Don Garlits has been pointing fuel dragsters down the quarter-mile for
32 years. That's incredible when you consider that most "teams" only last three
to five years before getting burned out or going broke. Don is 50 years old
now and remains a dominant force in Top Fuel racing. He still has what it takes
as a driver, tuner, and race car fabricator. He proved that by opening the
'82 season by defeating Shirley Muldowney for the AHRA Winter Nationals crown
in Tucson with a 5.79, 247 mph pass (at 2500 feet altitude). He has talked about
retirement a few times, but so far it hasn't worked.
Even though retirement has been ruled out, Don made it clear that this
season would not be Top Fuel business as usual: making every race, chasing the
points championships, etc. Instead, it would be a year with a new challenge,
that of making a "sidewinder" dragster competitive in Top Fuel. His race schedule
has been relaxed somewhat, and his time has been divided between his new car
and the relocation of his drag racing museum to Ocala, Florida. Although Don's
schedule would still wear a teenager down, it has worked almost as a detoxification
program and allowed him to spend an occasional weekend with his wife, Pat, on
trips to the beach and all of the other things "normal" families do with their
weekends.
Just as the rear-engined dragster was overdue when Don finally made it
successful, he also feels the day of the sidewinder is here. The sidewinder
concept, though not new, has always held some advantages over conventional cars.
The major advantage is the engine torque will work for you, pressing evenly
down on the rear wheels; whereas in a conventional car, engine torque is trying
to twist the chassis and unload a tire. Don has refrained from building a sidewinder
because he didn't feel that a chain or belt was appropriate for 2000 horsepower
and 250 mph speeds.
The missing ingredient that made Don's new car possible is a new gear
drive by SCS Geardrives, 419 Main Street, Bellevue, Ohio. Last season Don watched
Chuck and Mike Sage of SCS run a Pro Comp dragster with their drive setup and
instantly saw a number of advantages for Top Fuel. A few of these include greater
final drive gear selection (from 3.4 to 5.0), which can be made in less than
15 minutes; the clutch is more accessible for change or adjustment as well as
the Lenco trans that can now be either a two or three-speed because there are
no length limitations. The rear axle and tread width are narrower, enabling
the car to accelerate in a straighter line. Another of the major advantages
of the sidewinder design is that most of the between-round maintenance can be
made from one side of the car.
Mike and Chuck Sage had more of a hand in Don's new car than just the
driveline. They built the 240-inch wheelbase chassis (20 inches shorter than
Don's present conventional car). The chassis is basically in two pieces that
bolt on each side of the engine. It's a takeoff on Indy and Formula cars using
the engine as a stressed member of the chassis. Engine changes have been simplified.
All you do is put a couple of blocks under the engine, disconnect the frame
sections, and bolt them up to the new engine.
The shorter wheelbase has allowed the car to be very light. It weighs
1439 pounds (wet) less driver. The engine combination is the same 484-cubic-inch
Keith Black Hemi that Don has run in the conventional car for a number of years.
The only changes were sidewinder-style headers and a new injector scoop.
Don made his first checkout pass in Florida. It was only a half-pass
at Miami Dragway, but it told Don a number of things he needed to know before
packing up and heading for a California match race the next week. First, the
theory about the sidewinder planting the rear tires and really grabbing the
track was fact. The ginat 18/24-16-inch Goodyear drag tires had a grain pattern
right to the very edges of the tread surface, something the conventional car
never achieved.
Secondly, the fuel injector didn't need to have the forward facing front
bank enriched and the rear bank leaned out. The sideways location of the engine
under acceleration had no effect on fuel distribution. Finally, the only new
car bug seemed to be the amount of oil that would accumulate in the rear valve
cover and spurt out behind the car. Removing the breather from that valve cover
solved that minor problem.
Don arrived in California the following week for a match race New Year's
Day at Fremont. It was rained out, so the next stop was a match race with Shirley
at Orange County International Raceway. In a test session the day prior to the
race Don made only one 3/4-pass, recording a 6.26 at 209 mph. Things looked
good so Don packed her into the trailer until the race.
The next evening Don and Shirley did battle three times. The best e.t.
he could muster was in the 6.40 range and the top speed was 223 mph. Needless
to say, Shirley took three out of three. Later, it was discovered that the SCS
gear box was partially destroyed. It seems that it needed a little more strength
than it did for the alcohol car. SCS builds gearboxes for tractor pullers, so
strength is not an unknown quantity. As soon as the beefed-up version is ready,
"Big Daddy" will be back on the track showing the new way for side-motored fuelers.
