Flashback Friday: The “Silent Hawaiian” Danny Ongais

Known as the “Silent Hawaiian” or the “Silent One” for his quiet demeanor, Danny Ongais let his driving talents on the race track do the talking for him, earning a reputation as one of the most talented and versatile drivers in all of auto racing.

Born and raised in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, Ongais transitioned from surfboarding to motorcycle racing by the age of 14, and after a tour of duty with the United States Army in Europe – a tour in which he was first introduced to sports car racing – moved to Southern California following his discharge and began working for the legendary Roland Leong and his Dragmaster AA/FD team. At 2, Ongais was determined to make a full-time career of racing, and little did the racing world know what was to come.

Ongais began offering his services to speed shops all over the drag racing hotbed of Southern California, earning occasional rides from the likes of Mickey Thompson and the Beaver Brothers. During a pass in one of Thompson’s dragster, he recorded the fastest pass ever for a Ford-powered machine. As his knowledge expanded from each race team that he worked with, so too did his desire to step out and form a race team of his own.

Ongais debuted his own AA/Gas dragster at the 1964 Winternationals and downed Thompson for the eliminator title, 8.39 to 8.53. He added a win at the Hot Rod Magazine Championships at Riverside to his resume later that season, where he famously pushed his crippled dragster across the entire quarter mile by hand to a elapsed time of 1 minutes and 35 seconds to remain in contention. He towed the dragster, known as “Chevy, Too” all over the country, utilizing little more than bystanders at each track to help push the car. He was victorious in the NHRA, AHRA, and UDRA that season, eventually finding himself as the No. 1 ranked Gas dragster in the nation. But it was a dominating season in 1965 driving the Ongais-Broussard-Davis AA/FD that set his superstar career in motion.

In 1968, Ongias teamed up with the formidable Thompson and the pair proceeded to shatter 295 national and international speed and endurance records at the Bonneville salt flats with a pair of Thompson’s famous Mach 1 Mustangs. Thompson transitioned the combination over to the newfangled world of Funny Car racing, putting Ongais behind the wheel of a Mach 1 flopper, built by Pat Foster and powered by Ford’s classic SOHC Hemi powerplant. The result was a truly dominating season in 1969, winning the Bakersfield March Meet, the Manufacturers Meet, NHRA Springnationals, and the Nationals at Indy, along with virtually every match race that he attended.

Ongais eventually parted ways with Thompson, ending up in the seat of the Vel’s-Parenlli Jones racing team in the early 1970’s. There, he droves both a Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car at the same races.

It was in 1974 that Ongais embarked on a driving career outside of drag racing, beginning with a dominating season in the SCCA and a solid outing in Formula 5000 the following year. In 1976, he made his first start in the Indianapolis 500 and in 1978, was the fastest car in the field at the 500 before mechanical problems ended his bid. In all, Ongais qualified for ten straight Indy 500’s, with a best finish of fourth in 1979.

His driving career also took him into the sports car world, where he competed in such prestigious events at the 24 Hours of LeMans and 24 Hours of Daytona, and and in 1977 and 1978, drove for Interscope Racing and Team Tissot Ensign in the elite Formula One series.

Ongais made a comeback in 1996, finishing seventh in the Indy 500 driving for John Menard in the car that young Scott Brayton had been tragically killed in during qualifying. He made another Indy attempt in 1998 but withdrew following a crash in practice and called it a career shortly thereafter. A legendary career that began on the quarter miles of Southern California. He remains the only professional driver to win in drag racing, open wheel, and sports car racing.