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retro
formerly known as vortex

Australia
33 Posts
joined 21 Aug 03
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Posted - 02 Mar 2004 : 17:54:52

Coming Soon: On the Big Screen

Don Garlits won't be driving his Top Fuel dragster in competition this year, but he will be driving his racecars down the drag strip just the same. That's because instead of racing in NHRA competition, Garlits will be driving his dragsters on a movie set.

After a long time in the planning stages, the story of Don Garlits' life is finally going to make it onto the silver screen. That's because shooting starts soon on a feature-length movie about the life of the drag racing legend.

"I'm not going to be racing. We're going to be shooting a movie," Garlits said, who said he is not yet able to talk about who will be playing the starring role or who will be directing the film. "They (the film's producers) are talking to directors right now. It's not a documentary. It's a theatrical production. We have a $65 million budget. It should win an Academy Award," he predicted.

While Garlits won't be acting in the film, he will have two important roles. ""I'll be doing all the driving in my cars. I'll also be a consultant on rest of film," he said.

Garlits said that he enjoyed racing his Top Fuel dragster � Swamp Rat 34 � during the 2003 season. "I had a good time because I came out at Gainesville and went the fastest I've ever been," he said. Garlits did not qualify for that race and had a best elapsed time of 4.761 seconds and a top speed of 323.04 miles per hour.

"Then I went to Atlanta, qualified and raced Brandon Bernstein in the first round," he continued. At Atlanta, Garlits qualified in the 16th position, with a 4.788 second ET at 319.98 miles per hour. In the first round, Garlits had a quicker start than Bernstein, but was unable to hold the lead against the rookie driver. Interesting, that race marked the first time that Garlits had faced off against a driver named Bernstein in competition rounds.

"We had some problems at Columbus, " Garlits said. "Then I had a good time at Indy and I just missed out on that." Garlits was not able to qualify for the NHRA national event at Indianapolis, with a best ET of 4.776 seconds against a bump time of 4.683 seconds. In June at Columbus, Garlits had a nasty run in the final round of qualifying when his car went sideways and almost tipped over as he fought to keep it from going over the wall.

Though Garlits won't be racing his Summit Top Fuel dragster this year, fans can get a close look at the car in the Summit retail store in Tallmadge, Ohio. All fans need to do is go into the store and look up, to see one of Garlits' dragsters hanging from the ceiling.

"That's my first mono-wing car," Garlits said. "We decaled it to look like the car I raced last year. It's on loan to Summit and will be there for the next 11 years."

In addition to working on a film about his life this year, Garlits is also planning to spend time working on cars for his drag racing museum in Ocala Florida,

"We're currently finishing the 1957 Buick dragster that my brother raced in 1957," Garlits said. "It's a runner," he continued, explaining that the Buick dragster driven by his brother, Ed, will be able to make passes down the quarter mile.

"We're also working on the last dragster raced by Gary Cochran," he said. "It was the last slingshot dragster."

When the museum obtained the "Mr. C." slingshot dragster, it was equipped with a Chevy engine and Powerglide transmission. That means that Garlits is going to have to put together the correct Hemi engine and drivetrain combination in order to restore the car. "I'm just starting to put together the correct engine for it," Garlits said. "It will be a runner too."

Garlits said that after his work on the film about his life is complete, he may drive his brother's car, the Cochran car and other cars from the museum collection at nostalgia meets in 2005, explaining the he can't drive them this year because of his commitment to working on the film. "I've got to keep all my time open because I have to be on the set every day," he explained.

The only details that I can find out so far is that the movie budget is $65 million US.

Edited by - retro on 08 Mar 2004 15:16:59

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