Ocala, Florida: Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum Of Drag Racing
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Address:
- 13700 SW 16th Ave., Ocala, FL
- Directions:
- I-75 exit 341. East on Hwy 484, then a quick right onto SW 16th Ave. The museum will be on the right.
- Hours:
- Daily 9-5. Gated after hours. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 352-245-8661
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
Results 1 to 5 of 5...
A car museum for people who usually don't like car museums, because dragsters aren't really cars -- they're horizontal missiles with wheels. Out front: a monument of a flipping dragster, and an A-7 jet that raced Big Daddy's car. Roadsideamerica.com Report...
Visitor Tips and News About Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum Of Drag Racing
Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.
The museum displays a couple of Texaco manual fuel pumps outside. Besides the automotive collection, there is an old Coke (bottle) machine, a Wurlitzer bubble jukebox, and some vintage slot machines.
On the emergency-exit door at the back of the museum is an official-looking "SPEED LIMIT 300" sign. Funny.
[Jon Morgan, 06/27/2018]
Still an awesome attraction. Plan on about $15 a head. You can totally see "Big Daddy" here when he is not working in his garage.
[Carter, 07/29/2012]
Evidence of inspired visitors leaving the Garlits Museum of Drag Racing: massive peel-outs and burnt rubber trails in the parking lot.
[Scott Archibald, 04/29/2009]
Now for sale in the gift shop: spark plugs, motor castings, and racing slicks signed by Don. The tires go for over $200, so the spark plugs at $5 apiece -- each in a baggy -- are a relative bargain. Also for $5 are signed "Don Garlits for Congress" brochures (He lost.) Museum of Drag Racing stock certificates sell for $50 apiece. A new Drag Racing Hall Of Fame Memorial stands out by the road. Atop the concrete base is a live-size bronze replica of the dragster Big Daddy flipped over and crashed in the early 1980s. Don Garlits emerged unscathed. The dragster is frozen nose up, in mid-flip.
[Roadsideamerica.com Team, 05/04/2003]Nearby Offbeat Places
Concrete Monoliths, Santos, FL - 7 mi.
Drive-Thru Gator Park, Wildwood, FL - 10 mi.
Silver Springs: Glass Bottom Boats, Silver Springs, FL - 15 mi.Latest Tips Across Roadside America
Catch up on the latest discoveries from the road.
Explore Thousands of Oddball Tourist Attractions!
Unique destinations in the U.S. and Canada are our special obsession. Use our attraction recommendation and maps to plan your next road trip.
April 2009: Photo added.