Dwane Ong

Before there was Don Garlits, there was Detroit’s Dwane Ong. To be more specific, Dwane Ong was the very first contemporary Top Fuel racer to enlist the mid-engine chassis design, still the “standard bearer” Top Fuel chassis design to this day.

 

In 1970, Dwane Ong won the AHRA Summer Nationals Top Fuel title at New York National Speedway at Long Island, NY. Named the “Pawnbroker”, his Woody Gilmore chassis car made it to the winner’s circle with a 6.83 at 219 mph. This triumphant outing took place over six months before Big Daddy Don Garlits debuted his first mid-engine car. Even though various past reports had often given Don Garlits credit for this innovation, Dwane was actually “first to the line” with this concept.

 

In 1971, Dwane switched his racing efforts over to the AA/FC class, the nitro-burning funny cars. In teaming up with car owner Ray Gallagher, Dwane began competing with the “Trader Ray” car which also featured a Woody Gilmore chassis. With this car, the team received some early help and guidance from drag racing luminaries such as Guy Allen (Jeb Allen’s father), Mike Dunn, legendary engine guru Keith Black, and Pat Foster during a test session at Orange County, CA. Dwane set a track record at Detroit Dragway during that time with a 6.89 at 214 mph. He was named the Funny Car Rookie of the Year for 1971.

 

This was back in the day when most Funny Car teams were still match racing to put on hired-in shows, and Dwane and crew did their share of travelling. Kansas City, Memphis, Martin, MI, Florida, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and many more places. Ong matched up against some of the biggest names in drag racing in these events, to include Jim Dunn, “Jungle Jim” Libermann, Shirley Muldowney, Billy Meyer, Connie Kalitta, and many others. They also competed at the US 30 Funny Car Nationals at York, PA, placing a respected third round win.

 

During his career, Dwane also found himself competing in the famed Coca Cola Cavalcade of Stars Funny Car series, and also had some footage in the classic 1974 cult film, “Funny Car Summer”, which starred Jim Dunn and his family as themselves.

 

Dwane cut short his career to concentrate on being a Dad to his son, but has fond memories of his drag racing efforts. He now resides in Houghton Lake, MI.