He started out in Stock and moved up to Super Stock. Legendary NHRA drag racer Bob Glidden died Dec. 17 at the age of 73. There were wins but no title. RIP Bob you were the greatest. Glidden retired his undefeated Fairmont in favor of a Plymouth Arrow in 1979 and lost only three times all year. He raced it in 1978, 1980 and 1981 and won thirteen national even titles. Get the best deals for bob glidden pro stock die cast at eBay.com. Anthony Caruso III on December 17, 2017 / 0 comments. 2021 FOX News Network, LLC. He crawled out, staggered once, noticed the hood was gone, took off his jacket and covered his home made intake manifold. It was an honor for Bo and Mark to meet their childhood idol as . [Bob] conceded that many of his competitors knew far more about the internal-combustion engine than he did, but none of them had his will to win. About Bob Glidden. RIP Mr, Gliden.You will like the others of your caliber are and will be missed. NHRA NHRA Glidden served in an advisory and crew chief role for a number of Pro Stock teams during the 2000s and 2010s, including Cunningham, Gray Motorsports, Knoll-Gas Motorsports, and Don Schumacher Racings Mopar effort. How Did Bob Glidden Die . He did the same thing at all four of his divisional races. He was a true competitor who left a lasting legacy of excellence both on and off the track. 1970 Ford Mustang CJ428 - Light Blue Q . We didn't want to get out.". In 1974, in just his second full season in Pro Stock, Glidden won three major events, including the Springnationals and U.S. Nationals, and set both ends of the national record en route to his first Winston championship. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. And Bob made Rusty own up to it, or stay away from the family. Miraculously, Glidden was not hurt, and he returned to competition a month later at the Cajun Nationals with a new Thunderbird, but his first win would not come until the Mile-High Nationals in July. Godspeed Bob, were sure Grumpy met you at the gates and was talking smack to get you fired up the second you got there. We went inside Bob was not there ,Billy came out and talked to us.He said dad says no one in the shop when we have an engine apart .I remember a wall full of Wallys .Just a real family making a living racing. Countless hours of development and experimentation, but the payoff was huge. Bob Glidden was a driver I always lived loved to hate! We had followed his career for many years and to finally be able to meet Bob and spend a few minutes talking with him was a very high point in this Ford racers life. Glidden came out of retirement to drive occasionally through the 2010 season, and although never won again, he left a championship legacy. Something tells us that the next time you hear a thunderstorm in the distance it may actually sound like a screaming Ford Fairmont with a skinny guy from Indiana behind the wheel, shifting the Lenco as the car hurtles down the big strip in the sky to a win light. In 1985, Glidden led the points chase from start to finish, winning five national events. The eventual hell that Bob Glidden would wreak in the lives of his fellow competitors began to appear in 1973. Bob graduated from Kennett High School in Conway, N.H. in 1945 and immediately joined the Army Air . Glidden earned the nickname Mad Dog due to his intense work ethic. In a star-studded career that spanned more than 25 years in the class,. In 1986, in one of drag racing's great comeback stories, Glidden overcame a slow start and a horrific crash at the Southern Nationals in April to win his seventh Winston title. Yeah, Glidden had hoards of fans wherever he raced. Dec 9, 2008 #5 There was a write up in SS&DI years ago about exactly where they hid it, and how they plumbed it. what did bob glidden die of by | Dec 17, 2021 | baogang steel mill deaths Aviation History offers air enthusiasts the most detailed coverage of the history of manned flight, with action-packed stories and illustrations that put the reader in the cockpit with pilots and military (Army, Navy, and Marines) aviators to experience aviation s . EngineLabs is launching this week with the objective of analyzing the many avenues of engine technology, especially racing and street performance. Bob Glidden, drag racing legend and 10-time NHRA Pro Stock champion, died Dec. 17. However, a Top Sportsman car driven by Bill Kuhlmann ran 202 miles per hour later that evening. The best of all times. Bob Glidden never drank his own Kool-Aid and he approached each and every of the hundreds of events he ran like a kind of desperate guy who had spent his lifes savings to take a shot at the big leagues and could literally not afford to fail. he was bad ass. Im glad to have met him several times and saddened to know im not getting another chance in this life to meet him again. Juni 2022. He reached 76 career wins by the end of the season, with 49 of them in the '80s alone. I stretched the nose of the Thunderbird, smoothed out the bumpers, lengthened the hood, and added the scoop and wing. If you have something to share let us know. He stumbled out of the car and immediately covered the intake manifold (or what was left of it) with his fire jacked to protect the design and not allow any competitors to see it. The worm turned for Glidden during the 1984 season when he debuted the aerodynamic Thunderbird. All rights reserved. Our calling is to share advice, showcase new ideas and expose risks in the competitive and exciting universe of the internal combustion engine. After finishing the 1978 season with seven straight victories, Glidden opened the 1979 season with a victory at the Winternationals and didn't lose a round until June, when a foul start in the second round of the Mile-High Nationals snapped his streak at 14 races and 50 rounds. We didn't clinch the points title mathematically until just before [Indianapolis], but mentally, we felt that we had won the title right there in Englishtown.". Legal Statement. Lighter than the Ford and making scads of power through his genius as an engine man, Glidden did something that today seems thoroughly impossible. After a skin-of-the-teeth victory over Butch Leal in the semi-finals in Atlanta, Glidden's parachute didn't deploy correctly. What else can you say? Name Date Site E.T. He actually dominated harder in the Plymouth. He also qualified No. Try http://dornbos.gemm.com, >So Bob got caught, but there was no fuss made of it by NHRA? Bob Glidden had enjoyed the best season of his career thus far seven wins. A lady fan walked up and asked for his autograph. Time left 12h 35m left. Saw Bob helping Mark Pawuk at the wintenationals years back. 1974 was his second season in the Pro Stock field and the first of a two-in-a-row championship win. He did the same thing at all four of his divisional races. Bob went on to indirectly accuse KurtJohnson of it, but had no proof. Ironically, it was Glidden's incredible success that sparked the Reher-Morrison team. Legal Statement. 4 ranking on its Top 50 drivers of the sanctioning bodys first 50 years. "Everyone in the NHRA community is saddened to learn the news of Bob's passing," NHRA President Peter Clifford said. when we were at seattle he was always willing to spend time talking clevelands still using his oiling and porting ideas today . The pro stock class was only two years old when a young Greenwood, Indiana, Ford mechanic named Bob Glidden began his climb to pro stock and drag racing glory. NHRA'S 50 GREATEST DRIVERS -- NO. I always kept two baseline engines that we didnt changejust kept them fresh and ready to race. He was surrounded by his loving family. Check the 6 second club.Billy Glidden made the club using laughing gas! He also triumphed in Bowling Green Kentucky in the final of Division 3, where he was awarded an extra 400 points after setting a national e.t. 1 five times, posted top speed eight times, and set low e.t. In the summer of 1978, Glidden embarked on one of the sport's legendary winning streaks that included nine straight national event victories and stretched a complete calendar year. In 1997, after receiving a sponsorship package that he wasn't too keen on, Glidden formally retired from behind the wheel after only two races of the season. Pro Stock icon Bob Glidden, one of the most dominant forces in the history of NHRA Drag Racing, died Sunday. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the Glidden family at this difficult time., When asked to what he attributed his success, Glidden once said, "Common sense and the will to survive. With his wife, Etta, and, later in his career, sons Billy and Rusty by his side, the man known as Mad Dog for his tireless work ethic and dominated the class in the late 1970s and 1980s, winning back-to-back season championships in 1974-1975, three in a row (1978-80) and five straight (1985-89), Everyone in the NHRA community is saddened to learn the news of Bobs passing," said NHRA PresidentPeter Clifford. 1, setting low e.t. He put his Probe in the winner's circle one more time, at the Fallnationals, for his 67th career victory. I hired them to get work done but all our information kept getting passed on. My condolences to his family. 1970 Ford Boss 429 Mustang - Calypso Coral (Highway 61) 1/18. He races for more than 25-years in the sport, as a Pro Stock driver. R.I.P Bob. He took some time off from racing after that, save for a few appearances in his son Billys small-tire Mustangs, but returned yet again in 2010. Twelfth Night Act 1 Scene 3, This performance was called total domination. With very little notice, he had to resurrect the old Boss 429 architecture to compete against GMs purpose-built DRCE platform when the 500-inch rule was mandated. He appeared in every final round of the season, winning three out of five. My best to his family and friends. The 1978 season kicked off with the Winternationals at Pomona Raceway (now Auto Club Raceway at Pomona) in Pomona, California. As a Ford guy growing up in the Diamond P sports era he like a super hero. He retired early into the 1997 campaign. Further on hidden nitrous, the Wayne County guys were supposed to have had adummy battery and cables which concealed their system. But if EngineLabs is to be successful, our prying eyes and ears need to uncover at least a few of the latest and greatest tricks from the engine shops, the aftermarket and leading manufacturers. Tom Sizemore, the powerful character actor known for his roles in films including Saving Private Ryan, Natural Born Killers, Heat, Black Hawk Down, and Pearl Harbor, has died at the age of 61. The tributes to NHRA Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden, who died Dec. 17, 2017, poured in during the 64th Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg. Owners,drivers and engine builders such as Bob are pretty much gone ,and well missed . 1974 would be the first of his 10 NHRA championships. I was just standing there when he asked me if i wanted to help I was hesitant at first but my dad told me to go, so i went with him and he let me change a spark plug on his thunderbird. I heard it caused a lot of stress for the entire Glidden family, because of Bob's hard line on the cheating issue. Saw Mr. Glidden at Memphis several years ago. I think Bob was the greatest drag racer ever, next to Big Daddy. "NITRO498"