I know that I am a weird guy and I am OK with saying that out loud because when I watch a video like this, I feel myself getting emotional because of how cool the whole scene is. Just one of the coolest singular moments in the history of the US Nationals from the 1967 race where Don Garlits defeated the Ridge Route Terrors in the final round to claim top fuel victory and make his first run in the six second zone. This was a big deal at the time because Big had told the world that he would not shave until he ran a six and the fact is, Garlits was sporting a pretty healthy beard by the time he rolled into Indy. SPOILER ALERT: He gets the job done and what happened next will forever live in Indy lore. As the video shows, he returned to the starting line and throngs of fans swarmed him and his tow rig to watch the grooming session go down. There were so many people that Garlits climbed onto the hood of his truck and removed his fire jacket before Pat handed him the shaving cream and the razor. The shave was uneven but that mattered not. It was a great sign of triumph for a man who was hearing the cat calls for the first time in his career, but certainly not the last.

Yeah, in 1967 there was a contingent of loud mouthed, ill-informed, short sighted drag racing fans claiming that Don Garlits was done with. The world had passed him by and it was time for him to step aside and let the rest of the crowd dominate the sport. While a quaint thought, it was completely and utterly wrong. The best part of this video is difficult to pin point but hearing Garlits speak about overcoming the doubters is awesome. There’s also Keith Jackson’s call of the deal which is great because Jackson is young and his youth can be heard in his voice. There’s the moment when Pat leaps up on the truck and hands Don the razor and shaving cream, etc. It is so awesome all around you just have to watch it.

The neatest fun fact about this scene of all? A young man by the name of Bob Frey was in the fray around the pickup truck and saw it all happen with his own two eyes. Frey would go on to become of the the sport’s most lauded and respected announced.

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE DON GARLITS TRIUMPH AT THE 1967 US NATIONALS AND SYMBOLICALLY SHAVE HIS BEARD – AWESOME!