Danny Ongais 1942 – 2022

Danny Ongais, the quick and versatile Hawaiian whose lengthy profession included time in Indy vehicles, Formulation 1, sports activities vehicles and drag racing, died on Saturday of congestive coronary heart failure on the age of 79.

Nicknamed ‘The Flying’ Hawaiian’, Ongais made 11 begins on the Indianapolis 500 between 1977 and 1996, driving the distinctive No.25 Interscope entry to a career-best end of fourth in 1979, a 12 months after placing the automotive on the entrance row alongside Tom Sneva.

Born in Kahului, Ongais obtained his begin racing bikes, and returned from a stint as a U.S. Military paratrooper to win the Hawaiian state bike championship in 1960. Extra success on two wheels adopted, however he wasted little time in branching out and added AHRA Fuel Dragster titles to his resume in 1963 and 1964, adopted by the NHRA AA Dragster championship the next 12 months. A swap to Humorous Vehicles later within the decade yielded two wins in a Ford Mustang for staff proprietor Mickey Thompson in 1969. The Ongais/Thompson mixture would show to be much more potent on the pace report circuit, the place they used a Mach 1 Mustang to set practically 300 nationwide and worldwide data on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

By that time Ongais had already taken a swing on the Indy 500, however was turned away from the 1968 race on the premise of his nearly full lack of expertise in open-wheelers. However his time in Europe with the Military had opened his eyes to street racing, and within the mid-Seventies he started working up via the ranks of the American scene. His dominance of the 1974 SCCA season put him on the radar of leisure mogul Ted Area.

After additional success in F5000, the pair went into USAC and Indy automotive racing in 1976 below the Interscope Racing banner. Ongais made his debut at Ontario that 12 months, and claimed his first win the next season at Michigan. He added an extra 5 victories in 1978 – greater than anybody else within the subject – however mechanical issues and inconsistency left him eighth within the factors. He additionally made a mark on the Brickyard that 12 months, planting the Interscope automotive between Sneva and Rick Mears on the entrance row.

Ongais poses with the Interscope PGB Porsche Indy automotive he had hoped to run within the Indy 500 however as a substitute wound up within the staff’s Parnelli 6C-Cosworth DFX. Operating a 2.65-liter flat-6 with new combustion head expertise and 54 inches of enhance, the Porsche engine topped out at 800 hp. It was all for naught. Photograph: Michael Dobrin Assortment

Ongais and Area additionally took Interscope into Formulation 1 for the 2 North American races in 1977, yielding a seventh on the Canadian GP. Ongais returned to F1 the next 12 months for 2 races with Group Tissot Ensign, however with much less success.

In direction of the top of the last decade, Ongais and Area expanded the Interscope horizon to incorporate sports activities vehicles – with Area now driving as properly ­– they usually teamed with Hurley Haywood to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1979 within the Interscope Porsche 935 prototype.

It was additionally throughout 1979 that Ongais made his first foray into CART. His debut at Phoenix, the place he certified fourth and led the race earlier than being derailed by an engine failure considerably set the tone for the subsequent couple of years: a narrative of blazing pace, however dangerous luck or different circumstances conspiring towards him absolutely capitalizing on it. However all that took a again seat when he suffered a large accident within the 1981 Indy 500. He’d pitted because the chief on lap 63, solely to lose greater than 40s to a catastrophically gradual pitstop. Upon rejoining, he made a late move on a slower automotive at Flip 3, misplaced the rear, overcorrected and pounded the obstacles practically head on. He was rushed to hospital in a crucial situation, and spent the remainder of the season on the sidelines recovering from factures to each legs, a damaged arm, and a six-inch tear to his diaphragm.

Certainly, whereas he continued to provide respectable outcomes upon his return in 1983, his later years had been outlined nearly as a lot by a handful of serious accidents – not all of which he was immediately concerned with.

He was very a lot on the heart of the large one in 1985, when he was launched into a large barrel roll down the backstretch at Michigan after working into the rear of Phil Krueger. Two years later, he crashed throughout follow for the Indianapolis 500 and sustained a concussion that compelled him to overlook the race. His misfortune set the stage for Al Unser to make some historical past of his personal when Penske known as him up as an 11^th-hour substitute and he gained his fourth Indy 500 in a backup automotive that had been serving as a present automotive on show in a lodge foyer in Pennsylvania simply weeks earlier.

Ongais’ last look on the 500 had its roots in way more tragic circumstances in 1996 when polesitter Scott Brayton was killed in a follow crash and staff proprietor John Menard tapped Ongais as his substitute. Ongais, then 54 and making his first begin on the Speedway in a decade, lined up on the rear of the sector and completed a exceptional seventh. He made one last try and qualify with Group Pelfrey two years later, however was bumped.

Notoriously personal and publicity-shy, Ongais spent his later years surrounded by his household in southern California. He was inducted into the Motorsports Corridor of Fame of America in 2000.