Women comprise nearly 20 percent of its staff with many in the engineering department. After setting fastest lap of the race at the Indy 500 despite his rookie status, he went on to clinch victory at Michigan. We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. (Though Indianapolis Motor Speedway had listed Ongais as the only Indy 500 driver from Hawaii, Bill Alsup, the 11th-place finisher in the 1981 race also was born in Honolulu, but his racing career primarily was built in the continental U.S.). Although he was clipped on the chest by a flying tire from his wrecked racer and confined to Methodist Hospital in fair condition with a concussion, Ongais was hoping to be ready to remount in time to qualify on the second weekend. Hills, California, from congestive cardiovascular collapse, but not because of any accident. He then competed at the Gould Twin Dixie 125 however bad luck hit Ongais in both races. READ ALSO: Danny Ongais Wife - Was Danny Ongais Married? The team also has been aggressive outside racing. The guys in IndyCar racing called him The Ghost from the Coast. , (Be sure to read the end of this column for more from Prudhomme, who says some very kind and impressive things about Ongais.). It made you sad that he ran out of fuel because it would have been something to see if he could have produced anything to beat me or if I could have beat him. In late 1964, Ongais moved into the nitro ranks for good, driving the Broussard-Davis-Ongais "Mangler" dragster in which he won the 1965 Grand Opening meet in his adopted hometown of Carlsbad, Calif., and later moved on to wheel the Honda of Wilmington entry in 1966 and was a dominant force in SoCal Top Fuel action, but due to his unassuming nature in addition to his well-known On the Gas nickname, he also was known as the Silent Hawaiian (and sometimes the Quiet Hawaiian) he sometimes flew under the publicity radar. I won the race. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Starting last, Ongais finished 7th in what was his final 500. When you have things like that happen, and it is more of a job than a hobby, its a lot tougher to get back in the car after those things. He also won eight poles in qualifying. 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. Ongais was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 in the Drag Racing category. No ones ever going to say weve got everything figured out. He finished runner-up to Mike Snively in the Top Fuel class at the 1966 NHRA U.S. Nationals after beating the legendary Don The Snake Prudhomme in the semifinals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 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. Jim Chapman, race boss for Interscope Racing, said no one was very familiar with him. WebWas Danny Ongais Married? 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 How much he loves IndyCar. Honestly, this team comes from humble beginnings in the IndyCar world. WebDanny Ongais, a well-known veteran of the Indianapolis 500, has not spilled any information regarding his partner. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a14578fbd9028fa Chapman said that he discovered that Ongais was married and had a child for quite some time. Click to reveal For the 1980 season Interscope was intending to use their own chassis with a Porsche V6 engine. Ongais win at Riverside was especially memorable as his dragster broke after final-round opponent Gordon Collett red-lighted, so, as was the rule back then, Ongais had to push his car the length of the quarter-mile to trip the win light. Zak also leads the charge in that. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Also, we have no idea about his brother and sister, and we dont know their names either. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, he was ranked 39th. Ongais had a sixth sense, so he could detect the car almost before it started to move and get out of shape. View their obituary at Legacy.com flowers and lei are welcomed He is survived by wife, Patricia P. Ongais of Keaau; Nielsen was hard-core Ongais all the way, peppering me with facts and stats to prove his case, so, naturally, I reached out to ask for his parting thoughts on Ongais. Ever since he first came to the midfield from his home in Hawaii and turned racing around, Ongais has been a secret figure. From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. Its more about were happy and want people to know, and word spreads that this is a place thats trying to be good to its people and gunning for the very top. Danny was a great guy. Born in 1942 in the wake of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, Ongais grew up in Kahului on the island of Maui, and he raced BSA motorcycles as a teenager before he was introduced to the dragstrip by some friends. Phil Burgess can be reached at[emailprotected], Hundreds of more articles like this can be found in theDRAGSTER INSIDER COLUMN ARCHIVE, Or try theRandom Dragster Insider story generator, Long before Danny Ongais became a household name as a revered IndyCar driver, he belonged to the world of drag racing, where he first sated his need for speed. She tried so hard for him, but he wouldn`t cooperate.''. In 1978 he won five races and was the hottest driver on the circuit. The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. 25 Parnelli and Penske cars powered by Cosworth engines, with a best finish of fourth in 1979 and an excellent start of second near assistant Tom Snow in 1978. Ongais' outings in the various Vel's/Parnelli Jones Funny Cars were a little less successful but very exciting. The times I got to know him; he was one that you always admired. The car went to Al Unser Sr who went on to win a record-tying 4th Indianapolis 500. He was a good guy. Indianapolis became his bete noir. He refuses to talk about his parents or his boyhood in Hawaii. The best season for Ongais and the Interscope team came in 1978, when he won five races and eight poles en route to an eighth-place finish in the USAC standings. Ongais ended the season in 15th place in points. That was the same year that Ongais became an Indy car winner. He also raced in Formula One, in 1977-78, in six Grands Prix, recording a best result of seventh. Weve really tried to stretch ourselves to find the best and the brightest no matter where they live, Scott said. [2], Ongais was born in Kahului, Hawaii, on May 21, 1942. We let him drive my car, and his first run was as good as any I ever made. RIP Danny Ongais pic.twitter.com/AqJW32Ko2o, Arie Luyendyk (@ArieLuyendyk) March 1, 2022. 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. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Ongais` life took a wrong turn up a one-way street Thursday, when he destroyed his most precious possession. 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. Thats the difference. He was a good guy. After a 9-year hiatus from racing, Ongais was asked by John Menard to fill in for Scott Brayton who was killed during Friday Practice for the 1996 Indianapolis 500. Pole-sitter Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a post-qualifying practice crash, and team owner John Menard hired Ongais as the replacement driver. Shes like, Absolutely. . Danny, the way he picked it up, was like a duck to water, Mario Andretti told NBC Sports. We came together with a big hug. That is what I liked about individuals like that.. ''He just doesn`t want to let anyone into his life,'' says the friend. And thats across the board, both commercial and operational. The rides with major teams that could have been his went to less talented but more malleable men. Jody Scott, McLarens director of people who joined the team a year ago from Anthem, Inc. (now Elevance Health), said there was no target for the number of hires outside motorsports. The green flag came out, and we ran side-by-side 220 mph for about 21 laps, sashaying at each other, side-by-side. Because its so easy to get sucked into a more corporate environment. 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. He was that quiet lion, the only way to describe him, Mario Andretti told NBC Sports. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the IndyCar Series in the late 1970s. Gundlach, who recently was announced as a finalist for Indys Best and Brightest, previously worked cars that won two championships with Scott Dixon at Ganassi. Not sharp like Johnny Rutherford or deep like Bobby Rahal, but he`s certainly intelligent enough.''. Danny let his racing do his talking for him, thats for sure., Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500. RIP, my friend. At his first race of the season, the Indianapolis 500 Ongais started 16th and finished 7th. We may earn money from the links on this page. Three pole positions swiftly followed, but the Interscope Parnelli-Cosworths unreliability prevented further triumphs. He was intense and good. Danny Ongais competed in 11 Indianapolis 500 starts, completing mostly good times between 1977 and 1996. 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. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the IndyCar Series in the late 1970s. WebMotor sports and racing legend Danny Ongais passed away on February 26, 2022 at 3:15pm of congestive heart failure at his home in Anaheim Hills, CA, that he shared with Maximizing and encouraging people to bring ideas to the table is so often overlooked in motorsports,, Rossi said. Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired by fans and competitors for his speed and bravery in an Indianapolis 500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, California. His racing career was paused as he served a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, where he became an elite Airborne paratrooper. He did his own thing. He possesses in-depth Sports Journalism experience with a proven record of achievements in creating and delivering high quality engaging media content. At times, Ongais drove both the trademark orange Vels Mustang Funny Car and Flying Doorstop Top Fueler at the same event; in the dragster, he set the national speed record at 243.24 mph at the 1972 Supernationals at Ontario Motor Speedway in what was the sports first 240-plus-mph national record. I think weve got a very good tribe of people here, and part of that includes just diversity of humans in general, Gundlach said. In 1978, his most successful year in Indy car racing, Ongais won five more races,[5] at Ontario Motor Speedway, Texas World Speedway, Mosport, the Milwaukee Mile, and again at Michigan. Weve got all these new people, all this new equipment, Ward said. Weve expanded our operations pretty significantly, she said. Ongais was known to be a hermit and quiet man who did not give many meetings and uncovered the least about his life outside of bullying. Hes a great personality to the team. Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCars next winning match-up? ''He could take a car that was unmanageable and make it do what he wanted,'' says one observer. Super positive. He crashed again in 1982, and then came Thursday`s wrenching collision with the wall. Thompson and Ongais also teamed up to set nearly 300 national and international speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Mach 1 Mustang during the 1960s. Tommy Ivo and the five-second Top Fuel run that ignited a controversy, Wheelie neat! All registered. But auto racing is unlike any other sport. At the Indianapolis 500 Ongais crashed in practice and this put Ongais in jeopardy of not being able to compete. The Flyin`. Getting out of the car, Ongais pushed it the length of the quarter-mile dragstrip to claim the championship. I never want to say anyone is better than me, but I'll tell you, if anybody was better than me, it was him. 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