Don Garlits has experienced some wild rides in his day but few like the one he took during the Southern Nostalgia Shootout recently at South Georgia Motorsports Park. “Big Daddy” did a 180-degree spin in a front engine dragster.

Garlits brought his Swamp Rat VIII recreation to put on a show for the fans. He made a short blast on Saturday and another on Sunday, and participated in the Cacklefest on Saturday night. He spent hours talking with his fans and signing autographs.

On Saturday, Don suited up and pushed his car down the right lane, turned
around and push-started it coming toward the starting line in the left
lane. He then turned in staging and made a smoky blast for 330-feet or so
to give fans a feel for drag racing the way it used to be. 

Don Garlits has experienced some wild rides in his day but few like the one he took during the Southern Nostalgia Shootout recently at South Georgia Motorsports Park. “Big Daddy” did a 180-degree spin in a front engine dragster.

Garlits brought his Swamp Rat VIII recreation to put on a show for the fans. He made a short blast on Saturday and another on Sunday, and participated in the Cacklefest on Saturday night. He spent hours talking with his fans and signing autographs.

On Saturday, Don suited up and pushed his car down the right lane, turned
around and push-started it coming toward the starting line in the left
lane. He then turned in staging and made a smoky blast for 330-feet or so
to give fans a feel for drag racing the way it used to be. 

The sticky South Georgia Motorsports Park track surface was not conducive to making a lot of tire smoke, however, so when Garlits idled down the track and reached the finish line where the track had not been sprayed, he nailed the throttle and the car exploded in a cloud of tire smoke.

On Sunday, Don made a second run. Same procedure, with one major difference. When he reached the top end he again decided to nail the throttle, but this time the car spun out, making a full 180-degree spin and going up on two wheels. Garlits narrowly missed hitting the wall, but luckily everything turned out fine and Don and Swamp Rat VIII were unscathed.