Drag-racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits failed to hit his intended target of getting the electric dragster of his to surpass the mythical 200-mile-per-hour mark, although he has managed to inch closer to his goal, and you can be dead sure that a man of his stature would definitely keep on trying along with the rest of his team. While Garlits did not touch the 200mph mark, his achievement of touching 184 miles per hour is also quite impressive.
Drag-racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits didn’t quite reach his goal of getting his electric dragster to break the 200-mile-per-hour mark. But he did come close enough to get his team to keep trying. And 184 miles per hour is nothing to sneeze at. The 82-year-old Garlits, racing his SR-37 dragster at Florida’s Brandenton Motorsports Park on Wednesday, did a half-dozen quarter-mile runs, with the final trip down the asphalt resulting in late chute deployment and a bit of vehicle damage (Garlits was unhurt). And while his first trial run topped out at a relatively leisurely 129 mph (the car was only throttled at 30-percent power), and a couple more saw a breaker pop, he made his final run in 7.26 seconds and maxed out at 184.01 mph. The driver might look the part but no, this isn’t your grandpa’s Prius.
