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Darrell Gwynn
One of drag racing’s — and certainly Florida’s — favorite sons is Darrell Gwynn, who won back-to-back Gatornationals (1989-’90). He had won at the Gainesville track in the sportsman-level Top Alcohol Dragster class during 1984, but he made his mark there in Top Fuel five years later, beating Eddie Hill in the final round.
He gave Dodge a double victory, sharing the winner’s circle with Pro Stock’s Darrell Alderman. Pun lovers will enjoy National Dragster’s headline: “Dodge lets ’em have it with both Darrells.”
The next year was a repeat for Gwynn, but in retrospect, it was bittersweet. It was the last victory of hiscareer. Twenty-seven days later, on Easter Sunday, Gwynn’s Coors Extra Gold dragster broke in two during an exhibition run at England’s Santa Pod. His injuries were devastating. He was paralyzed from the chest down and his left arm was amputated at the elbow.
However, Gwynn continues to be a genuine inspiration. He’s the director of the Darrell Gwynn Quality of Life Chapter of the Buoniconti Fund. In 2002, Gwynn launched the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to curing paralysis. He has spent nearly two decades raising funds and awareness about spinal-cord injuries and helping those affected by them. That has included such initiatives as a national wheelchair giveaway to underprivileged individuals.
Last year, through the Buoniconti Fund, Gwynn began a fundraising campaign called Put the Brakes on Paralysis.
The Professor
Warren Johnson is king of the drag strip at Gainesville Raceway, although he hasn’t won at the famous Florida facility since 2000 and hasn’t raced since 2012. The so-called “Professor of Pro Stock” leads all NHRA racers there with nine victories (against nine different final-round opponents) during three different decades that came in streaks. His triumphs came in streaks: 1984-’85, 1991-’94, and 1998-2000.
Johnson, a Minnesota transplant to Buford, Ga., said he loved this race track for three reasons, besides the fact he also qualified No. 1 eight times at Gainesville. At the top of his list was “good air.” Johnson said, “The track is relatively close to sea level and the weather conditions at this time of year are favorable for Pro Stock engines.”
Also key was his conclusion that it is a “good track: When the air lets you make big horsepower, then you need a surface that can handle it. Gainesville Raceway is one of the better facilities on the circuit, so we should be able to apply the power we’ve got.”
Maybe – perhaps like Bob Glidden and his domination at Lucas Oil Raceway — the most important quality was its convenience. It was “close to home,” Johnson said. “We don’t have to drive 24 hours from Atlanta. I’ve spent many, many days testing at Gainesville Raceway, so I know how to set up a car for that particular track.”
March Madness
NHRA drag racers have compiled their own version of March Madness at the Gatornationals. Fans remember Scott Kalitta’s blow-over, along with all the flaming, flying and flipping wrecks. Others who thrilled and survived have included Butch Maas, Jim Nicoll, Lenny Imbrogno, Raymond Beadle, Bob Gottschalk, Gene Snow, Keith Stark, Vonnie Mills, Mark Oswald, Al Hofmann and Larry Dixon.
The most recent wild ride, Dixon’s in 2015, left the three-time champion with two broken vertebrae but otherwise unscathed — remarkable after his dragster broke in two at high speed, then shattered, launching him about 75 feet in the air.
Dixon — like Amato and Garlits — is a four-time Gatornationals winner.
“I have so many big moments from Gainesville. Of course, the most recent with the crash in 2015,” Dixon said. “But I won four Top Fuel ‘Wally’ trophies at the Gatornationals and I actually took my Top Fuel license runs in ‘Snake’s’ car at Gainesville back in 1994. That was ‘Snake’s’ final season driving and he wanted to put me in his Top Fueler the next year. That was quite an honor.”
Hofmann’s spectacularly fiery final-round Funny Car victory in 1997 — his only one at his home track, has a curious post-script. Hofmann was John Force’s notorious nemesis, but Force instructed two of his crew members to remain in Gainesville with the team bus and transport Hofmann from Shands Hospital to his Umatilla, Fla., home.
Hofmann proudly posed for pictures in front of the Force team bus, then later in publicly scowled and called Force’s gesture a publicity stunt.
A footnote to the incident: The bus driver that day — Robert Hight— is now a two-time Funny Car champion, and following his retirement Hoffman would periodically call Hight with words of encouragement.
The other crew member to accompany Hight and Hofmann was Eric Medlen, who had wanted to drive the bus but didn’t have a commercial driver’s license. Ironically, 10 years later, Medlen succumbed to injuries suffered in a crash during testing the day after the race in 2007. He died at Shands Hospital.
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