This weekend’s 2020 NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals will be historic, we already know that. Why? Well unless your internet, radio, television, and homing pigeon are broken you know that the world is grappling with Coronavirus and while many events have been cancelled, the race will go on. Back in 2002 it was not Coronavirus that the teams at the Gators were fighting, it was the weather, a new tire, and a hot track that had the best tuners in the world flummoxed. Don Garlits came to the race in 2002 with Swamp Rat 34 his awesome and (tech-wise) controversial top fuel dragster.
This is the famed mono strut car which had other innovations like fuel running through the chassis, the “Rat Under Glass” canopy, and other tweaks that Garlits thought modern top fuel cars needed. It was a back and forth between Gar and the NHRA tech department to get the car legal to run and when they were at the track it was a back and forth between Garlits and the other cars on the grounds to make the field. There were 19 cars in attendance at this race for the Top Fuel category as we pick up the story below, Garlits is effectively sitting 19th after three sessions of qualifying.
Legends attempting to make this race include Shirley Muldowney, Chris Karamesines, and of course Big Daddy. How did they fare? Did any of them make the field? All of them? The video below tells the story and we think you’ll dig watching it!
wow
Did the swamp Rat 34 ever qualify for an event? It was so far ahead of its time in so many ways. There had never been anyone like Big. Designing, building, tuning AND driving.