Showcasing 200 vehicles on 65,000 sf of space, the facility is a popular destination for both. BUY- Don Garlits Big Daddy autographed photo of Swamp Rat 6 (1964) Swamp Rat 14 is currently housed and on display at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida. I could have spent longer, but we needed to move on up the road. Within 2 years, front-engine dragsters became extinct in top fuel racing. Many of the cars are from Garlits’ personal collection, but a lot of them have been donated over the years by thoughtful and generous owners. And that is just in one building! A second building houses hundreds of mostly stock cars from the 30s forward. Garlits has assembled an impressive collection of not only his own cars, but cars from the history of drag racing. We listened to a few stories before they disappeared behind a door that said “Employees Only.” Highlight of our visit, of course, was that “Big Daddy” himself was there, giving a personal tour to a small group of fans. But there were way too many cars, and even this is a small sliver of what we saw. Here are way too many photos from our visit. □ Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Yes, it was another museum, and art of a different kind than painting and glass! And of course Kathy was thrilled to have something else to look at besides airplanes. □ Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, FloridaĪs we were driving past Ocala, FL on I-75, I saw a sign that said “Drag Racing Museum Next Exit.” Then I saw whose museum it was! We didn’t have time to stop on our way south, but made a point to visit on the way back home from St. The Drag Racing building has a collection of world famous, history making, Dragsters, Funny. The Antique building has one of the largest collections of Fords in the country, you will also see muscle cars, rare vintage automobiles and nostalgia. Garlits’ name is to drag racing fans what Richard Petty’s or Mario Andretti’s names are to stock car and Indy car racing. The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing and International Drag Racing Hall of Fame is open daily from 9am-5pm, closed only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If I had any boyhood heroes that weren’t astronauts, one of them would certainly be drag racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida Actually, I just kind of got distracted and forgot that I hadn’t finished the series from our Florida trip. Whew! After the (not) overwhelming response from my last post I needed a break. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits himself! Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida
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