He But no one could deny his talent. Im really happy to be working with (Todd) because its a different culture for her. That is still here fueling this and educating all the new people coming in to continue that mentality. The 1970 season didnt go as well, haunted by parts attrition and at least one fire that burned Ongais. The Terrifying Crash of Danny "Flyin' Hawaiian" Ongais at the 1981 Indy 500 | How Did He Survive? He then competed at the Gould Twin Dixie 125 however bad luck hit Ongais in both races. 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. 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. 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.. Some of the new faces are at the very top. He might show up and talk to you for a while and then youd look around and hed be gone. 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. Ward said the schedule was among the reasons that engineer Ryan Kelly chose to join Rossis car after multiple seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. 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. Next, he wants a man who will project the Penske image to sponsors and the press. Its more about were happy and want people to know, and word spreads that this is a place thats trying to be good to its people and gunning for the very top. Copyright 1996-2023, NHRA. Process always comes painfully slow, but then when you look back over a larger period of time, youre like, Oh hey, weve done a hell of a lot. . In 1998 he attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with Team Pelfrey but was unable to do so when he suffered a concussion after a crash. He qualified well over the season, earning three poles, and he finished 12th in the standings. Danny Ongais (May 21, 1942 February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver. Ongais was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 in the Drag Racing category. Hes happy to be here; were happy to have him.. I do think he was one of the best drivers out there. On May 15, 1982, Danny Ongais qualified 9th for the Indy 500. Good grief, who can forget Jim Crawford (1990)? He proved it again in that race and got the job done.. Danny was a great guy. Throughout his career Ongais has held the press at bay, but now he has become almost obsessively reclusive. 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. Was Danny Ongais married? He won the American Hot Rod Association AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964. Ricou Browning cause of death: How did Ricou Browning die? Thats just his makeup, the way he was. ''You`ll be lucky to win $250 the whole season here,'' he was told. Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting, 2021 IndyCar title is just the start for Ganassi's newest star, 2021 title just the start for Palou 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. 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. The guys in IndyCar racing called him The Ghost from the Coast. , (Be sure to read the end of this column for more from Prudhomme, who says some very kind and impressive things about Ongais.). He refuses to talk about his parents or his boyhood in Hawaii. Danny Ongais passed away on February 26, 2022 at the age of 79. Went to victory lane and did all the smiling and pictures. In 1982, he ran on only one Indy car race, the Indianapolis 500 (which was still sanctioned by USAC). Arrow McLaren was known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before McLaren gradually became the majority owner in mid-2021. Kate Gundlach, a performance engineer at Arrow McLaren, was leafing through a sports car magazine a couple years ago when she stumbled upon a story about Grace Hackenberg, an Oregon-based racing engineer. Kiels team president role essentially was split between Ward and other managers. 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. For the 1985 season Ongais scored a best finish of 6th at the Beatrice Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park and finished in 24th place in points. Shes a complete unicorn and super hard worker. 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]. For those of us who saw Ongais race, he was a man who thrived on sheer, raw speed. He would retire at Michigan and Miami and fail to qualify at Nazareth. [2], Ongais was born in Kahului, Hawaii, on May 21, 1942. Click to reveal Two years later he qualified on the front row and led for four laps before crashing again. (Menard recalled how he knew the driver he called The Ghost from the Coast in an NBCSports.com interview last year. Its pretty amazing to me with how involved he is with every aspect of the IndyCar organization, the F1 organization. Even his closest friends know little of Al Unser was named as Ongais replacement and drove to his fourth Indy 500 victory in a backup car that previously had been used as a show car earlier in May at a hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. We let him drive my car, and his first run was as good as any I ever made. 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. I personally liked the On the Gas nickname more because it was a play on his last name, and more importantly, that was the way he drove. It is in this last area that Ongais has always failed. 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. 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. At the age of 18, he earned a Hawaiian state title in motorcycle racing, and he went on to become a drag racing ace. Sometimes its easy to forget that, but I think were doing a good job here. His first Indy-car race came at Ontario, Calif., late in 1976. NHRA history: Is it real or Artificial Intelligence? That comes from a focus on the culture of the team. If you embrace it for what it is, the American culture and the IndyCar experience, its a neat option for these guys. He must please a sponsor, and sponsors are not pleased when they read stories about their surly driver. All registered. 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.. [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. Were putting the resources behind it but trying to do it in a sustainable way thats good to the people that are working here as well and also just to have fun. I never worried about being alongside of him or anything like that. His total assets include stocks, houses, and luxury things like personal luxury boats and planes. He has also interviewed a plethora of sporting personalities. Weve got all these new people, all this new equipment, Ward said. Over the course of his Indy 500 career, he led in four races for a Rest in peace, Danny Ongais.. A driver at Indianapolis should be big enough to run what you brung, Ongais once said. At the Indianapolis 500 Ongais crashed in practice and this put Ongais in jeopardy of not being able to compete. Represented at Indianapolis by Thompson`s sister, Colleen Campbell, Ongais occasionally allowed himself to be interviewed. Ongais calmly drove it around to the pits where the fire was extinguished. Weve got a lot of positivity. In 1977, his first full year on the championship car circuit, he won a race at Michigan and was named rookie of the year. And thats across the board, both commercial and operational. The team also has been aggressive outside racing. Ongais scored a best finish of 5th place at the Escort Warning Radars 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. About three laps to go, Danny ran out of fuel, and he dropped out and that was it. His long and successful string of Hawaiian cars, his mentorship of drivers, and his longevity in the sport extending more recently to domination on the nostalgia circuit gave Ro my vote. He piloted a new Interscope IP-1 chassis, qualifying 9th and leading several laps before crashing out on lap 62 when running 5th. I work really well in it, and Im excited to bring her in and experience that. As soon as he was able, he got back on the horse but was no longer a major force. He was a true talent. Honestly, this team comes from humble beginnings in the IndyCar world. He also competed in four Formula 1 races in 1977 and 1978, including two starts with Interscope, with a best finish of seventh in the 77 Canadian Grand Prix. As in any industry, networking and recruiting are cornerstones to motorsports, where big-league success is predicated as much on driver and car as the countless people who support the stars and build the machines behind the scenes for any IndyCar, NASCAR or Formula One team. The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. He was the only guy that spoke less at functions than I did. Penske looks for three things when hiring a driver, and the ability to go fast is the last of the three. Ongais crashed in practice and suffered a concussion in 1987 at Indianapolis while driving for Team Penske, forcing him to miss the race. In 1981 at the Indianapolis 500 Danny Ongais was involved in a very serious accident on lap 63. Also, we have no information about his son and daughter. All we can do is look across what corporations and companies are doing when people tell us we could do better in one space or another, she said. 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