grew up in Southern California and raced a lot at the local SoCal dragstrips from about 1962 to 1974. WebDanny Ongais passed away on February 26, 2022 at the age of 79. We want to pull the best of the world of motor racing and beyond. I dont know how hes in so many places at once, seemingly. For those of us who saw Ongais race, he was a man who thrived on sheer, raw speed. Whether its grabbing a badass mechanic out of World of Outlaws and introducing them to IndyCar. All logos and images are reserved. Ongais stared at the money in his hand as if it were something a passing bird had just dropped there. That stems more from drag racing. Danny Ongais, who risked his life routinely as part of his job even more than most auto racers died peacefully at age 79. After setting fastest lap of the race at the Indy 500 despite his rookie status, he went on to clinch victory at Michigan. I think weve got a very good tribe of people here, and part of that includes just diversity of humans in general, Gundlach said. His death was announced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two days later. The recruitment pitch to join the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team started with the 21st century social media version of a corporate headhunters cold call. The car broke in two and his legs were hanging out. 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. In fact, even his closest associates have little insight into his own life, as he doesnt talk about his family or his youth in Hawaii. Ongais started in 21st place and retired with mechanical problems. (Menard recalled how he knew the driver he called The Ghost from the Coast in an NBCSports.com interview last year. [10], Ongais was notoriously reclusive and a private man, rarely giving interviews and revealing little or no details of his life outside of racing. His race director at Interscope Racing Jim Chapman stated Nobody really knew much about him where he lived, his family, stuff like that. They are in relation from previous few years of a strong relationship. All registered. Parents: The undercover bloggers Parents are not Carrying too much speed out of the turn, the car drifted out into the grey and the back end began to slide. Since the outset of the Russian Troop’s invasion of Ukraine, Valery has run a blog in which he details how Kherson lives and volunteered. Ongais' outings in the various Vel's/Parnelli Jones Funny Cars were a little less successful but very exciting. ''He could take a car that was unmanageable and make it do what he wanted,'' says one observer. WebFormer Indy car and drag racing star Danny Ongais has died of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, Calif., the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced on Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting, 2021 IndyCar title is just the start for Ganassi's newest star, 2021 title just the start for Palou He was a good guy. Honestly, this team comes from humble beginnings in the IndyCar world. WebMotor sports and racing legend Danny Ongais passed away on February 26, 2022 at 3:15pm of congestive heart failure at his home in Anaheim Hills, CA, that he shared with But the fact that he could finish only eighth in the championship attests to the cars poor finishing record. Over the course of his Indy 500 career, he led in four races for a People get to see how much enthusiasm Zak brings. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()), Skip Bayless Wife Ernestine Sclafani Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts. backstretch. Im really happy to be working with (Todd) because its a different culture for her. Ongais was a man of few words but drove a race car with the right foot of an elephant on the accelerator. 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. The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis, in 1996. And well-deserved. More of the same followed in 78. Autoweek participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. The guys in IndyCar racing called him The Ghost from the Coast. , (Be sure to read the end of this column for more from Prudhomme, who says some very kind and impressive things about Ongais.). 1 staffing priority wasnt hiring. In 1985, he also survived a spectacular barrel roll at Michigan International Speedway after hitting the back of the slower car of Phil Krueger on the backstretch. Ongais crashed in practice and suffered a concussion in 1987 at Indianapolis while driving for Team Penske, forcing him to miss the race. I dont think theres a better IndyCar team to work for right now.. He competed Ongais suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, missing the rest of the season to recover. He was a racer, and he loved what he was doing, so it was easier for him to get back in the car.. There also is an appeal to being a professional sports team. He makes an effort to keep everyone up to date from top to bottom as to where things are, what the current objectives are and whats the future look like. He decided to remain private regarding her life and It would be almost 10 years before he would finally come to Indianapolis. The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. [14], Ongais died from congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California, on February 26, 2022, at the age of 79. He dominated six races in USAC-sanctioned single-seater racing and finished eighth in the title. Ongais win at Riverside was especially memorable as his dragster broke after final-round opponent Gordon Collett red-lighted, so, as was the rule back then, Ongais had to push his car the length of the quarter-mile to trip the win light. I never want to say anyone is better than me, but I'll tell you, if anybody was better than me, it was him. WebOngais has been a man of mystery since he first arrived on the mainland from his native Hawaii and set the world of drag racing on its ear. 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. The time he hit the wall in the third turn. 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. The cars were fragile on the half shafts, and he liked to drive them hard sometimes. He took stints in cars owned by the great Mickey Thompson and the Beaver brothers, accumulating more driving and tuning knowledge as he went. At the Indianapolis 500 Ongais crashed in practice and this put Ongais in jeopardy of not being able to compete. He really was. Ongais had some of the biggest, hardest crashes in Indianapolis 500 history. Ricou Browning cause of death: How did Ricou Browning die? Ongais crashed in practice and suffered a concussion in 1987 at Indianapolis while driving for Team Penske, forcing him to miss the race. Why Grosjean's oval commitment shows he's serious about IndyCar. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Thats what it is all about, any way you can add another 500 horsepower, you do it. And wants to make this something special. He initially drove the #65 Interscope Racing March 83C-Chevrolet V6, however, that car was replaced with the #25 March 83C-Cosworth DFX. I think people start to realize that IndyCar is a pretty fun place to be and not a bad way to go racing, Ward said. The Cosworth was hugely powerful, Ongais regularly appearing to dance the car on the rim of disaster on his way to eight pole positions, and when it hung together he tended to win: he racked up five triumphs that year. Last year, we did five races in four weekends. Adding 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi as a teammate to Pato OWard and Felix Rosenqvist, the team will be running three full-time cars for the first time (and a fourth Indy 500 entry for Tony Kanaan). Its like nothing Ive ever seen before.. Ongais scored a best finish of 5th place at the Escort Warning Radars 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Ongais Indy 500 career ended with him leading in four races for 79 total laps. Weve really tried to stretch ourselves to find the best and the brightest no matter where they live, Scott said. Ongais ended the season in 15th place in points. And Penske said he would have a car ready for him. The starting blast damaged the electronics, and the Funny Car final used a flag start, and Ongais defeated Prudhomme for the win. 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. He suffered a lot of serious crashes. Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP, announces WEC plans, Honda reveals Civic Type R pace car for IndyCar events, Honda's new Civic Type R pace car Though rivals such as Penske, Ganassi and Andretti Autosport hold pretty tight to their total rewards packages, Scott said Arrow McLaren annually surveys its employees about benefits. 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