We may earn money from the links on this page. He first raced at the Arizona Republic/Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway where he qualified 4th and led for several laps only to drop out after 128 laps due to engine problems. If he was running at the end, you couldnt count him out. The caution wasnt that long, but we started side-by-side to finish the race. He would get an award, step up to the microphone and just say, Thank you and then sit down. WebDanny Ongais (May 21, 1942 February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver . WebFilling the No. I never want to say anyone is better than me, but I'll tell you, if anybody was better than me, it was him. He was intense and good. In this So far as anyone knows, he has nothing to hide.''. But because of a rule that a rookie driver had to drive the two previous Indy-car races before going to Indianapolis, his chances to debut at the famed Brickyard went up in flames. Danny Ongais Net Worth Explored Indy car racer Danny Ongais total assets are estimated to be around $5 million. 4. He was 79 Ongais had always expressed a desire to drive an Indianapolis 500 car. That stems more from drag racing. NASCAR 2023 at Las Vegas schedule, entry list, and how to watch, NASCAR 2023 at Las Vegas schedule, entry list, and how to watch Its collegiate students wanting to grow a career. How Liberty is "playing long game" to help F1 teams make money, Nigel Mansells greatest F1 and Indycar drives, Nigel Mansells greatest drives Hills, California, from congestive cardiovascular collapse, but not because of any accident. A driver cannot let skill alone speak for him. For Penske the hiring of Ongais was an aberration, a minor breach of his own immutable rules. We come back between most races. READ ALSO: Danny Ongais Wife - Was Danny Ongais Married? I think weve done a great job of that. [Related Insider column: Whatever came of the famed Blue Mustang?]. Ongais had some of the biggest, hardest crashes in Indianapolis 500 history. While deployed in Europe in the early 1960s, he also got his first taste of sports-car racing that would become one of his many fortes later in his career. He initially drove the #65 Interscope Racing March 83C-Chevrolet V6, however, that car was replaced with the #25 March 83C-Cosworth DFX. Ongais had a sixth sense, so he could detect the car almost before it started to move and get out of shape. We started from a team that had always been competitive and hungry to find the very last bit, and that is still the backbone here that came from the small, really hungry team. He suffered a concussion, compound fractures in both legs, a broken arm and a 6-inch tear in his diaphragm. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper stationed in Europe. He was 79. Press Esc to cancel. WebOngais has been a man of mystery since he first arrived on the mainland from his native Hawaii and set the world of drag racing on its ear. The group of people that are in charge (of) who joins the team, I think they know exactly what we need, and I trust theyre going to make the right decisions. Staffing has been a top priority at Arrow McLaren for Ward, who says he initially was nave to how hard it is to recruit for talent right now in this sport. He suffered a lot of serious crashes. [15] His former Indy car competitors remembered him well after his passing, with Mario Andretti calling him that quiet lion.[16], (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position). That is still here fueling this and educating all the new people coming in to continue that mentality. I think thatll grow into a bigger, better version of a big team than there is. As I have posted roles throughout this last year, Ive found a large number of youths all around the world thats interested in getting into motorsports. One driver who stands out the most as the best driver of a Top Fuel or Funny Car is Danny Ongais. When is Danny Ongais funeral? I think its a more family friendly way to go racing. Ongais scored another 4th-place finish at the Kent Oil 150 at Watkins Glen International and finished in 6th place in points. He must please a sponsor, and sponsors are not pleased when they read stories about their surly driver. What you saw is what you got. Ongais had virtually lived with the Thompson family, and Campbell considered him a brother. and he has been married to his wife Driver Danny Ongais acknowledges cheers June 10, 1978, after winning the Molson Diamond Indy race at Mosport in Ontario, Canada. He was 79. Nigel Mansells greatest F1 and Indycar drives, How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, How Ericsson unlocked his potential His most notable years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were with Interscope Racing and their handsome No. Ongais was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 in the Drag Racing category. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Ongais also began drag racing in the early 60s and became one of the top straight-line competitors in America into the early 1970s. NHRA history: Is it real or Artificial Intelligence? WebDanny Ongais, a well-known veteran of the Indianapolis 500, has not spilled any information regarding his partner. 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. They soon began taking chunks out of Danny Ongais` hide. In 1996, at the age of 54, after nine years away from racing, he served as the substitute driver in the Indianapolis 500 for Scott Brayton, who had died in a crash before the race. The mothers name is Not Available. The 1978 Michigan victory would turn out to be the final Indy car victory of Ongais' career. 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. They are in relation from previous few years of a strong relationship. Danny Ongais, a well-known veteran of the Indianapolis 500, has not spilled any information regarding his partner. ''He says he doesn`t want to talk,'' said Penske, after making a personal plea to Ongais to grant an interview. Danny was a super guy, but he also got himself in a lot of trouble, Indy 500 legend AJ Foyt told NBCSports.com. Officials had to cut open the car to help Ongais out. The Arrow McLaren organizational hierarchy was restructured with last years departure of Taylor Kiel (who left to become team manager for Ganassi). I think that also helps to diversify the portfolio of talent that we have internally and the ability to learn from one another and grow as a team.. Two years later he qualified on the front row and led for four laps before crashing again. People are hungry and people feel like were out here to do damage.. Ongais scored a best finish of 5th place at the Escort Warning Radars 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He finished the season in 20th place in points. Also, we have no idea about his brother and sister, and we dont know their names either. ''You`ll be lucky to win $250 the whole season here,'' he was told. In the unlikeliest alliance since Rocky joined forces with Apollo Creed, Ongais had contracted to drive a single race for Penske, the May 24 Indianapolis 500. In this week's Dragster Insider, friends and fellow racers remember the guy nicknamed On the Gas.. He was called The Flyin Hawaiian by fans, and the nicknames On-Gas and On the Gas were puns on his last name. Thats exciting. In 1969 he won the NHRA Spring Nationals and NHRA U.S. Nationals in the Funny Car class driving a Ford Mustang for Mickey Thompson. But the fact that he could finish only eighth in the championship attests to the cars poor finishing record. It is in this last area that Ongais has always failed. Thats the difference. A head-on shunt in the 1981 Indy 500 left him recuperating for the remainder of the season while four years later at Michigan he went into a barrel-roll after launching off the back of another car. Honda reveals Civic Type R pace car for IndyCar events, Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021, The top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021 The highlight of their sports car endeavours during this time was a victory in the 1979 24 Hours of Daytona, with Ongais and Field sharing their Interscope Porsche 935 with Hurley Haywood.[6]. 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. Ward noted two important additions from the world of Big Data and analytics in data and strategy lead Michael Gethers (who came from Salesforce) and engineer Eric Hestekin (who arrived from Boeing Defense). WebWas Danny Ongais Married? Carrying too much speed out of the turn, the car drifted out into the grey and the back end began to slide. All logos and images are reserved. Ward said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, who also oversees the F1 team, attended more IndyCar races last year and will continue to be a more constant presence this year as the team ramps up. [7] He missed the rest of the CART year to recover in rehabilitation. He ran his last Indy Car race the next year, in the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, with Chitwood Motorsports, where he finished 13th. Our car experts choose every product we feature. Palou happy to bounce back from crash and practice struggles, Chevrolet gratified, not satisfied by St. Pete IndyCar win, Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP, announces WEC plans, Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP He loved what he was doing. 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. 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. Virtually all that is known of Ongais is a matter of public record. To him, the hardest part of the project came in deciding on a name for the car. Usually, however, he spent words as if they were pearls. 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. Ongais came into the pits on lap 63 as the leader of the race, but problems during the stop caused it to drag on for a disastrous 46 seconds. A good guy to have a conversation with. ''He just doesn`t want to let anyone into his life,'' says the friend. Zak also leads the charge in that. Then weve got some really experienced guys from other IndyCar teams as well.. We needed to fill the car communicator role, and Alex was pretty happy with (Barnhart) previously, Ward said. The engineering is growing more slowly but continuously. Ongais finished in 3rd place at the Detroit News Grand Prix at Michigan International Speedway. 39 on the list of the Top 50 Racers in 2000, the same year that he served as the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion grand marshal and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Danny Ongais (May 21, 1942 February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver. 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. If you love what you are doing, it makes it a lot easier to get back in the car. After setting fastest lap of the race at the Indy 500 despite his rookie status, he went on to clinch victory at Michigan. 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 Thats what we like to avoid doing because you lose a little of the human touch that way. Rest in peace, Danny Ongais.. I think weve got a very good tribe of people here, and part of that includes just diversity of humans in general, Gundlach said. I messaged her on Instagram, Hey, I think youre super cool, youre really killing it, and if you ever want to work in IndyCar, let me know, Gundlach told NBC Sports. His way has, in effect, betrayed his talent and denied his intellect. Except Ongais, and he wasn`t talking. I think the vibe is fantastic. In the late 1950s, Ongais enlisted in the United States Army as a paratrooper stationed in Europe. The starting blast damaged the electronics, and the Funny Car final used a flag start, and Ongais defeated Prudhomme for the win. He was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. run as the Daytona 3 Hour Continental (196263), 24 Hours of Daytona (196671/ 1973/ 1975present), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 02:44. He also recorded the fastest lap of the race, 192.678 mph, as a rookie in 1977. We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. We obviously have the resources to tap into and the shared knowledge of the greater McLaren Racing group. The car went to Al Unser Sr who went on to win a record-tying 4th Indianapolis 500. People get to see how much enthusiasm Zak brings. I got to spend time with Danny at the [Indy] Speedway, and I just watched him do his thing, and he was magnificent. This time they carried him away, his body broken almost beyond repair. Because its so easy to get sucked into a more corporate environment. Arrow McLaren still has done much of its hiring through the paddocks traditional word of mouth manner. 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