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. Usually, however, he spent words as if they were pearls. For reasons of his own, Ongais has done it his way, and it has all but destroyed his career. Danny Ongais cause of death was heart disease, not an accident Danny Ongais, the Hawaiian driver respected by fans and contenders alike for his speed and bravery north of a three-decade vocation, died February 26 in Anaheim. 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). When he was 14, he already was speeding around on motorcycles. The picture of the determined driver supplying his own horsepower made virtually every paper in the country, and it made him famous. 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. 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. Copyright 1996-2023, NHRA. The time he hit the wall in the third turn. Sadly, Ongais crashed in practice and suffered a concussion that sidelined him. Burial site and Find a Grave details, Ricou Browning funeral, burial service, pictures, date, time, venue. He then competed at the Gould Twin Dixie 125 however bad luck hit Ongais in both races. We have an ethos here where we dont necessarily want to do things the way theyve always been done in the IndyCar world. He proved it again in that race and got the job done.. Your IP: I think weve done a great job of that. 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. Getting out of the car, Ongais pushed it the length of the quarter-mile dragstrip to claim the championship. 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.. I feel like its been so hard to find people in all departments. His race director at Interscope Racing Jim Chapman stated Nobody really knew much about him where he lived, his family, stuff like that. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. In 1996, at the age of 54, after nine years away from racing, he served as the substitute driver in the Indianapolis 500 for Scott Brayton, who had died in a crash before the race. We may earn money from the links on this page. Ongais came into the pits on lap 63 as the leader of the race, but problems during the stop caused it to drag on for a disastrous 46 seconds. Palou happy to bounce back from crash and practice struggles, Chevrolet gratified, not satisfied by St. Pete IndyCar win, Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP, announces WEC plans, Hardwick slams flawed IMSA BoP Then weve got some really experienced guys from other IndyCar teams as well.. ''What happened?'' Its the best team Ive ever worked at in terms of mechanics, engineers, commercial. Super positive. All logos and images are reserved. It is a fun group. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He really was. There is one way in which Arrow McLarens transformation is noticeable. 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. 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. Ongais scored a best finish of 5th place at the Escort Warning Radars 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Sleek, swift and deadly, they could suddenly turn around and bite a man. He complements my strengths very well, and his experience is a good buffer. 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The versatile Ongais made 11 #Indy500 starts, with four top-10 finishes. 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. Ongais had some of the biggest, hardest crashes in Indianapolis 500 history. Some of the new faces are at the very top. Ongais stared at the money in his hand as if it were something a passing bird had just dropped there. He drove with bravado and advocated unlimited rules at the Indianapolis 500. Ongais also made a single start for AMI Racing driving the #43 Armstrong Mould Orbiter 80C-Cosworth DFX at the Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, finishing 11th. [14], Ongais died from congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California, on February 26, 2022, at the age of 79. Ongais, racing at age 54 in his first 500 since 1986, finished a creditable seventh after starting from the rear of the field. Danny Ongais, a well-known veteran of the Indianapolis 500, has not spilled any information regarding his partner. ''His whole heart is in racing,'' said Roger Penske, whose auto racing empire had never before embraced such a prince of darkness. Our car experts choose every product we feature. Fielding the #25 GM Goodwrench/Panavision March 86C-Buick V6, Ongais dropped out with a mechanical failure. He crashed out on a wet track at Watkins Glen after moving up early but managed a 7th place in Canada in what would be his best finish in F1.[2]. Ongais dominated in SCCA competition in 1974, catching the eye of young media mogul Ted Field, who had recently founded the Interscope Records label. 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. Even with a short 10-year stint in drag racing, Ongais was still so well regarded that he was voted No. He piloted a new Interscope IP-1 chassis, qualifying 9th and leading several laps before crashing out on lap 62 when running 5th. That attitude often got him in trouble, though. Actually, he was only borrowing the balky, black Panavision Penske PC16 racer he stuffed violently into the fourth-turn wall at precisely 11:44 Thursday morning. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, he was ranked 39th. 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. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway detailed his death two days after the fact. 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. Not sharp like Johnny Rutherford or deep like Bobby Rahal, but he`s certainly intelligent enough.''. After he was discharged, he returned to Hawaii and entered motorsports, first as the Hawaiian motorcycle champion in 1960 before switching to a drag racing career. He ran his last Indy Car race the next year, in the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, with Chitwood Motorsports, where he finished 13th. Its pretty amazing to me with how involved he is with every aspect of the IndyCar organization, the F1 organization. Ongais and Fields success with the Interscope team also extended to sports car racing, with Field also driving. Chapman did state that well into their relationship he learned Ongais was married and had a son. At the 1964 Winternationals, his dragster defeated a field that included heavyweights like Thompson, the Peters & Frank Freight Train, and Earl Poage. His Girlfriend/boyfriends name is Not Available. For Penske the hiring of Ongais was an aberration, a minor breach of his own immutable rules. A head-on shunt in the 1981 Indy 500 left him recuperating for the remainder of the season while four years later at Michigan he went into a barrel-roll after launching off the back of another car. Virtually all that is known of Ongais is a matter of public record. Ongais started, but his drive line broke immediately. (Its) retaining the people youve got, he said. Ongais also began drag racing in the early 60s and became one of the top straight-line competitors in America into the early 1970s. He was direct. WebDanny Ongais (May 21, 1942 February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver . Wow, thats some high praise. Two years later he qualified on the front row and led for four laps before crashing again. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. All registered. He won the American Hot Rod Association AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964. He decided to remain private regarding her life and Since arriving in the fall of 2019 at the former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, she said she has watched Arrow McLaren grow while maintaining its gritty origins. In this I won the race. 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. Ongais success in straight-line competition led him to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 in the Drag Racing category. Ongais is the main Hawaiian to compete in Hustlings Greatest Show. A semi-serious look at the points battles heading to Pomona, T.V. There are no visitors to Danny Ongais` world. We come back between most races. He was my hero, to be honest with you. He first raced at the Arizona Republic/Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway where he qualified 4th and led for several laps only to drop out after 128 laps due to engine problems. And thats across the board, both commercial and operational. "Ongais, Danny - Drag Racing - 2000 | Inductees | Hall of Fame", "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now? At the age of 18, he earned a Hawaiian state title in motorcycle racing, and he went on to become a drag racing ace. He finished runner-up to Mike Snively in the Top Fuel class at the 1966 NHRA U.S. Nationals after beating the legendary Don The Snake Prudhomme in the semifinals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Right from the get-go for me, that was a high-priority item to try and spruce ourselves up. I dont know how hes in so many places at once, seemingly. One long-running debate we had was: Who was Hawaiis greatest drag racer?, I was/am still solidly in the Roland Leong camp. 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