Don Garlits was there when the Texas Motorplex opened in 1986, and being Garlits, he promptly won the first NHRA national event the place ever held.
Glenn Menard had already done plenty of work by then. He was the track’s original general manager, charged with helping get the Motorplex up and running before anyone fired a pair of nitro cars.
Forty years later, the two are going into the Texas Motorplex Legends program.
Garlits, the Hall of Fame Top Fuel racer whose influence went well beyond driving one, and Menard will be honored during the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals, Oct. 16-18, in Ennis, Texas.
“When the Motorplex opened and hosted its first national event Don and Glenn were a major part of our success,” Texas Motorplex co-owner Christie Meyer Johnson said. “Don is drag racing and he is one of the biggest legends in the sport. He won the first Texas Fall Nationals and has been a long-time competitor and supporter of the track.”
Garlits and the Motorplex have been connected since the track’s first season.
The facility was a big deal when it opened, and not because somebody in the marketing department decided to call it one. The Motorplex was built specifically for drag racing, and its all-concrete racing surface was something racers hadn’t seen at an NHRA national event facility.
It didn’t take long for Garlits to make himself at home.
“Big Daddy” won Top Fuel at the inaugural Texas Fall Nationals in 1986, putting his name first on a winners list that has grown considerably over the next four decades.
By then, Garlits didn’t need another victory to establish his place in drag racing history. He had won plenty of races and championships, and his work with the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster helped change what the class looked like and, more importantly, made the cars safer.
Texas just became another place where he won.
Menard’s contribution wasn’t measured on a scoreboard.
As the original general manager, he was involved in making the Motorplex work as an actual racing facility. A new racetrack could have all the concrete, grandstands and ambition in the world, but somebody still had to run the thing.
“The impact Glenn had on the development of the track is almost impossible to measure,” Meyer Johnson said. “His leadership and dedication in the early years set the track on a path to success.”
Menard eventually left Texas and went on to work with major sporting events and facilities, including the Super Bowl, World Cup and Superdome.
He later came back to the Motorplex as general manager.
Garlits and Menard made their marks there in considerably different ways. Garlits did his with a Top Fuel dragster. Menard’s work mostly happened in places where there wasn’t a Christmas tree or a scoreboard keeping track.
Both were there at the beginning.
Now, with the Motorplex celebrating 40 years since its 1986 opening, both will have their place among the track’s Legends.
Garlits and Menard will be honored in separate ceremonies during the Texas Fall Nationals and presented with one-of-a-kind Texas Motorplex Legend spurs.
