Danny Ongais
Throughout the 2016 season, NHRA will celebrate 50 years of the Funny Car, which, after running throughout the 1966 season, made its official debut as an NHRA eliminator at that year’s season finale. One of the early stars in the class was Danny Ongais, who found success in Funny Car’s early years, particularly in 1969, when he won two of the category’s three trophies handed out that season.
Ongais, known as “The Flyin’ Hawaiian,” had a fairly short drag racing career that spanned from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, when he moved on to open-wheel racing, where he enjoyed a long and successful career. Though his drag racing career was short, Ongais definitely left an impression. In addition to scoring twice in Funny Car, Ongais won in the Top Gas class, and he competed in Top Fuel, recording a runner-up finish in that category. Following is a look at a few of the photos in Ongais’ National Dragster photo files.
Ongais’ first NHRA win came at the 1964 season opener, where he wheeled Roland Leong’s entry to victory in Top Gas. Interestingly, Ongais' final-round victory came against Mickey Thompson, whom Ongais would later team up with in Funny Car.
This photo of Ongais from 1966 is probably best described using the caption on the back of the original, which reads, “Before he became a championship IndyCar racer, Danny Ongais cut his racing teeth on the quarter-mile. At the wheel of the Harbor Honda Mangler, Ongais defeated [Don] Prudhomme in the 1966 [NHRA Nationals] Top Fuel semifinals and was runner-up to [Mike] Snively in the final.”
Ongais and Thompson show off the Mickey Thompson’s Mach 1 entry during a studio session. Ongais drove one of Thompson’s team Mustangs during 1968 and 1969.
Funny Car was contested at three events during the 1969 season, and Ongais was standing in the winner’s circle at two of those. After besting Tom McEwen at the Springnationals, Ongais outlasted Rich Siroonian to win the Nationals in Indy, where NHRA founder Wally Parks presented him the trophy.
Beginning in 1970 and continuing until he stepped away from drag racing, Ongais drove in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, sometimes at the same event. During that stretch, Ongais drove a variety of entries for a number of owners, and in 1972, he fielded his own entry, this front-engine dragster with an over-engine wing known as the Cox Mangler.