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When “Big Daddy” Don Garlits steps onto the starting line at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte this weekend, he won’t just be honoring NHRA history—he’ll be bringing a lost piece of it back to life. Garlits is set to present the 1,000th Top Fuel trophy, and this milestone isn’t just any award—it’s a handcrafted recreation of the one he himself received after winning NHRA’s first official Top Fuel final in 1963.

That original trophy, awarded to Garlits at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, was tragically lost in a natural disaster. To mark the 1,000th Top Fuel milestone, NHRA commissioned acclaimed drag racing fabricator and artist Tom Patsis to recreate the historic piece of nitro lore. Patsis, known for his detailed, art-meets-engineering approach to race-inspired sculpture, has crafted a stunning tribute that mirrors the spirit of the original while honoring the legend who earned it.

It’s almost unthinkable—like having Neil Armstrong at the launch pad for man’s return to the moon—that Garlits, the man who won the very first Top Fuel trophy, is now here to present the 1,000th. And in this case, it’s no exaggeration: Garlits doesn’t just remember his first win like it was yesterday—he remembers all of his wins, and everyone else's, too. He is the incomparable Top Fuel racer, a living encyclopedia of drag racing, and his presence makes this moment more than a milestone—it makes it, mythic.

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“Well, the race was against Art Malone, we had went to school together since the 5th grade! I had him drive my car in 1959-60, while I recovered from the horrific fire in Chester, SC. On June 20th, 1959! We were the best of friends, but each wanted nothing better, than to win the race! I knew Art would increase the Nitromethane percentage for the final, but that might not be a good idea, as we were smoking the tires, in those days, the entire length of the quarter-mile!
However, I had the new wing and if I had more power, I would be able to get that power to move the car forward! That is exactly what happened. Art put the nitro in probably 90% and I raised mine up to about 87 % and we both smoked the tires harder coming off the line. Both cars stayed side-by-side and about the eighth-mile when the wing would really start putting some down pressure on it just gradually pulled ahead of him. There was nothing he could do. I was getting more traction with the wing and the rest is history.”—Don Garlits recounting the first NHRA Top Fuel win against��Art Malone at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals.

Garlits’ connection to this moment runs deep. In front of 60,000 people at the 1963 Winternationals—then dubbed the “Big Go West”—Garlits piloted his Dodge-powered “Swamp Rat V” to a blistering 8.24-second, record-setting victory over longtime friend and rival Art Malone in a smoky, tire-shredding duel. “We had gone to school together since the fifth grade,” Garlits recalls. “He even drove my car while I recovered from a fire in ’59. We were best friends—but each of us wanted that win more than anything.”

Both drivers turned up the nitro for the final—Garlits estimates Malone was at 90%, while his Hemi was pushed to 87%. “We both smoked the tires hard coming off the line,” he says. “But I had the new wing, and it gave me just enough downforce to pull ahead at half-track. There was nothing Art could do.”

Who Will Win the 1,000th?

Now, 62 years later, Garlits returns to the NHRA stage—not in a Swamp Rat, but as a living legend with a trophy in hand that symbolizes the sport’s remarkable journey. With the roar of Top Fuel dragsters and the cheers of today’s fans echoing around him, Garlits will present NHRA’s 1,000th Top Fuel award—a trophy reborn from memory, burned in the arc of a TIG weld, and delivered with history in every detail. For whoever wins this trophy, one thing is clear: Garlits will remember your moment together—forever.

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Garlits Lists His Most Memorable Top Fuel Moments

• 1958 – AHRA Nationals

• 1959 – Riverside

• 1963 – Winternationals (First official NHRA Top Fuel victory)

• 1964 – U.S. Nationals

• 1965 – March Meet

• 1967 – U.S. Nationals

• 1968 – U.S. Nationals

• 1975 – U.S. Nationals

• 1975 – Ontario Motor Speedway

• 1978 – Indy (with the Donovan engine)

• 1984 – Indy (in his 1981��dragster)

• 1985 – Indy (debut of the new Swamp Rat)

• 1986 – Gatornationals (272.56 mph)

• 1986 – Indy (in the revolutionary Streamliner)

• 1987 – Winternationals (his final major NHRA victory)

• 2003 – Gatornationals (his 323.04-mph run)

How much could Don Garlits possibly remember about his drag racing career? In a word, Everything.