This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. ''What happened?'' When is Danny Ongais funeral? He made a lot of noise in a very quiet way. That earned him such nicknames as The Flyin Hawaiian and Danny On-The-Gas.. The green flag came out, and we ran side-by-side 220 mph for about 21 laps, sashaying at each other, side-by-side. Ongais was the only native Hawaiian to compete in the Indianapolis 500. He piloted a new Interscope IP-1 chassis, qualifying 9th and leading several laps before crashing out on lap 62 when running 5th. 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. Known as the 'Flyin' Hawaiian', Ongais' long career saw him excel in Indy cars, F1 and drag racing. The Cosworth was hugely powerful, Ongais regularly appearing to dance the car on the rim of disaster on his way to eight pole positions, and when it hung together he tended to win: he racked up five triumphs that year. Interscope then bought a new Shadow chassis for him to race but he was unable to qualify at Long Beach and also in the Netherlands later in the season. [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. WebLong 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. In Sundays Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Gundlach and Hackenberg (a damper specialist who also works on pit stops) will begin their third year together in the engineering department of Arrow McLaren as the team enters its most critical season yet in trying to become a perennial powerhouse championship contender. Upon joining Arrow McLaren, Ward said his No. The car went to Al Unser Sr who went on to win a record-tying 4th Indianapolis 500. 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. 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. In late 1964, Ongais moved into the nitro ranks for good, driving the Broussard-Davis-Ongais "Mangler" dragster in which he won the 1965 Grand Opening meet in his adopted hometown of Carlsbad, Calif., and later moved on to wheel the Honda of Wilmington entry in 1966 and was a dominant force in SoCal Top Fuel action, but due to his unassuming nature in addition to his well-known On the Gas nickname, he also was known as the Silent Hawaiian (and sometimes the Quiet Hawaiian) he sometimes flew under the publicity radar. Ongais dominated in SCCA competition in 1974, catching the eye of young media mogul Ted Field, who had recently founded the Interscope Records label. Despite having to start from 33rd and last and despite having retired from Indy car competition nine years earlier, Ongais drove his way to seventh. Ongais made his CART debut during the 1979 season driving the #25 Panasonic/Interscope Racing Parnelli 6C-Cosworth DFX. He jumped into Scotty Braytons car in the 96 Indy 500 & finished 7th after starting last at age 54! 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. ", "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. 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. He was later discharged and returned to Hawaii for motor racing. So we just have to keep that, and well be all right.. He never really disparaged anybody. RIP, my friend. Penske looks for three things when hiring a driver, and the ability to go fast is the last of the three. That is the reason why he got into the wall so often.. They teamed up with the legendary Hurley Haywood to win the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1979 in the Interscope Porsche 935 prototype. 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. He was a motorcycle champion in Hawaii when he decided to come to the mainland United States and go racing. He also raced in Formula One, in 1977-78, in six Grands Prix, recording a best result of seventh. He was 79. 1 staffing priority wasnt hiring. ", Pomona 1962: That's Ongais, second from left,standing next to Leong. And its especially true during a season with the kind of expansion that Arrow McLaren has undertaken for the 2023 season. 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. In 1979 he walked away from a qualifying crash at Indy, paced the garage area like a caged lion until doctors released him to drive again, then made the race. For the 1986 season Ongais only ran the 1986 Indianapolis 500 for Interscope Racing. When he was 14, he already was speeding around on motorcycles. What you saw is what you got. He won the American Hot Rod Association AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964, and in the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster championship title in 1965. 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. He did things that guys like me only dream about doing. Al was doing his typical thing. Maximizing and encouraging people to bring ideas to the table is so often overlooked in motorsports,, Rossi said. There are some inherent advantages for a team in IndyCar, whose 17-race schedule is more manageable than NASCAR (36 races in 37 weeks) and Formula One (which has expanded to 24 races around the globe). RIP Danny Ongais, who passed away Feb.26, 2022, in California of congestive heart failure at age 79. 5 Dallara-Chevrolet. Ongais win at Riverside was especially memorable as his dragster broke after final-round opponent Gordon Collett red-lighted, so, as was the rule back then, Ongais had to push his car the length of the quarter-mile to trip the win light. Its collegiate students wanting to grow a career. The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. He won the American Hot Rod Association AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964. In this Just like the U.S. business world since the Great Resignation of 2020-21, one of the loudest narratives in racing has been the difficulty of hiring and keeping strong personnel since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the worlds workforce. WebDanny Ongais, died Saturday, February 26, 2022, of congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway statement. Ongais dominated in SCCA competition in 1974, catching the eye of young media mogul Ted Field, who had recently founded the Interscope Records label. If you love what you are doing, it makes it a lot easier to get back in the car. So quiet, so humble and so fast ! In 1969, Thompson hired him to drive his new Pat Foster-built, Ford SOHC-powered Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car the blue one; Foster drove a red one and the car showed immediate promise. His first Indy car race was the 1976 California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, where he finished 28th after a crash. I think Gavin kind of feeds off that and has a similar style as well.. Parents: The undercover bloggers Parents are not Driving for Parnelli Jones, he crashed. Fathers name is Not Available. Women comprise nearly 20 percent of its staff with many in the engineering department. Performance & security by Cloudflare. [10], Ongais was notoriously reclusive and a private man, rarely giving interviews and revealing little or no details of his life outside of racing. By 1963, Ongais had his own gas dragster, a supercharged 371 Chevy-powered budget machine cobbled together from castoff parts from other teams and manufacturers and won the AHRA Winter Championships in both 1963 and 1964. Ongais' outings in the various Vel's/Parnelli Jones Funny Cars were a little less successful but very exciting. Ongais endured a tough season highlighted by a 3rd-place finish at Watkins Glen. 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. Usually, however, he spent words as if they were pearls. Adding 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi as a teammate to Pato OWard and Felix Rosenqvist, the team will be running three full-time cars for the first time (and a fourth Indy 500 entry for Tony Kanaan). ), Danny Ongais stepped up when @INDYCAR & I needed him most. The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis, in 1996. The rides with major teams that could have been his went to less talented but more malleable men. He was that talented. So we just are thinking strategically on how can we find candidates with transferable skills outside our industry if we can. 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. At his first race of the season, the Indianapolis 500 Ongais started 16th and finished 7th. Arrow McLaren was known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before McLaren gradually became the majority owner in mid-2021. He was knocked unconscious by the heavy impact. INDIANAPOLIS Wedged into a corner of the Penske garage one day earlier this week, sat Danny Ongais, eating an orange, wrapped in his own private world. But then the wild mustangs he was driving gave way to the thoroughbreds, the ground-effects cars. Ongais ability to drive these cars near their performance limits unfortunately resulted in a couple of spectacular crashes in Indy. Ongais also began drag racing in the early 60s and became one of the top straight-line competitors in America into the early 1970s. All registered. Get email updates about Daniel Ongais delivered directly to your inbox. [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. Danny Ongais was my hero, Mears told NBC Sports. Ongais moved into circuit racing in the 1970s, working his way up the ranks in American racing through SCCA road racing with the help of Ted Field. Al Unser was named as Ongais replacement and drove to his fourth 500 victory in a backup car that was a show car earlier in May in a hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was a tough guy, but it was fun to know him. In 1982, he ran on only one Indy car race, the Indianapolis 500 (which was still sanctioned by USAC). A sense of humor. F4 Thailand Boys Over Flowers Season 1 Episode 13 Release Date and Time, Countdown, When Is It Coming Out. Good grief, who can forget Jim Crawford (1990)? 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.. Weve pulled a No. Every so often, a guy comes along, somebody that really catches your attention, that impresses you, and, for me, he was that guy, Prudhomme said. WebFilling the No. Daniel "Doc" Ongais | 2019 Daniel "Doc" Ongais October 11, 2019 Daniel "Doc" Ongais, 81, of Keaau, passed away on Friday, October 11, 2019 at Hilo Medical Center, born on June 10, 1938, in Olaa; he was a retired Motor Vehicle Operator for the United States Army as a Civilian worker (Federal Government) and worked for the Former Puna Sugar Company. But then Brian is a great resource for me, for the team. Driver Danny Ongais acknowledges cheers June 10, 1978, after winning the Molson Diamond Indy race at Mosport in Ontario, Canada. 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. Service in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s exposed Ongais to sports car racing in Europe, and he moved from dragstrips to ovals and road courses in the mid-1970s. How much does an F1 car weigh in 2023 and what's included in the limit? He was fearless, Mears said. He was transported by an ambulance to a nearby hospital in a critical condition. He was a good guy. We come back between most races. WebDanny Ongais (May 21, 1942 February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver . Ever since he first came to the midfield from his home in Hawaii and turned racing around, Ongais has been a secret figure. 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. He possesses in-depth Sports Journalism experience with a proven record of achievements in creating and delivering high quality engaging media content. Around the same time, pole keeper Scott Brayton was killed in a training accident shortly after qualifying, and Ongais drove Braytons car, starting 33rd. His expansive Rolodex comes in handy but hasnt been key in expanding to a third car. He then competed at the Gould Twin Dixie 125 however bad luck hit Ongais in both races. I work really well in it, and Im excited to bring her in and experience that. He was a force to be reckoned with when he was out there. The starting blast damaged the electronics, and the Funny Car final used a flag start, and Ongais defeated Prudhomme for the win. The time zone changes arent quite so big. And I found her in a magazine and just reached out to her., ST. PETE PRIMER:Schedules, start times and how to watch the 2023 IndyCar season opener, PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS: Its crowded at the top with Ganassi and Penske drivers. Ongais ended the season in 15th place in points. He loved what he was doing. 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. ''I`m amazed.''. He also won the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster Championship in 1965. A semi-serious look at the points battles heading to Pomona, T.V. Still, those five winsthree on the large superspeedways at Ontario, Texas, and Michigan, one at the short Milwaukee Mile oval, and one road race at Mosportdemonstrated Ongais' versatility as a driver. Ongais final attempt at Indianapolis came in 1998, when he failed to qualify in a Team Pelfrey car. Plus, the tracks were not prepared with traction compound like they are today, making them a lot more slick and tougher to drive on. There are those who feel he has not been the same driver since. The team also has been aggressive outside racing. He was 79. He was there to do a job. He got his licks in. Linda Vaughn presented him with a diamond-studded belt buckle. He decided to remain private regarding her life and relationship. In his heyday he was the Larry Mahan of racing. On May 15, 1982, Danny Ongais qualified 9th for the Indy 500. He was the oldest driver to compete in that field, at age 54. 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. Weve got all these new people, all this new equipment, Ward said. He was the only guy that spoke less at functions than I did. 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 The car was disallowed and Interscope brought out their Parnelli 6C-Cosworth DFX. His best years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Interscope Racing and its eye-catching No. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. I think that it is very important to see that the company emphasizes bringing the right people in, and the right people are women.. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the Indy car Series in the late 1970s. The IndyCar team since has been integrated with McLaren Racings F1 operations, which naturally led to some growing pains. 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. But he was not an idiot going around and doing stupid things. Zak also leads the charge in that. Ongais raced and drove a number of Top Fuel cars in those years, including this cool-looking winged slingshot at the 1972 Winternationals. WebDanny 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 For those of us who saw Ongais race, he was a man who thrived on sheer, raw speed. Carrying too much speed out of the turn, the car drifted out into the grey and the back end began to slide. Its really exciting to be part of a group that still has ties to everyone being very hungry and ambitious and could do all sorts of roles and do whatever needed to be done. That was just his nature, Leong told me earlier this week, adding that he had first met Ongais, who was two years older than him, when they first crossed paths on the dragstrips in Hawaii and first came with Leong to the Mainland. The Gould Twin Dixie 125 however bad luck hit Ongais in both races in a couple spectacular. Have been his went to Al Unser Sr who went on to win the Rolex 24 Daytona. With McLaren Racings F1 operations, which naturally led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with racing. And returned to Hawaii for Motor racing to drive these cars near their performance limits resulted... 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