It is a fun group. While practicing for his first Indy-car race at Hanford, Calif., his car caught fire on the. Shes a complete unicorn and super hard worker. As a statement from Indianapolis Motor Speedway pointed out, Ongais was known not only for his huge speed, but also surviving some violent crashes. Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired by fans and competitors for his speed and bravery in an Indianapolis 500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, California. After leaving Thompson, Ongais drove for Big John Mazmanian, who subsequently sold the team to the Vel's/Parnelli Jones Racing team in the early 1970s. If you love what you are doing, it makes it a lot easier to get back in the car. [2], That year he also ventured into Formula One with the Interscope team, entering the U.S. and Canadian Grands Prix at the end of the season in a year-old Penske PC4. Usually its me calling him for comment on someone whos passed, but this time he called me (he was, in fact, the first person to tell me of Ongais passing). Ongais was known to be a hermit and quiet man who did not give many meetings and uncovered the least about his life outside of bullying. He was a motorcycle champion in Hawaii when he decided to come to the mainland United States and go racing. We want to pull the best of the world of motor racing and beyond. ''You`ll be lucky to win $250 the whole season here,'' he was told. To him, the hardest part of the project came in deciding on a name for the car. Arrow McLaren uses applicant tracking software to determine the best matches on background, education and experience. Ongais is the only native of Hawaii to start in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Fans included his heritage in his nickname The Flyin Hawaiian, and nicknames On-Gas and On the Gas were word plays on his last name. Longtime followers of this column are well aware of Ongais greatest quarter-mile accomplishments behind the wheel of Mickey Thompsons Mustang Funny Car in 1969, but his love of going fast was deeply rooted long before then. I think the general direction of the team, just kind of goals and ambitions, you can feel that everyones targeting something different than they did two years ago. After a long pit stop, Ongais hit the Brickyard hard to make up for the 46-second stop. Switching to the top-fuel category, he racked up an eight-month winning streak, toured Europe and became the first driver ever to hit 200 miles an hour on a British dragstrip. He might show up and talk to you for a while and then youd look around and hed be gone. But he continued to build a wall of silence around himself. Drag racing, that's been my life, but for Danny, it was just part of where he wanted to go, and he sure got there.. He suffered a lot of serious crashes. [Related Insider column: Whatever came of the famed Blue Mustang?]. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the Indy car Series in the late 1970s. Then weve got some really experienced guys from other IndyCar teams as well.. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. After setting fastest lap of the race at the Indy 500 despite his rookie status, he went on to clinch victory at Michigan. 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. Type above and press Enter to search. Burial site and Find a Grave details, Ricou Browning funeral, burial service, pictures, date, time, venue. WebINDIANAPOLIS Danny Ongais, the first and highest-finishing Hawaiian starter at the Indy 500, also might have been one of the hardest chargers in the races storied history. The rest of the year he raced only sports cars.[2]. Not sharp like Johnny Rutherford or deep like Bobby Rahal, but he`s certainly intelligent enough.''. Ongais was the only native Hawaiian to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Born in Kahului, Hawaii on May 21, 1942, Ongais remains the first driver from the Aloha State to race in the Indianapolis 500, and hes an appropriate pioneer as May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Autoweek participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. He also competed in four Formula One races in 1977 and 1978, including two starts with Interscope, with a best finish of seventh in 1977 at the Canadian Grand Prix. Before his championship run with Penske, Ward spent more than 12 years as an aerodynamicist and engineer with the Red Bull F1 team. Except Ongais, and he wasn`t talking. He was fast. After a 9-year hiatus from racing, Ongais was asked by John Menard to fill in for Scott Brayton who was killed during Friday Practice for the 1996 Indianapolis 500. 2 at 11:30 a.m. Casual attire; flowers and lei are welcomed He is survived by wife, Patricia P. Ongais of Keaau; daughters, Deneen (Nathan) Ongais Louie of Hilo, Renee (Clarence) Ongais-Salvador of Mt. But also building a machine of a race team that can develop all year round, not sort of go racing in the season and do development in the offseason. 2023 Ghanafuo.com & DM Network. After starting last season with 61 employees, the Arrow McLaren payroll mushroomed in the offseason. His death was announced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two days later. 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. WebFormer Indy car and drag racing star Danny Ongais has died of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, Calif., the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced on He was the only guy that spoke less at functions than I did. He drove with bravado and advocated unlimited rules at the Indianapolis 500. (Though Indianapolis Motor Speedway had listed Ongais as the only Indy 500 driver from Hawaii, Bill Alsup, the 11th-place finisher in the 1981 race also was born in Honolulu, but his racing career primarily was built in the continental U.S.). Weve got to take care of our people through those hard stretches, but for the most part, its a little less time away, the travels not quite so far. Upon joining Arrow McLaren, Ward said his No. Arguably Ongais best chance to win the Indy 500 came in his mid-40s in 1987, when Interscope partnered with Team Penske to run a Penske-Chevrolet at the Memorial Day Weekend classic. He moved up to the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster championship and defeated the legendary Don Prudhomme in the 1966 NHRA Nationals in the Top Fuel semifinals. I think we want people who want to be with the team, so its not so much about trying to headhunt people, he said. ", "Danny Ongais | Racing career profile | Driver Database", "Daytona 24 Hours 1979 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars", "Remembering One Of The Most Terrifying Crashes In Indy 500 History", "Indy 500 lineup set; Ongais to take over Brayton's car", "Popular Indianapolis 500 Veteran Ongais Dies at 79", "IndyCar legends remember Danny Ongais: 'The Flyin' Hawaiian' at the Indy 500", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danny_Ongais&oldid=1141645826, International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. That helps winnow down the applicant pool for hiring by an executive team that includes Ward, competition director Billy Vincent, operations director Max Neyron, performance director Nick Snyder, marketing vice president Mo Murray and general manager Brian Barnhart (Murray and Barnhardt also have joined within the last few months). Eventually progressing through regional series and Formula 5000, Ongais and Field moved to USAC and Indy cars in 1976 under the banner of Interscope Racing. For the 1984 season Ongais took over as owner of Interscope Racing fielding the #25 Interscope Racing March 84C-Cosworth DFX. ''He says he doesn`t want to talk,'' said Penske, after making a personal plea to Ongais to grant an interview. The sad news of the death of the veteran racing driver was announced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sometimes its easy to forget that, but I think were doing a good job here. It was always wide-open throttle. Danny Ongais was known as "The Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired by fans and competitors for his speed and bravery in an Indianapolis 500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 of congestive heart complications in Anaheim Hills, California. Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver admired for his speed and bravery in an #Indy500 career spanning three decades, died Feb. 26 in Anaheim Hills, California at 79. F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: How to watch on TV in the USA on ESPN, How Liberty is "playing long game" to help F1 teams make money, How Liberty is "playing long game" to help F1 teams make money Zak also leads the charge in that. Your IP: The car broke in two and his legs were hanging out. Ongais stared at the money in his hand as if it were something a passing bird had just dropped there. Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCars next winning match-up? Tommy Ivo and the five-second Top Fuel run that ignited a controversy, Wheelie neat! ''His whole heart is in racing,'' said Roger Penske, whose auto racing empire had never before embraced such a prince of darkness. Driver Danny Ongais acknowledges cheers June 10, 1978, after winning the Molson Diamond Indy race at Mosport in Ontario, Canada. For a few years Ongais had an uneasy truce with the press, but even that evaporated when Colleen Campbell left him. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. Ongais endured a tough season highlighted by a 3rd-place finish at Watkins Glen. That is the reason why he got into the wall so often.. Ongais made his CART debut during the 1979 season driving the #25 Panasonic/Interscope Racing Parnelli 6C-Cosworth DFX. Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing win. Rossis signing was followed by the arrival of Brian Barnhart, the former IndyCar VP of competition who called strategy in Rossis final season at Andretti (when he ended a three-year winless drought). Scott said more than 50 percent of applications are trending from outside the United States, which has helped the team to hire from Canada, Australia and England (including Chris Stafford, who left a position as the lead mechanic for the Williams F1 team). Our paths didnt cross a lot away from the track, but when they did, he was a quiet, easygoing guy totally different and opposite outside of the car. Ongais also survived a spectacular barrel roll at the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway when he ran into the slower car of Phil Krueger on the backstretch. I got to spend time with Danny at the [Indy] Speedway, and I just watched him do his thing, and he was magnificent. A look at seven decades of wild, wheelstanding crowdpleasers, Altered States, Part 2: Breakage, tears, and fears, but ultimately a success story, Altered States: Fear and loathing (and a lot of thrills) on the quarter-mile, Ed 'the Outlaw' Jones: Living life on two wheels for more than 45 years, You never know with nitro: A look back at seven great Funny Car upset wins, Everyone loves an underdog: Here's a list of five great Top Fuel upsets, 30 years ago: The 1992 NHRA season was a year full of historic firsts, Female Pro Stock pioneer Shay Nichols: A life well lived (and then some), Magnificent Seven: A history of female racers in NHRA Pro Stock competition, On the Gas: The drag racing life and times of Danny Ongais, By The Numbers: Pro Stock readies for 900th event 'birthday' in Pomona, That was then, this is now: A look back at the NHRA season 50 years ago. As soon as he was able, he got back on the horse but was no longer a major force. People are hungry and people feel like were out here to do damage.. Ongais raced and drove a number of Top Fuel cars in those years, including this cool-looking winged slingshot at the 1972 Winternationals. 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. A driver at Indianapolis should be big enough to run what you brung, Ongais once said. ''He could take a car that was unmanageable and make it do what he wanted,'' says one observer. That victory came one year after Thompson tried to enter Ongais into the 1968 Indianapolis 500, but Ongais was denied because he had almost no experience in open-wheel race cars. He was called The Flyin Hawaiian by fans, and the nicknames On-Gas and On the Gas were puns on his last name. The caution wasnt that long, but we started side-by-side to finish the race. For those of us who saw Ongais race, he was a man who thrived on sheer, raw speed. If you embrace it for what it is, the American culture and the IndyCar experience, its a neat option for these guys. In the 1960s he won multiple drag racing championships and was named one of the National Hot Rod Associations Top 50 Drivers for 1951-2000. In this The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis, in 1996. In the 1970s he moved to competing in sports cars and Indy cars, winning races in both types, including the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1979 and several Indy car races in 1977 and 1978. I think everyone in the team feels that we should perform and win instead of like, its a luxury to win. At the age of 54, Ongais was an unlikely call-up to replace Team Menards Indy 500 polesitter Scott Brayton who had perished in a crash in a post-qualifying practice session. How much does an F1 car weigh in 2023 and what's included in the limit? Arrow McLaren still has done much of its hiring through the paddocks traditional word of mouth manner. [2], Throughout the decade, and indeed throughout the remainder of his driving career, Ongais and Field continued driving sports cars successfully, mainly in IMSA Camel GT competition. The Flying Hawaiin led a very secretive life outside the racing world its known that Ongais had a wife but it is said h had a son who is unidentified for now. Weve expanded our operations pretty significantly, she said. Over the past year, the team has received tens of thousands of resumes sometimes hundreds specifically for an open position while transforming its staff. Now, his relationship is perfect. We needed to fill the car communicator role, and Alex was pretty happy with (Barnhart) previously, Ward said. Pole sitter Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a post-qualifying practice crash, and team owner John Menard hired Ongais as the replacement driver. He may yet get that chance. One long-running debate we had was: Who was Hawaiis greatest drag racer?, I was/am still solidly in the Roland Leong camp. Known as the 'Flyin' Hawaiian', Ongais' long career saw him excel in Indy cars, F1 and drag racing. Ongais crashed in practice and suffered a concussion in 1987 at Indianapolis while driving for Team Penske, forcing him to miss the race. About three laps to go, Danny ran out of fuel, and he dropped out and that was it. Nearly 50 percent of the team is comprised of engineering, commercial and finance positions with skillsets that transcend racing. Weve really tried to stretch ourselves to find the best and the brightest no matter where they live, Scott said. Its been a time of tremendous growth for the team, and most of that growth has come since the end of last season, Ward told NBC Sports as many of the new team members scurried past him with fresh parts and data during a break from preseason testing at The Thermal Club in Southern California last month. Were not where we want to be right now, but thats normal. Ongais suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, missing the rest of the season to recover. It made you sad that he ran out of fuel because it would have been something to see if he could have produced anything to beat me or if I could have beat him. How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing win, Dan Wheldon and his amazing last win 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. While Ongais was known for his blazing speed at Indianapolis and elsewhere, he also attracted attention for surviving some of the most violent crashes of his era. He didnt talk, but he let the car speak for him.. Indianapolis became his bete noir. [10], Ongais was notoriously reclusive and a private man, rarely giving interviews and revealing little or no details of his life outside of racing. The starting blast damaged the electronics, and the Funny Car final used a flag start, and Ongais defeated Prudhomme for the win. F4 Thailand Boys Over Flowers Season 1 Episode 13 Release Date and Time, Countdown, When Is It Coming Out. Jody Scott, McLarens director of people who joined the team a year ago from Anthem, Inc. (now Elevance Health), said there was no target for the number of hires outside motorsports. But the fact that he could finish only eighth in the championship attests to the cars poor finishing record. Ongais had virtually lived with the Thompson family, and Campbell considered him a brother. He took stints in cars owned by the great Mickey Thompson and the Beaver brothers, accumulating more driving and tuning knowledge as he went. So we just have to keep that, and well be all right.. THE racing world is mourning the passing of American star Danny Ongais who has died at the age of 79. His racing career was paused as he served a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, where he became an elite Airborne paratrooper. He competed Faster than he could whip a motorcycle through a turn, Ongais became a drag racer and an instant winner. NHRA history: Is it real or Artificial Intelligence? Gundlach, who recently was announced as a finalist for Indys Best and Brightest, previously worked cars that won two championships with Scott Dixon at Ganassi. Gundlach forwarded Hackenbergs contact information to an Arrow McLaren hiring manager, and the match turned out perfect. Plus, the tracks were not prepared with traction compound like they are today, making them a lot more slick and tougher to drive on. By the time the broadcasting of the race ended at 11:30 PM, Ongais's condition had improved and his condition was updated to stable. Yet he hides everything. That is what you do in drag racing. So far as anyone knows, he has nothing to hide.''. Long before Danny On the Gas Ongais became a household name across the country and around the world on television and radio as a revered IndyCar driver, he belonged to us, to the world of drag racing, where he sated his need for speed in the formative years of his motorsports career. Sadly, Ongais crashed in practice and suffered a concussion that sidelined him. pic.twitter.com/wWOurQyhjT, nascarman (@nascarman_rr) April 4, 2022. Thats definitely not a rumor, said OWard, who is entering his fourth season of driving McLarens No. Ongais` life took a wrong turn up a one-way street Thursday, when he destroyed his most precious possession. He could cut a light and get down any track.. Under qualifying rules he had to start 33rd. Ongais started in 21st place and retired with mechanical problems. The IndyCar team since has been integrated with McLaren Racings F1 operations, which naturally led to some growing pains. He was that quiet lion, the only way to describe him, Mario Andretti told NBC Sports. Ongais died Feb. 26, 2022 from congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway detailed his death two days after the fact. I do think he was one of the best drivers out there. Danny Ongais Wife: Who Is She? Im new to this role; hes lived it before. On the starting line, his rival`s car broke, spilling its oil. Racing teams typically face double-digit turnover after the season. Nielsen was hard-core Ongais all the way, peppering me with facts and stats to prove his case, so, naturally, I reached out to ask for his parting thoughts on Ongais. Ongais final attempt at Indianapolis came in 1998, when he failed to qualify in a Team Pelfrey car. Ongais had always expressed a desire to drive an Indianapolis 500 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 Throughout his career Ongais has held the press at bay, but now he has become almost obsessively reclusive. Gracie is a rock star and can do anything, Gundlach said. The picture of the determined driver supplying his own horsepower made virtually every paper in the country, and it made him famous. And Penske said he would have a car ready for him. WebDanny N Patsy Ongais is on Facebook. Were not shy to hire a visa candidate who might require extra effort to obtain work permits. He crashed again in 1982, and then came Thursday`s wrenching collision with the wall. In 1985, Ongais also survived a spectacular barrel-roll at Michigan International Speedway after hitting the back of the slower car of Phil Krueger on the backstretch. I had probably the best race other than the one I had with AJ Foyt in 1974, but Danny and I were racing at Michigan in 1978, Rutherford told NBC Sports. Since the outset of the Russian Troop’s invasion of Ukraine, Valery has run a blog in which he details how Kherson lives and volunteered. His total assets include stocks, houses, and luxury things like personal luxury boats and planes. Did Danny Ongais have children? We cant say their name. Another great driver from that era was three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, who recalled one dramatic showdown with Ongais at Michigan International Speedway in the 1978 Norton Twin 200. For the 1986 season Ongais only ran the 1986 Indianapolis 500 for Interscope Racing. He was 79. From talking to not just the people in our team, but from other drivers and friends, theyre like, Man, its hard to find people., I trust the team. She tried so hard for him, but he wouldn`t cooperate.''. Went to victory lane and did all the smiling and pictures. That earned him such nicknames as The Flyin Hawaiian and Danny On-The-Gas.. Jim Nelson once said that what he could tell about Ongais was that "all he wanted to do was race. In 1981 at the Indianapolis 500 Danny Ongais was involved in a very serious accident on lap 63. Ongais Indy 500 career ended with him leading in four races for 79 total laps. Sulley Muntari, Agyeman Badu, Asamoah Gyan, others visit Christian Atsus family home, VIDEO: Government will be fully involved in providing Christian Atsu a befitting burial Dr. Bawumia, Christian Atsus mortal remains arrive in Ghana via Turkish Airlines, Maybe I created enemies along the line Kofi Amoabeng on UT Banks collapse, Christian Atsu was one of Ghanas finest personnel Akufo-Addo, This is some food chain story Archipalago shamed for chasing clout with Christian Atsus death. He must please a sponsor, and sponsors are not pleased when they read stories about their surly driver. Jim Chapman, race boss for Interscope Racing, said no one was very familiar with him. His best years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Interscope Racing and its eye-catching No. Rosenqvist, driver of the No. For the next seven races, Ongais replaced an injured Johnny Rutherford at Patrick Racing, who had been driving the #40 Sea Ray Boats Wildcat Mk 9-Cosworth DFX. But were also pretty realistic that you cant rob Peter to pay Paul, so were not always going to be able to hire from motorsports and especially other IndyCar teams. 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. This is certainly an exciting company to work for because the brand is quite well known globally, and that certainly helps from a recruitment perspective. He and renowned innovator Mickey Thompson set nearly 300 national and international speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Mach 1 Mustang during the 1960s. They are in relation from previous few years of a strong relationship. He was that talented. He really wanted to be here. The engineering is growing more slowly but continuously. Daniel was born on June 10, 1938 and passed away on Friday, October 11, 2019. Danny let his racing do his talking for him, thats for sure., Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500. Nigel Mansells greatest F1 and Indycar drives, How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, How Ericsson unlocked his potential At a time when a lot of cars were running in the 7.70s and .80s, Ongais first pass was a 7.57, and it didnt take them long to get into the 7.30s. He was 79 WebWas Danny Ongais Married? Super positive. There also is an appeal to being a professional sports team. Ongais 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. I work really well in it, and Im excited to bring her in and experience that. Thats what we like to avoid doing because you lose a little of the human touch that way. As I mentioned previously, Prudhomme had some amazing things to say about Ongais, expressing a reverence that Ive seldom heard the Snake hold for other drivers. Its high schoolers. He finished runner-up in the Top Fuel class at the 1966 NHRA U.S. Nationals after beating legend Don Prudhomme in the semifinals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and three years later he clinched the Funny Car class win in the same event. Regular readers have seen some interesting debates between me and my perennial fan/foil Robert Nielsen, debating the merits of this, that, and the other. Parents: The undercover bloggers Parents are not Phil Burgess can be reached at[emailprotected], Hundreds of more articles like this can be found in theDRAGSTER INSIDER COLUMN ARCHIVE, Or try theRandom Dragster Insider story generator, Long before Danny Ongais became a household name as a revered IndyCar driver, he belonged to the world of drag racing, where he first sated his need for speed. More of the same followed in 78. So thats infectious for everybody.. Burny Mattinson cause of death: How did Burny Mattinson die? He was easy going outside of the car, didnt say much and kept to himself but when he got in the car and put a helmet on, it was like he flipped the switch and stood on the gas.. Press Esc to cancel. Join Facebook to connect with Danny N Patsy Ongais and others you may know. Ongais dominated in SCCA competition in 1974, catching the eye of young media mogul Ted Field, who had recently founded the Interscope Records label. And wants to make this something special. 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