Norwalk, OH - Don Garlits, the greatest drag racer of all time will be the Hot Rod Hero of the Goodguys 9th Blue Suede Cruise August 20-22 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH. Garlits will be on hand throughout the weekend to sign autographs for fans, pose for pictures and make exhibition runs down the Norwalk quarter mile with one of his vintage “Swamp Rat” front engine dragsters.

Garlits is a fan favorite wherever he goes but Summit Motorsports Park has always felt extra homey to the “Swamp Rat.” Partly because he’s always had a close relationship to the Bader family and the fact that he has an entire grandstand at the Norwalk track named in his honor!

On track, there was nobody better or more innovative than “Big Daddy.” He won the world’s biggest drag race – “The Nationals” in Indianapolis eight times. Garlits was the ultimate hot rodder who built, tuned and drove his own race cars. Not only that, he towed his dragsters in his crew cab dually everywhere he went, his wife Pat, their children, and his trusty crewman and longtime friend TC Lemmons riding along shotgun. Indeed Garlits had a storybook career, one he couldn’t have possibly dreamed up when he first started racing out of he and his brother Ed’s body & paint shop in 1956 in Tampa. The drag racing media made their opinion clear that Garlits was the best drag racer the world ever produced when he was voted #1 on NHRA’s Top 50 Driver’s list in 2002.

His nicknames are many. “Big Daddy”, “Large Father”, “Big”, “Gar” and DG among others sum up Garlits’ larger than life persona. In fact, he was just as large and influential off the track as he was on track. In 1971, Richard Nixon had him as a guest at the white house. He was a regular fixture on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” familiarizing millions with the sport of drag racing. He was founder and president of the PRO (Professional Racers Organization). Las Vegas gave him a key to the city in 1984. An induction to the prestigious “Motorsports Hall of Fame” came in 1989.

“Big Daddy’s” living legacy and racecar design innovations are so significant that his record breaking Swamp Rat XXX is enshrined in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. How many hot rodders can say that?

Retiring from active competition in 2003, Garlits stays active by traveling to events such as the Blue Suede Cruise to interact with fans and display and drive his collection of vintage dragsters. He also spends quite a bit of time overseeing the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida as well various speaking engagements around the country.

Don’t miss your chance to meet Drag Racing’s greatest driver in person in Norwalk!