And Penske said he would have a car ready for him. Those are the nice things that people want out of family who do this.. Pole sitter Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a post-qualifying practice crash, and team owner John Menard hired Ongais as the replacement driver. Interscope then bought a new Shadow chassis for him to race but he was unable to qualify at Long Beach and also in the Netherlands later in the season. Facebook gives people the power to share and He could cut a light and get down any track.. Its a big focus to get the McLaren brand out in the world and do good content, which I think were probably the leading team in that sense now. Weve got to take care of our people through those hard stretches, but for the most part, its a little less time away, the travels not quite so far. 25 Parnelli and Penske chassis powered by Cosworth engines, with a best finish of fourth in 1979 and a top start of second next to pole sitter Tom Sneva in 1978. In 1969, Ongais won the NHRA Spring Nationals and NHRA U.S. Nationals in the Funny Car class driving a Mickey Thompson Ford Mustang. Hes happy to be here; were happy to have him.. As good as he was on two wheels and all indications are that he was very good he was equally as good or better on four wheels and quickly won the Island Championships and Outstanding Driver of the Year awards. All we can do is look across what corporations and companies are doing when people tell us we could do better in one space or another, she said. We obviously have the resources to tap into and the shared knowledge of the greater McLaren Racing group. That is what I liked about individuals like that.. WebDanny Ongais, the only Hawaiian to drive in the Indy 500 and one of the most versatile drivers of his era, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, Sometimes its easy to forget that, but I think were doing a good job here. He entered the season with the Ensign team, in a year-old N177 chassis, and retired in Argentina and Brazil with brake problems. NASCAR 2023 at Las Vegas schedule, entry list, and how to watch, NASCAR 2023 at Las Vegas schedule, entry list, and how to watch This remarkable achievement came one year after the 1981 race where he broke his right leg so badly that a piece of bone shot out of his firesuit and was found a day later stuck in the dirt outside of the track wall. Even his closest friends know little of Even his closest friends know little of his personal life. I had probably the best race other than the one I had with AJ Foyt in 1974, but Danny and I were racing at Michigan in 1978, Rutherford told NBC Sports. And thats across the board, both commercial and operational. We let him drive my car, and his first run was as good as any I ever made. A look at seven decades of wild, wheelstanding crowdpleasers, Altered States, Part 2: Breakage, tears, and fears, but ultimately a success story, Altered States: Fear and loathing (and a lot of thrills) on the quarter-mile, Ed 'the Outlaw' Jones: Living life on two wheels for more than 45 years, You never know with nitro: A look back at seven great Funny Car upset wins, Everyone loves an underdog: Here's a list of five great Top Fuel upsets, 30 years ago: The 1992 NHRA season was a year full of historic firsts, Female Pro Stock pioneer Shay Nichols: A life well lived (and then some), Magnificent Seven: A history of female racers in NHRA Pro Stock competition, On the Gas: The drag racing life and times of Danny Ongais, By The Numbers: Pro Stock readies for 900th event 'birthday' in Pomona, That was then, this is now: A look back at the NHRA season 50 years ago. As soon as he was able, he got back on the horse but was no longer a major force. F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: How to watch on TV in the USA on ESPN, How Liberty is "playing long game" to help F1 teams make money, How Liberty is "playing long game" to help F1 teams make money We lost this treasured piece of history last Saturday when The Flyin Hawaiian, one of the greatest exports from the 50th state, passed away from congestive heart complications at age 79. Wow, thats some high praise. 6 Chevy, is entering his third season at Arrow McLaren and said its been virtually seamless as the team doubled in size. He had that natural ability to drive anything he climbed into. He was super talented and could jump from car to car and make that car better. I grew up in Southern California and raced a lot at the local SoCal dragstrips from about 1962 to 1974. And wants to make this something special. But when you look back, I think obviously marketing and that kind of stuff is becoming pretty huge in our team. In 1962, Ongais was part of Leongs dragster crew at the Winternationals, where they won the Long Distance and Best Appearing awards. ''That`s his life, racing.''. Scott said Arrow McLaren has lost only three team members since last years Sept. 11 finale at Laguna Seca, an unheard-of number that she attributes to working hard on trying to give back to employees with extra cash and time off. 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). He was a true talent. More of the same followed in 78. But there are teams in this paddock that have been investing in software heavily for a decade, and now you want to play catch up in a year. Since arriving in the fall of 2019 at the former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, she said she has watched Arrow McLaren grow while maintaining its gritty origins. We came together with a big hug. The starting blast damaged the electronics, and the Funny Car final used a flag start, and Ongais defeated Prudhomme for the win. With sponsorship dollars generally on the rise in IndyCar, and manufacturer money pouring into rival series such as IMSA and F1, it likely never has been harder for hiring across U.S. motorsports. Because its so easy to get sucked into a more corporate environment. In 1985, Ongais also survived a spectacular barrel-roll at Michigan International Speedway after hitting the back of the slower car of Phil Krueger on the backstretch. Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCars next winning match-up? 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. I think we want people who want to be with the team, so its not so much about trying to headhunt people, he said. I think thatll grow into a bigger, better version of a big team than there is. People are hungry and people feel like were out here to do damage.. I always wanted to be like him. Jim Nelson once said that what he could tell about Ongais was that "all he wanted to do was race. Some of the new faces are at the very top. But we are sure that it is not available and his spouses name is not available. He also won eight poles in qualifying. He and renowned innovator Mickey Thompson set nearly 300 national and international speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Mach 1 Mustang during the 1960s. Thats exciting. Honestly, there was already so much talent in the group, and I feel like so much more has been added on which is just going to help us to really get us where we want to be.. For Ongais it was the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to resurrect a shattered career. He was a good guy. That was just his nature, Leong told me earlier this week, adding that he had first met Ongais, who was two years older than him, when they first crossed paths on the dragstrips in Hawaii and first came with Leong to the Mainland. Did Danny Ongais have children? How much does an F1 car weigh in 2023 and what's included in the limit? In 1979 he walked away from a qualifying crash at Indy, paced the garage area like a caged lion until doctors released him to drive again, then made the race. Ongais ended the season in 15th place in points. Its like nothing Ive ever seen before.. Represented at Indianapolis by Thompson`s sister, Colleen Campbell, Ongais occasionally allowed himself to be interviewed. NHRA history: Is it real or Artificial Intelligence? Pole-sitter Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a post-qualifying practice crash, and team owner John Menard hired Ongais as the replacement driver. In addition to Grace Hackenberg, Gundlach also played a role in the teams acquisition of systems engineer Lizzie Todd, who came from previous roles at Andretti and Penske. Born in Kahului, Hawaii on May 21, 1942, Ongais remains the first driver from the Aloha State to race in the Indianapolis 500, and hes an appropriate pioneer as May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Its a mentality shift thats good. In 1978 he won five races and was the hottest driver on the circuit. [3] When he was aged 14, he tested out motorbike racing with some success. Im new to this role; hes lived it before. WebINDIANAPOLIS Danny Ongais, the first and highest-finishing Hawaiian starter at the Indy 500, also might have been one of the hardest chargers in the races storied history. Now, his relationship is perfect. We may earn money from the links on this page. [4], In 1977, Ongais ran his first full season in Indy cars. Click to reveal That comes from a focus on the culture of the team. Every so often, a guy comes along, somebody that really catches your attention, that impresses you, and, for me, he was that guy, Prudhomme said. He was later discharged and returned to Hawaii for motor racing. Arrow McLaren was known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before McLaren gradually became the majority owner in mid-2021. He was 79. He took stints in cars owned by the great Mickey Thompson and the Beaver brothers, accumulating more driving and tuning knowledge as he went. In Sundays Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Gundlach and Hackenberg (a damper specialist who also works on pit stops) will begin their third year together in the engineering department of Arrow McLaren as the team enters its most critical season yet in trying to become a perennial powerhouse championship contender. Weve done a bit of that. His expansive Rolodex comes in handy but hasnt been key in expanding to a third car. Penske looks for three things when hiring a driver, and the ability to go fast is the last of the three. He decided to remain private regarding her life and relationship. Ongais had always expressed a desire to drive an Indianapolis 500 car. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. A sense of humor. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway detailed his death two days after the fact. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, he was ranked 39th. I mean, listen I've done well in drag racing, and I've driven Top Fuel and Funny Car, but so had Danny, but he even went two or three steps further, driving an Indy car and hauling ass and in IMSA cars. Ricou Browning cause of death: How did Ricou Browning die? He also raced in Formula One, in 1977-78, in six Grands Prix, recording a best result of seventh. Ongais was the only native Hawaiian to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Ongais dominated in SCCA competition in 1974, catching the eye of young media mogul Ted Field, who had recently founded the Interscope Records label. 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