Versatile racer Danny Ongais, 79, has died. Able to go quickly in any type of racing machine, whether on two wheels, in nitro drag racing dragsters and Funny Cars, in an open-wheel or closed-wheel competitive vehicle, Ongais was quick and fast. He earned the sobriquet “The Flyin’ Hawaiian”, “On-Gas” and “On the Gas” as word plays on his last name, but Ongais was best known for his speed and, occasionally, for his ability to survive the gnarliest on-track incidents.
The sole native of Hawaii to race in the Indianapolis 500, Ongais made 11 starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1977 through 1996, earning four top-10 results in cars entered by Ted Field’s Interscope Racing. Ongais and his eye-catching No. 25 Interscope Parnelli and Penske machines were powered by then-Torrance-based Cosworth, and earned the team a best finish of fourth in 1979 and a top start of second, next to 1978 pole sitter Tom Sneva and then rookie Rick Mears, to form the first all-200-mph front row.
The native of Kahului, Hawaii began his racing career his early teens, earning a state title in motorcycle racing in 1960. He was also a standout in drag racing, beginning in the early 1960s; he became one of the top straight-line racers of his era in the early 1970s. Finishing as Top Fuel runner-up to Mike Snively in the 1966 NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP), Ongais had the distinction of beating the legendary Don “The Snake” Prudhomme in the semifinals at that race.
Three years later, Ongais won in Funny Car at the U.S. Nationals in a distinctive blue Ford Mach 1 Mustang fielded by Mickey Thompson, a year after Thompson tried to enter Ongais in the 1968 Indy 500; he was denied by USAC as he had very little experience in open-wheel race cars. The duo of Ongais and Thompson set almost 300 Bonneville Salt Flats national and international speed records during the 1960s, again in a Mach 1 Mustang. It was his straight-line expertise that landed Ongais in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 in the drag racing category.
When Ongais was in the U.S. Army during the 1960s, he was exposed to European sports car racing and that prompted the Hawaiian to move into ovals and road courses in the next decade. He dominated SCCA competition in 1974, grabbing the attention of Ted Field, then founder of Interscope Records. They teamed together in the Formula 5000 and INDYCAR series in the late 1970s. Ongais competed in four Formula One races during the 1977 and 1978 seasons – two starts with Interscope – notching a seventh place result at the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix.
Danny Ongais’ infatuation with sports cars – and Ted Field’s as well – led the two to IMSA sports car racing; the duo teamed with five-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winner to earn victory in the 1979 winter twice-around-the-clock classic, driving an Interscope Porsche 935 prototype.
While renown for his blazing speed on both two wheels and four, Danny Ongais gained even more fame for being a survivor, particularly in open-wheel cars and often at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ongais suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash at the 1981 Indy 600, missing the balance of the season as he recovered and, in 1985 he survived a barrel roll at Michigan International Speedway after hitting the slower car of Phil Krueger. He crashed in practice for the 1987 Indy 500 in a Team Penske entry; Ongais’ inability to to recover in time for the race brought Al Unser in as his substitute. The New Mexico-born driver used a backup car to earn his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory that year.
Tragedy at IMS brought Ongais to his final Indy 500 start. In 1996, he was called by team owner John Menard to be the replacement driver when Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a post-qualifying practice crash. Then 54 years old, Ongais finished seventh after starting at the rear of the field.
When the National Hot Rod Association named its Top 50 drivers of the NHRA’s first 50 years, Ongais got the nod as No. 39. While racing was his life, Danny Ongais wasn’t the outgoing type like many drivers. This writer had the privilege of doing some public relations for the quiet racer during his Formula 5000 career; he was quick with information but rarely spoke of his feelings either inside or out of the car. Danny Ongais died on Saturday, February 26, 2022 in Anaheim Hills, California, suffering from congestive heart complications.
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