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. Aug 18, 1944 Whiteland, Indiana, United States Died on 17 Dec 2017 (aged 73) American racing driver. RIP Mr, Gliden.You will like the others of your caliber are and will be missed. He won the first two races of 1975, beating Wayne Gapp, the guy he stole the title from in 1974 along the way. The Winnebago car driven by Billy was a Pontiac owned by Harold, On Sun, 15 Jul 2001 15:57:33 GMT, dilley <, Glidden refused a teardown in the pits where his top secret heads and intake, Thank you James , Finally an answer I can swallow, eeewwww wait , bad choice of, The deal here was they wanted him to tear it down out in front of god and, I thought he was covering the carbs, and years later I was told he was, << It sure don't sound like Bill Bader asking, I was going strictly by memory, I thought I remembered it being a, You are correct. On Friday, July 6, 2001 at 9:12:42 AM UTC-5. many times since the late 70s, and he won 10 NHRA Chamionships in Pro Stock (9 of those in Fords), I only actually only talked with him a couple of times, and he was such a down to earth, loyal Ford racer, who seemed to really appreciate all his fans. In honor of the Glidden family after Bob's passing on Sunday, December 17, we respectfully chose to re-run this Richard Brady Remember When column from our September 2017 printed issue highlighting Brady's years visiting and photographing the many-time champion. With valuable sponsorship from Ed Martin Ford, where he worked as a line mechanic, Glidden became one of Division 3's most prolific winners before turning Pro in late 1972. The greatest Ford racer of all time. Edit Now Racing career Glidden began his drag racingcareer in the 1960s in a Ford427 Fairlane. Houses For Sale In Sarnia, Pinetown, Bob die $31.50. Anthony Caruso III on December 17, 2017 / 0 comments. The best of all times. Glidden was the NHRA's biggest winner until Force came along. He was always thinking and leading Pro Stock. Nothing was considered easy or mundane. What was the big secret? In 1974 he won the Springnationals, and in the final three races he had a runner up in Canada at Le Grandnational, then he won Indy, then he won the World Finals. He retired early into the 1997 campaign. He began driving in Stock and Super Stock races during the late 60s, and went professional in 1972, just a year before his first NHRA national event victory at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Legal Statement. I stretched the nose of the Thunderbird, smoothed out the bumpers, lengthened the hood, and added the scoop and wing. He was a 21-time IHRA winner, leading the tour with nine wins and 10 final-round appearances during his 1976 championship season. Dont email us your competitors cam profile, but you can ask us to do a story on adapting a NASCAR-like camshaft with multiple grinds to help your Saturday night dirt-track car even out cylinder-to-cylinder variation. A Ford campaigner from the beginning, Glidden's success in Pro Stock stemmed from his apprenticeship in Stock and Super Stock. May you race in piece Mr Glidden. 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. 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.". ETTA TALKED ABOUT WRENCHING ON BOBS CAR.SHE GAVE A LIFE SIZE POSTER OF BOB.SHE IMPRESSED MY DAUGHTER SUSAN SO MUCH SHE GOT A MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEGREE AND NOW IS A GM ENGINEER . The races you had vs WJ & Sheperd (and many others) were legendary. It was the Glidden and Shepherd show through the entire 1980 season. I know that I have to hustle to win and that I have to go all out to afford to race.". Market data provided by Factset. I know that I have to hustle to win and that I have to go all out to afford to race.". He was 73. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout Returns for 2023, [Gallery] Upstairs at the 70th Annual Detroit Autorama, Fourth World Series of Pro Mod Takes Place this Weekend at Bradenton, FL, Fueling the Fire Bracket Race & Street-Strip Fuel Delivery Systems Part 2. Digital mapping, computer modeling and CNC machines all but ensure that if a secret does get out, it will be replicated within hours. His career accomplishments are nearly superhuman with one of the most incredible stats being that the man appeared in the finals of the US Nationals 13 times IN A ROW. R.I.P Bob. 29356 - Limited Edition of 2,500. Feb 8, 2002. If there was a singular season that summed up the life and times of Bob Glidden it was 1986. We met Bob and family at Memphis in the late 80\s, he was a lot of fun to talk to and very focused on the task at hand, he was a very approachable racer that always had time for an admiring fan. One of the baddest pro stockers to walk the planet. In a star-studded career that spanned more than 25 years in Pro Stock, Glidden won 85 events, 10 season championships, and was voted No. Glidden spent much of his racing career in Ford cars, but he spent some time in a Plymouth Arrow and after retiring as a driver, he served as the crew chief for a few different teams, including the Mopar Pro Stock camp in the mid-2000s. Glidden won nine of 19 races and appeared in the vast majority of the final rounds. He boasted eight wins between 1990 and 1993, and despite having a heart attack in late 1994, he took an 85th and final NHRA Pro Stock victory at Englishtown in 1995. Even with the simplest things, theres no point in feeding your competitors any information, period, explains Glidden, now 68 years old. Long before racing professionally and the making of the Legend, Bob Glidden and I were friends. 1970 Ford Boss 429 Mustang - Grabber Blue (Highway 61) 1/18. The king of the pro stock class has passed at age 73. HUGE THANKS. Glidden faced 29 different opponents in his 122 final rounds and had winning records against 26 of them, including W.J. Maintaining his job as a line mechanic at the dealer and racing a schedule that was busy but paled on comparison to what his later career would look like, Glidden graduated to super stock and became the man to beat in NHRA division three competition. We are born to a certain family and then there are those who become family. Amazingly, Glidden won the title by the slimmest of margins that year over Lee Shepherd, his main rival and a man who would make life both interesting and difficult for Bob over the next half decade. Bob Glidden was a driver I always lived loved to hate! Glidden won 85 NHRA National Events. Got a tour of hos trailer and everything. Bob Glidden's ever trusty Ford Fairmont was a workhorse pro stock. Gliddens reputation for secrecy, of course, was memorialized following his wild finish-line crash at Atlanta in 1986. He was dominating with five number one qualifiers, he set low ET a half dozen times during the season and all the while, NHRA rules makers were adding weight to his combo, moving weight from others, and basically playing musical chairs to keep things in balance. "We decided that we either had to make the same kind of commitment to racing that he did or get out. His domination of the Pro Stock class set the bar high for other competitors and he will go down as one of the greats in the sport of drag racing. We promise not to use your email address for anything but exclusive updates from the Power Automedia Network. RIP Bob you were the greatest. 1988 was really close to 1987 in the sense that Glidden completely owned the second half of the season winning five of seven races and winning his ninth title. he was bad ass. Bob Glidden Has Died At 73 One Of The Most Singularly Dominant Drag Racers In History Is Gone. 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Baloo The Builder Tool Box, record at 7.277, the quickest Pro Stock run in NHRA history, at the Supernationals, which he won to clinch the championship in the car's debut. How did Bob Marley die? He did it all himself. On Sunday, December 17, Glidden died at age 73, after being admitted to an Indianapolis hospital for an undisclosed illness on December 5. Due to his national and divisional success Glidden captured his second NHRA championship in 1975. Glidden retired from full-time racing in 1997 to help with Ford's NASCAR engine development. Humble and relentless at its best. How Did Bob Glidden Die . He qualified number one 23 consecutive times and claimed nine national victories. Your email address will not be published. My info coming from an IHRA pro stock, I think it was Bill that nitroused the probe that he was running. Always my favorite to watch. God Speed kind sir. No, it is mind boggling. The whole 1986 season had been a disappointment to that point and people were wondering what would become of Glidden. Bob Glidden (August 18, 1944 December 17, 2017) was an American drag racer. 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. 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. After sporadic wins in the early '90s, Bob Glidden was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994. 1987 was more ridiculous domination. He was a true competitor who left a lasting legacy of excellence both on and off the track. He lived next door to CJ Rayburn a dirt racer and an ex drag racer. from United States. Bob Glidden, 1944-2017. Bob graduated from Kennett High School in Conway, N.H. in 1945 and immediately joined the Army Air . His potent and competitive Ford combination had been hit yet another time by the pounds-per-cubic inch parity regulators. No longer wanting to manage more than 20 possible variations of different engine sizes and vehicle wheelbases, the NHRA in 1982 set down one formula: 500 cubic inches and 2,350-pound minimum weight. One need not look to the current arrangement(s) and new rules governing Pro Stock; one only needs to know that with these passings of the Legends,. he came to the 1979 Winternationals with a Plymouth Arrow powered by a smallblock. Glidden's 1988 Winston championship, his ninth, followed a similar script. They sold the Mustangs, the Fairlane, and whatever else they had to rase the money and bought a Pinto from Gapp and Roush. Larry Carrier, BillyMeyers, Prolong Lubricants, Bill Bader, SFX Inc., who am I missing? 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Other than a pressure cooling, I was wondering about this "pressurized block" thing too You want, I don't know, thats why I was asking you guys , sounded kinda stupid to me, what i think he mean's is the nitros was plumbed through the block to hide it, >what i think he mean's is the nitros was plumbed through the block to hide it, The Wayne County team did indeed get caught with NOS in their carsIt was, On Sat, 14 Jul 2001 09:01:49 -0700, "Ron Zeppin", << He got caught when one of the photo's of the car, Might be BSLike I said, I got it second hand, but the guy I got it from. Bob was born in Windom, MN, the son of Thomas and Helen Gertrude (Putt) Glidden on July 23, 1937. I wanted to know more about this unique dynamic, so I called Bob Glidden, Pro Stocks winningest driver and certainly its most celebrated guardian of the secret manifesto. (andyes, one of the cars WAS Harold Stouts). I did a Goodyear tire test at Norwalk with BOBBY G. We ate lunch on the starting line where someone had placed 1 chair Mr. Glidden insisted I take the chair,while he and his family sat ON THE TRACK. I always kept two baseline engines that we didnt changejust kept them fresh and ready to race. A winner of 85 Pro Stock races and 10 NHRA championships, Glidden developed and built his own engines with the help of wife Etta and his two sons, Billy and Rusty. This performance was called total domination. Bob Glidden's Willie Rells 1988 Ford Probe. I met a former partner (Bobby Allen) while working in the used cars business in Ft. Wayne IN. He graduated from Spencer High School in 1956. Taft Isd School Calendar, Glidden won 85 NHRA National Events. As someone else pointed out, its very rare for someone to be that successful with two different brands at the professional level. After hitting the opposite guardrail, the car barrel-rolled six times and was destroyed. Unlike his 1979 championship season, Glidden won his third straight and fifth title in 1980 in dramatic fashion. I had the good fortune to see Bob win at the Molson Grandnational in \78. He also qualified No. He, like so many other prolifically successful people in any form of sport never considered himself great, even in the face of clearly being so. Im at a loss to express my dismay and sense of loss. He was 73-years-old. For those who raced with him on local streets many decades ago, when he and his friends put every spare dollar they. Get the best deals for bob glidden pro stock die cast at eBay.com. In pro stock. John Force, left, celebrates Bob Glidden's induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. By the end of the season, Glidden tied Don Prudhomme's record of most national event wins in one season and broke the Pro Stock single-season record of six set by "Grumpy" Jenkins in '72. We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request. Ertl MIC Diecast No. "Everyone in the NHRA community is saddened to learn the news of Bob's passing," NHRA President Peter Clifford said. Bob Glidden (August 18, 1944 - December 17, 2017) was an American drag racer. I thought i was a full on mechanic after that. He stopped and took the time to have a photo taken with her and talked with her for a few minutes. Played several Saturday morning basketball pickup games with Bob at the high school that school year, 1980-81. I briefly met them at MIR, and their enthusiasm. It sure don't sound like Bill Bader askinghim to do something like that but who knows. While the car did not perform to his standards at Indy, the point was made and while the 1976 season frustrated Glidden, it set the stage for a run that no one in the world of drag racing could have fathomed in the seasons to come. He even 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. Thats what started at Indy in 1984. And Bob made Rusty own up to it, or stay away from thefamily. Between the truck, the trailer, the car, and a spare engine with parts they had $18,000 invested in what they hoped would be their future. By NHRA.com (Whiteland, IN) -- Pro Stock icon Bob Glidden, one of the most dominant forces in the history of NHRA Drag Racing, died on Sunday. I was a fan of his as a Pro-Stock racer but still am a Chevy fan. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time. He retired from driving in 1997, going to work on Fords NASCAR engine development program, but was back behind the wheel by 98, driving a Pontiac in the U.S. Nationals. Pre-Owned. The success of today's Greg Anderson is not entirely unlike that of a certain Midwestern kid with an unshakable will to win that started breaking backs in . 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. Death Date: He drove his new car, a Ford Probe, to a national e.t. 1970 Ford Mustang CJ428 - Light Blue Q . 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. After a disappointing 1976 season, in which he finished a distant sixth behind Larry Lombardo, Glidden rebounded to finish second behind Don Nicholson in 1977 before reclaiming his number-one ranking in 1978. wrote in message news:3B45C75A@radiks.net Visit Butcher's Drag pagehttp://dreamwater.com/basca. However, can we also agree that there is some degree of overreaction and pretentiousness within the powertrain community with regards to secrecy? After the Mile High Nationals? When Bob Glidden was inducted as number four on the NHRA's Top 50 Drivers list, panelist Bob Frey said of Glidden's talent, "There never was, and probably never will be, a more dominant driver in our sport."