Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

I'm sorry to report that my friend and a friend to many, Art Malone, passed away near 7 am this morning (Friday, March 29, 2013.).

Art has been dealing with heart issues for some time. No other information is available
at this time. Condolences to his family.

My experience with Art is that he was pretty much a "no nonsense" guy. He had a lot of history. I think he was the first to average 180 MPH lap at Daytona. He competed in the Indy 500 and I'm pretty sure he was the first, and perhaps the only, man to blow up his garage with a top fuel car.

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

Art Malone was one of the few people I was ever jealous of. In 1984 when he coaxed Big Daddy out of retirement, offered to buy him some parts to go race Indy with, relit the fire in Bigs. Bigs hadn't raced NHRA in many years, drags an old car out of the museam, went to Indy and mopped up the field. Unbelieveable. Only Bigs could do something like that. I wished I was Art Malone to have caused all that.

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

Rick,

You are absolutely correct about Art coaxing Don back into the game. Both of them told me the story. But, I believe it may have been Don that told Art he needed him to help him (Don), save Top Fuel.

Don Garlits is fighting his own personal battle as his wife Pat, and his brother ED have
health issues.

Carl Weisinger

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

Believe Art won TF at the 1963 Bakersfield March Meet...and others. Didn't he try a turbine car once...wasn't afraid of experimenting...Also tried other forms of motorsports...(like NASCAR)...as what was mentioned...

Remember the move to "bring-back" Big Daddy. I saw Garlits on (his) 1982 "retirement tour." Art brought him back...

God Bless Art Malone!

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

Another icon of our sport gone. God speed Art! Jim


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Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

One can take on many things in life however, you cannot take on time...it gets us all eventually. Godspeed Art Malone!

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

Carl , Please keep Sonny Ray in your prayers David Rampy called me sunday and said they removed his colon . Dont look good , but god takes care of us. Grant

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

Thanks Grant. Here's hoping for the best result possibile for Sonny and the family.

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

grant i am sorry to here about sonny hope he will be ok.and mr art malone was the driving force of big daddy.let's face it we are all not getting any younger.our racing family has lost some great one's in the last year.

Re: Art "The Colonel" Malone
 

From: Don Garlits <
Subject: Art Malone died this morning

Dear Friends,
My long life buddy, partner and friend died at home this morning at 6 AM. This was the final result of an Airboat accident several years ago, Art was injured severely and never fully recovered. I talked to him on March 27th and he was in good spirits, thought he had lost a lot of weight. The brute of a man was down to 175 pounds, my weight! His wife Sandra was at his side.
It grieves me to write this, but I must as Art and I go a long way back, in 1942 we rode the Twin Lakes School bus together, became friends and never had a quarrel. Art was younger than I, but a tall boy and timid at that young age. I once beat up a bully that was picking on him and we have been very close ever since. Art initially started racing round track cars and I once borrowed a flathead Ford engine out of his stock car to run an event while my engine was being repaired, I won with Art’s engine, but he continued to race the round tracks. Then in 1959, I was burned severely and Art and his wonderful late wife Lorraine came to the hospital and he offered to drive the Swamp Rat I car while I recuperated. Art took to Drag Racing like a “Duck to Water”, setting the new Drag News 1320 Record at his first outing in Sanford Maine, 183,66 MPH, breaking my old record set at Houston TX the week before the Chester fire. Art continued to raise the 1320 record several times and in 1960 built his own car at Al Williams shop in Kansas. He won the US Fuel and Gas Championships held in Bakersfield CA in 1963 with his own home-built car, Ed Iskenderian was his Crew Chief! He set the oval track record of 181.561 MPH at the Daytona Speedway on August 28th 1961, receiving the $10,000.00 prize posted by Bill France of NASCAR fame for the first person over 180 on a closed course, driving the “Mad Dog” a winged version of an Indy car, built by the late Bob Osiecki from Chester SC. The “Mad Dog” now rests in the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing as a tribute to this man’s many accomplishments. We teamed up again in 1984 putting “Garlits and Malone” on Swamp Rat 26, a car removed from the museum and refitted with modern parts purchased by Art to be able to run the 1984 NHRA US Nationals, we won the race, the competitors were calling us “Dinosaurs”, we then proceeded to the NHRA World Finals, winning again! Art and I then won the NHRA World Championships two years in a row, 1985 and 1986. Art was inducted into the Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1997 and he supported the Museum from the very beginning. This is just a brief summary of Art’s life, as it would take an entire book to list it all, he was a man’s man and will be missed by all racing fans and competitors.

Please circulate widely.
Thanks,
Don Garlits
CEO
Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing Inc.
13700 SW 16th Ave.
Ocala, FL 34473
352-245-8661 Office
352-245-6895 FAX
don@garlits.com

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Don Garlits, Art Malone and Crew
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