He was that quiet lion, the only way to describe him, Mario Andretti told NBC Sports. View, Rosanne Ongais of Oceanside, California and Daisy (Melvin) Ongais-Kilaulani of Keaau; sons, Carl Moe, Jr. of Hilo, Richard (Julie) Moe of Bethel Island, California, David (Vanessa) Moe of Keaau, James Moe of Las Vegas, Nevada and Michael (Carrie) Moe of Brentwood, California; brothers, Jerome (Jean) Ongies of Oahu, Claudino (Bernadette) Ongais of Washington and Steven (Elena) Ongais of Hilo; sisters, Constance Wheeler of Arkansas and Carmen Dusza of Oahu; brother in-law, Alfred (Maile) Tavares of Hilo; sister in-law, Sharon Tavares of Keaau; 34 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews a. I think the general direction of the team, just kind of goals and ambitions, you can feel that everyones targeting something different than they did two years ago. 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. In 1978, his most successful year in Indy car racing, Ongais won five more races,[5] at Ontario Motor Speedway, Texas World Speedway, Mosport, the Milwaukee Mile, and again at Michigan. A driver cannot let skill alone speak for him. 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. ''That`s his life, racing.''. He defeated Don Prudhomme at the 1966 HHRA Nationals Top Fuel semifinals. The green flag came out, and we ran side-by-side 220 mph for about 21 laps, sashaying at each other, side-by-side. Its a big focus to get the McLaren brand out in the world and do good content, which I think were probably the leading team in that sense now. In his heyday he was the Larry Mahan of racing. Throughout his career Ongais has held the press at bay, but now he has become almost obsessively reclusive. Hes a great personality to the team. He was 79. Danny Ongais Wife: Who Is She? His best years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came with Interscope Racing and its eye-catching No. We obviously have the resources to tap into and the shared knowledge of the greater McLaren Racing group. THE racing world is mourning the passing of American star Danny Ongais who has died at the age of 79. 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. Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing win. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the Indy car Series in the late 1970s. The rest of the year he raced only sports cars.[2]. Wow, thats some high praise. Was 1 of only 5 teammates I ever had in #INDYCAR. He was a racer. He had previously been inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1992. But he was not an idiot going around and doing stupid things. Gundlach forwarded Hackenbergs contact information to an Arrow McLaren hiring manager, and the match turned out perfect. The car went to Al Unser Sr who went on to win a record-tying 4th Indianapolis 500. Jim Chapman, race boss for Interscope Racing, said no one was very familiar with him. Ongais suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, missing the rest of the season to recover. If you know some information, please comment below. Wife: The blogger is not married. How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing win, Dan Wheldon and his amazing last win For a few years Ongais had an uneasy truce with the press, but even that evaporated when Colleen Campbell left him. 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. He suffered a concussion, compound fractures in both legs, a broken arm and a 6-inch tear in his diaphragm. With sponsorship dollars generally on the rise in IndyCar, and manufacturer money pouring into rival series such as IMSA and F1, it likely never has been harder for hiring across U.S. motorsports. The 1970 season didnt go as well, haunted by parts attrition and at least one fire that burned Ongais. That was the same year that Ongais became an Indy car winner. 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. We stayed friends over the years, and wed see each other at functions if he showed up. After losing Saturdays AA/Dragster class final to Thompson, he beat Thompson in the final of the eliminator on Sunday, 8.39 to 8.53, to claim the big prize, then a few months later, he won the Hot Rod Magazine Championships at Riverside Raceway. Ongais ability to drive these cars near their performance limits unfortunately resulted in a couple of spectacular crashes in Indy. The head count was up to 94 by mid-February and is expected to be at least 100 by the end of March. [15] His former Indy car competitors remembered him well after his passing, with Mario Andretti calling him that quiet lion.[16], (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position). Whether its grabbing a badass mechanic out of World of Outlaws and introducing them to IndyCar. [4], In 1977, Ongais ran his first full season in Indy cars. On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, he was ranked 39th. His Girlfriend/boyfriends name is Not Available. Ongais suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, missing the rest of the season to recover. 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. Just the camaraderie. Shes like, Absolutely. . 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. He was the only guy that spoke less at functions than I did. Ongais started in 21st place and retired with mechanical problems. he asked Ongais, who was not badly hurt. Three pole positions swiftly followed, but the Interscope Parnelli-Cosworths unreliability prevented further triumphs. Arrow McLaren was known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before McLaren gradually became the majority owner in mid-2021. Thompson and Ongais also teamed up to set nearly 300 national and international speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Mach 1 Mustang during the 1960s. WebINDIANAPOLIS Danny Ongais, the first and highest-finishing Hawaiian starter at the Indy 500, also might have been one of the hardest chargers in the races storied history. So its been a challenge, but Im really happy with how we managed to hit it in a short period of time. A writer who had followed his career closely and thought he knew Ongais fairly well visited him in the track hospital. 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. Sulley Muntari, Agyeman Badu, Asamoah Gyan, others visit Christian Atsus family home, VIDEO: Government will be fully involved in providing Christian Atsu a befitting burial Dr. Bawumia, Christian Atsus mortal remains arrive in Ghana via Turkish Airlines, Maybe I created enemies along the line Kofi Amoabeng on UT Banks collapse, Christian Atsu was one of Ghanas finest personnel Akufo-Addo, This is some food chain story Archipalago shamed for chasing clout with Christian Atsus death. Nielsen was hard-core Ongais all the way, peppering me with facts and stats to prove his case, so, naturally, I reached out to ask for his parting thoughts on Ongais. Back to Victory Lane, Every Indy 500 Winner from the Dawn of Time, Danny Ongais, 11-Time Indianapolis 500 Racer, Rolex 24 Winner Dies at 79, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Service. Ongais Indy 500 career ended with him leading in four races for 79 total laps. And thats across the board, both commercial and operational. The sad news of the death of the veteran racing driver was announced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two days later after his death. Thats what we like to avoid doing because you lose a little of the human touch that way. This time they carried him away, his body broken almost beyond repair. Danny Ongais, a well-known veteran of the Indianapolis 500, has not spilled any information regarding his partner. 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. Racing director Gavin Ward, who oversees day-to-day operations as the direct report to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, started last July after working as head engineer for Josef Newgarden at Team Penske. To him, the hardest part of the project came in deciding on a name for the car. He won the American Hot Rod Association AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964. The Flyin`. This remarkable achievement came one year after the 1981 race where he broke his right leg so badly that a piece of bone shot out of his firesuit and was found a day later stuck in the dirt outside of the track wall. Ongais also survived a spectacular barrel roll at the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway when he ran into the slower car of Phil Krueger on the backstretch. Nigel Mansells greatest F1 and Indycar drives, How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar, How Ericsson unlocked his potential He was super talented and could jump from car to car and make that car better. But we are sure that it is not available and his spouses name is not available. After setting fastest lap of the race at the Indy 500 despite his rookie status, he went on to clinch victory at Michigan. 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. Super positive. The success of Ongais and Field with the Interscope team also extended to sports car racing, with Field also driving. They soon began taking chunks out of Danny Ongais` hide. I think weve got a very good tribe of people here, and part of that includes just diversity of humans in general, Gundlach said. In this week's Dragster Insider, friends and fellow racers remember the guy nicknamed On the Gas.. Hills, California, from congestive cardiovascular collapse, but not because of any accident. What a likable guy in every way. Sometimes its easy to forget that, but I think were doing a good job here. RIP Danny Ongais pic.twitter.com/AqJW32Ko2o, Arie Luyendyk (@ArieLuyendyk) March 1, 2022. 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. Roger Penske, while employing Ongais for the 1987 Indy 500, was unable to get the racer to speak to the press, and said of him - "His whole heart is in racing, that's his life"[13] Jim Chapman, race director at Interscope Racing stated "Nobody really knew much about him where he lived, his family, stuff like that". He possesses in-depth Sports Journalism experience with a proven record of achievements in creating and delivering high quality engaging media content. He decided to remain private regarding her life and Ongais scored a best finish of 5th place at the Escort Warning Radars 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. 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. Weve got a lot of new stuff that were now gelling the team and figuring out how to work together and build on the processes. Ongais final attempt at Indianapolis came in 1998, when he failed to qualify in a Team Pelfrey car. 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. Though staffing up still was very difficult, Rossi credited attracting talent to McLarens high-performance reputation (the company also is known for its sleek street cars). Arguably Ongais best chance to win the Indy 500 came in his mid-40s in 1987, when Interscope partnered with Team Penske to run a Penske-Chevrolet at the Memorial Day Weekend classic. Danny Ongais, a Hawaii native, died Saturday of heart complications in Anaheim Hills, California, according to a news release from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ongais became the Hawaiian motorcycle champion in 1960 and was in the top three positions in the expert class from 1960 to 1962.[2]. [3] When he was aged 14, he tested out motorbike racing with some success. He was 79 His entry was taken over by three-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser, who took the replacement machine a one-year-old show-car and made himself a four-time 500 winner. By the time the broadcasting of the race ended at 11:30 PM, Ongais's condition had improved and his condition was updated to stable. Longtime followers of this column are well aware of Ongais greatest quarter-mile accomplishments behind the wheel of Mickey Thompsons Mustang Funny Car in 1969, but his love of going fast was deeply rooted long before then. He refuses to talk about his parents or his boyhood in Hawaii. 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 Thats exciting. 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 enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper stationed in Europe. Represented at Indianapolis by Thompson`s sister, Colleen Campbell, Ongais occasionally allowed himself to be interviewed. Upon joining Arrow McLaren, Ward said his No. Tommy Ivo and the five-second Top Fuel run that ignited a controversy, Wheelie neat! Ongais is the main Hawaiian to compete in Hustlings Greatest Show. Two years later he qualified on the front row and led for four laps before crashing again. Usually its me calling him for comment on someone whos passed, but this time he called me (he was, in fact, the first person to tell me of Ongais passing). Latest: Mystery of Microsoft CEO Young Son Zain Nadellas Cause of Death Famous Voice Actor Kirk Baily Unfortunately Passed Away Danny Ongais Cause of Danny Ongais passed away on February 26, 2022 at the age of 79. Ward noted two important additions from the world of Big Data and analytics in data and strategy lead Michael Gethers (who came from Salesforce) and engineer Eric Hestekin (who arrived from Boeing Defense). [Related Insider column: Whatever came of the famed Blue Mustang?]. The versatile Ongais made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts between 1977 and 1996, with four top-10 finishes. He was always kind of a private person. Thats definitely not a rumor, said OWard, who is entering his fourth season of driving McLarens No. And Penske said he would have a car ready for him. [2], Ongais was born in Kahului, Hawaii, on May 21, 1942. RIP Danny Ongais, who passed away Feb.26, 2022, in California of congestive heart failure at age 79. He was a good guy. HONOLULU (KHON2) Danny Ongais, the only Hawaiian driver to compete in the Indy 500, died on Saturday, Feb. 26, in California at the age of 79. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. Burial site and Find a Grave details, Ricou Browning funeral, burial service, pictures, date, time, venue. Even his closest friends know little of We were about the same age, but I always thought he was older than me because he was so mysterious, said Prudhomme. Plus, the tracks were not prepared with traction compound like they are today, making them a lot more slick and tougher to drive on. He had that natural ability to drive anything he climbed into. Those are the nice things that people want out of family who do this.. We have an ethos here where we dont necessarily want to do things the way theyve always been done in the IndyCar world. Danny Ongais had a net wort estimated at $5 million dollars. He did his own thing. Ongais died Feb. 26, 2022 from congestive heart failure in Anaheim Hills, California. WebWas Danny Ongais Married? The engineering is growing more slowly but continuously. He seldom lifted no matter how crossed up and sideways the car got. I dont think theres a better IndyCar team to work for right now.. WebMotor sports and racing legend Danny Ongais passed away on February 26, 2022 at 3:15pm of congestive heart failure at his home in Anaheim Hills, CA, that he shared with Weve had more people come to us than weve reached out to other people. He was transported by an ambulance to a nearby hospital in a critical condition. He qualified well over the season, earning three poles, and he finished 12th in the standings. But no one could deny his talent. F4 Thailand Boys Over Flowers Season 1 Episode 13 Release Date and Time, Countdown, When Is It Coming Out. Funny Car icon Bruce Larson: NHRA's original triple-threat Pro driver, Frank Mancuso: Some good trips and some bad ones for the 'Travel Agent' driver. The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis in 1996. After a long pit stop, Ongais hit the Brickyard hard to make up for the 46-second stop. That helps winnow down the applicant pool for hiring by an executive team that includes Ward, competition director Billy Vincent, operations director Max Neyron, performance director Nick Snyder, marketing vice president Mo Murray and general manager Brian Barnhart (Murray and Barnhardt also have joined within the last few months). Sleek, swift and deadly, they could suddenly turn around and bite a man. WebDaniel Ongais passed away on October 11, 2019. 1 staffing priority wasnt hiring. WebDanny Ongais, a race-winner and ace qualifier in Indy car racing whose career spanned three decades died last weekend congestive heart complications By: David Malsher-Lopez If he was running at the end, you couldnt count him out. In fact, even his closest associates have little insight into his own life, as he doesnt talk about his family or his youth in Hawaii. 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. Ongais and Field teamed up with success in Formula 5000 and the IndyCar Series in the late 1970s. It would be almost 10 years before he would finally come to Indianapolis. Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCars next winning match-up? When he returned to his home state, he realized that his motorsports future was limited by the dearth of racetracks there, and he crossed the Pacific to the Mainland with fellow Hawaiian Roland Leong, where they both found employment with the Dragmaster team, then one of the most successful and prolific builders of dragster chassis. Honda reveals Civic Type R pace car for IndyCar events, Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021, The top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021 Danny Ongais competed in 11 Indianapolis 500 starts, completing mostly good times between 1977 and 1996. Phil Burgess can be reached at[emailprotected], Hundreds of more articles like this can be found in theDRAGSTER INSIDER COLUMN ARCHIVE, Or try theRandom Dragster Insider story generator, Long 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. Faster than he could whip a motorcycle through a turn, Ongais became a drag racer and an instant winner. His race director at Interscope Racing Jim Chapman stated Nobody really knew much about him where he lived, his family, stuff like that. 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. I got to spend time with Danny at the [Indy] Speedway, and I just watched him do his thing, and he was magnificent. 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. This is certainly an exciting company to work for because the brand is quite well known globally, and that certainly helps from a recruitment perspective. I always wanted to be like him. 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. That 1978 season also included Ongais starting in the middle of the first all-200-mph front row at Indianapolis, between pole sitter Tom Sneva and rookie Rick Mears, but his best finish in his 11 starts at the Speedway was a fourth in 1979. For the 1984 season Ongais took over as owner of Interscope Racing fielding the #25 Interscope Racing March 84C-Cosworth DFX. 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]. 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.. Date, time, venue, burial service, obituary poster, Where will be Ricou Browning buried? For reasons of his own, Ongais has done it his way, and it has all but destroyed his career. Al Unser was named as Ongais replacement and drove to his fourth Indy 500 victory in a backup car that previously had been used as a show car earlier in May at a hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. We want to pull the best of the world of motor racing and beyond. A semi-serious look at the points battles heading to Pomona, T.V. He drove with bravado and advocated unlimited rules at the Indianapolis 500. Even with a short 10-year stint in drag racing, Ongais was still so well regarded that he was voted No. Ward said the schedule was among the reasons that engineer Ryan Kelly chose to join Rossis car after multiple seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. Weve got to take care of our people through those hard stretches, but for the most part, its a little less time away, the travels not quite so far. So far as anyone knows, he has nothing to hide.''. He was the Indycar Rookie of the Year in 1977, competed in the Indy 500 11 times, and finished as high as fourth (1979) and also competed in both the famed 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans before hanging up his driving gloves in 1998. Gundlach, who recently was announced as a finalist for Indys Best and Brightest, previously worked cars that won two championships with Scott Dixon at Ganassi. Shes a complete unicorn and super hard worker. Thats what it is all about, any way you can add another 500 horsepower, you do it. Ricou Browning cause of death: How did Ricou Browning die? He was the oldest driver to compete in that field, at age 54. Great guy. He then competed at the Gould Twin Dixie 125 however bad luck hit Ongais in both races. Obviously, were very happy with what weve managed to pull together in recruiting talented people at a time where its a scrap for talent out there. He also competed in four Formula 1 races in 1977 and 1978, including two starts with Interscope, with a best finish of seventh in the 77 Canadian Grand Prix. He didnt talk, but he let the car speak for him.. Kate Gundlach, a performance engineer at Arrow McLaren, was leafing through a sports car magazine a couple years ago when she stumbled upon a story about Grace Hackenberg, an Oregon-based racing engineer. Rosenqvist, driver of the No. The starting blast damaged the electronics, and the Funny Car final used a flag start, and Ongais defeated Prudhomme for the win. He also won the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster Championship in 1965. The tragic circumstances of an accident also led to Ongais final start at Indianapolis, in 1996. 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. I think that it is very important to see that the company emphasizes bringing the right people in, and the right people are women.. He really was. Under qualifying rules he had to start 33rd. So quiet, so humble and so fast ! I never worried about being alongside of him or anything like that. In 1978 he won five races and was the hottest driver on the circuit. The time he hit the wall in the third turn. Also, we have no information about his son and daughter. He initially drove the #65 Interscope Racing March 83C-Chevrolet V6, however, that car was replaced with the #25 March 83C-Cosworth DFX. The Flying Hawaiin led a very secretive life outside the racing world its known that Ongais had a wife but it is said h had a son who is unidentified for now. WebDanny Ongais (May 21, 1942 February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver . The Estimated Net worth is $80K USD $85k. Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting, 2021 IndyCar title is just the start for Ganassi's newest star, 2021 title just the start for Palou Thompson and Ongais also teamed up to set nearly 300 national and international speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Mach 1 Mustang during the 1960s. 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. Danny, the way he picked it up, was like a duck to water, Mario Andretti told NBC Sports. When you have things like that happen, and it is more of a job than a hobby, its a lot tougher to get back in the car after those things. ''You`ll be lucky to win $250 the whole season here,'' he was told. Join Facebook to connect with Danny N Patsy Ongais and others you may know. 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. That comes from a focus on the culture of the team. That stems more from drag racing. He had refused all requests for interviews this week, and Penske himself could not get his driver to relent. How Harvey found his dream team Danny faced a ton of heart problems in his old age. He was a force to be reckoned with when he was out there. Gracie is a rock star and can do anything, Gundlach said. Facebook gives people the power to share and 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. Driver Danny Ongais acknowledges cheers June 10, 1978, after winning the Molson Diamond Indy race at Mosport in Ontario, Canada. Told NBC Sports and others you May know ''that ` s his life, racing..... 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