Fellow NHRA great Don Prudhomme shared his condolences on Twitter. After coming close in 1980, Shepherd succeeded in stripping Glidden of his title in 1981. We'll send you raw engine tech articles, news, features, and videos every week from EngineLabs. Please try again later. Born at Horbury, near Wakefieid, Yorkshire, he was the youngest of the 13 children of Robert Gledhill, a cloth-dresser and educated at Wakefield Grammar School.He joined the navy but was kidnapped in Spain to . In the summer of 1978, Glidden embarked on one of the sport's legendary winning streaks that included nine straight national event victories and stretched a complete calendar year. They would have seen the size and shape of the ports and the angles of the plenum, says Glidden. Bob Glidden, It was my technology and there was no point in letting the cameras get inside my manifold, defends Glidden. No one worked as hard as Bob Glidden, but he knew I worked for what I had. He won six of the last seven events to win his seventh Winston title. (Richard Tharp won Top Fuel over Shirley Muldowney and Raymond Beadle won Funny Car; I was in fan-turned-writer heaven.). Numbers and stats can only go so far to describe what Bob Glidden meant to the sport and to many of us on a more personal level. By the late 1960s though, Glidden had started competing in organized drag racing. Glidden started the 1986 season out slowly. Glidden was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame in America in 1994 and ranked fourth on the list of top drivers from the NHRAs first 50 years in 2000. In a star-studded career that spanned more than 25 years in the class,. I spoke Monday to both Dons, to get their feelings about the passing of their fellow legend, and a guy with whom they both shared a lot of winners circles and, for sure, a similar work ethic. We knew him as he great improviser.He was a 32nd degree Master Mason at the Ralph J. Pollard Lodge # 217 A.F. What would the cameras have seen? There was a problem getting your location. "We finally got tired of losing and of Glidden winning so easily," said Buddy Morrison. [5] In those days, the series included participation in both national and divisional races. Please enter your email and password to sign in. American drag racing legend Bob Glidden has died at age 73. Robert Earl Glidden, 96 years old, passed away after a brief illness at the Maine Veterans' Home in Bangor following a long, happy life. The cars were to be a production line Cutlass that was to be sent to C&C for the installation of the Hurst/Olds package. (BTW, there will be a story on that very topic coming soon!). I also love the photo below that one. I got along with him so good and went to his house so many times and spent time with his family. [1] Glidden retired as the driver with the most wins in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) history at that time a feat recently topped by 16-time Funny Car champion John Force and he was the third-most successful drag racer of the professional class drivers sixth when counting sportsman national event winners at the time of his death. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, [3] Among his numerous accomplishments, Glidden won nine straight NHRA national races in 1979 and was the No. He was the man. Remembering Bob Glidden | NHRA Thanks for your help! If before reading this you weren't familiar with Bob Glidden, you've probably seen his epic crash in 1986 in . [5] The streak ended after 14 races and 50 rounds when he fouled in the second round at the Mile-Hile Nationals. No. Ive even seen beer cartons taped around intake manifolds (at least it was the teams sponsor!). I hired them to get work done but all our information kept getting passed on. Happy holidays. The big difference is that The Beard only won four times in his Top Fuel career but shared three of them with Glidden: 1976 Winternationals, 1984 Englishtown, and 1989 Sonoma. There was an error deleting this problem. All rights reserved. Make sure that the file is a photo. Bob Glidden married to Etta Glidden and the couple had sons Rusty and Billy. Unlike his 1979 championship season, Glidden won his third straight and fifth title in 1980 in dramatic fashion. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/167438160/robert-glidden. Failed to delete flower. For the first time in a long time, Glidden had his work cut out for him in 1980. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). [4] In 2001, a panel ranked him fourth in the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000. We acknowledge there can be some measure of friction in covering engine technology. Pro Stock drag racing is one of the most secretive motorsport disciplines, at least in pit ritual. Top Fuel teams will tear down their engines right in front of the spectators. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To prevent a tech inspector from activating it by switching on the ignition and opening the throttle, a combination of events were required. Glidden chased Lee Shepherd for the 1980 Winston title all season, leading the points standing only after the final race. As the 1990s began, Glidden found the national wins harder to come by, posting three in 1990, one in 1991 and two in 1993. 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Robert Earl "Bob" Glidden (1922-2019) - Find a Grave Memorial With his wife, Etta, and, later in his career, sons Billy and Rusty by his side, the man known as Mad Dog for his tireless work ethic and dominated the class in the late 1970s and 1980s, winning back-to-back season championships in 1974-1975, three in a row (1978-80) and five straight (1985-89), Everyone in the NHRA community is saddened to learn the news of Bobs passing," said NHRA President Peter Clifford. R.I.P. Betsey M. "Bessie" Glidden Dodge (1885-1964) - Find a Grave He was a very curious guy. Glidden entered the season finale in Ontario, Calif., trailing Shepherd by two rounds and caught a huge break when Shepherd's transmission broke in the second round. [5], Glidden dominated to win his tenth and final championship in 1989. This is a carousel with slides. Remembering Bob Glidden, one of NHRA's best that there ever was Search above to list available cemeteries. Glidden earned the nickname Mad Dog due to his intense work ethic. Only Darrell Alderman and his controversial Dodge, really got the better of Glidden at 1-4. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. After a victory at the Mile-High Nationals in July that year, he went on to win six of the seven final races of the season. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Failed to report flower. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Gliddens reputation for secrecy, of course, was memorialized following his wild finish-line crash at Atlanta in 1986. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Unlike his previous years, he started the season strong. Garlits and Glidden shared the NHRA winners circle on 11 occasions, or just about a third of Big Daddys 35 wins, from the 1974 World Finals in Ontario to their triumphant wins in Dallas in 1986 (Gliddens milestone 50th win). He graduated from Spencer High School in 1956.Following high school he enlisted in the United States Navy and served from 1956-60 on USS Loeser destroyer escort.He married Diana Christensen April 1961. Glidden almost became the first driver in a doorslammer {drag racing cars which are required to have operational doors, as opposed to funny cars or top fuel cars} to reach 200 miles per hour when he ran 199.11 miles per hour at an International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) race in Darlington, South Carolina. In his first Pro race, he finished second to Bill Jenkins at the final Supernationals of the 1972 season. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Sorry! Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Pro Stock Legend Bob Glidden Passes Away At 73 - Dragzine $2.99. He earned his final national win at the 1995 Mopar Parts Nationals. We may earn money from the links on this page. Ironically, it was Glidden's incredible success that sparked the Reher-Morrison team. Market data provided by Factset. [5], Glidden returned for his third Winston title in 1978. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family and his dog Gabi Jo.He was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers: Dick and Chuck Glidden. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. [5] He used three cars during the season. Although Bob Gliddens declining health had been known to many of us for a few months, and that he was, as his son Billy eloquently told us not long ago, on the road to the end, the shock, even five days later, is no less palpable or painful. Skip to main content Home Memorials Cemeteries Famous Contribute Register Sign In Register Condolences to you and your family. [3] Glidden's son, Rusty, once raced against his father in a race in 1996, with the son beating the father. The love that he had for his family, his boys and Etta. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. He campaigned a series of 427 Fairlanes before switching to the more potent 428 Cobra Jet Mustangs in 1968. A winner of 85 Pro Stock races and 10 NHRA championships, Glidden developed and built his own engines with the help of wife Etta and his two sons, Billy and Rusty. In 1840 there were 70 Glidden families living in Maine. In 2000 he retired and helped his wife Bonnie with her grooming business, Mutt Cuts.He married Bonnie Walker on October 10, 1981, at the Little Brown Church of Nashua, IA.He enjoyed golf, his coffee buddies at the Ventura Mart, socializing with his friends at Rookies and Clear Lake VFW, reading, playing sudoku and spending winters in Panama City Beach, FL. Ginnie Newhart, the wife of famed comedian Bob Newhart who came up with the innovative idea for how to conclude . Glidden earned the nickname 'Mad Dog' due to his intense work ethic. Photos Added by Bob Glidden - Find a Grave This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. He did all of the work on his cars with only his wife and sons there to help. We did everything in-house, says Glidden, who won five straight Pro Stock titles from 1985 to 1989. English Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. "Everyone in the NHRA community is saddened to learn the news of Bob's passing," NHRA President Peter Clifford said. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. [5] He won his 85th and final national event at the Mopar Nationals in 1995, after missing most of the 1995 season due to open heart surgery during the off season. He won his first Pro Stock series championship in 1974 and repeated the following year. Although I had wondered about my family background for many years, I did not do anything about it until meeting . To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Drag images here or select from your computer for Robert Earl Bob Glidden memorial. He pushed himself and he pushed his family, which only helped further push the Pro Stock class and all that it originally stood for, into our fond memories. Things just seemed a lot more laid back then. [3] Members of the family have made numerous appearances on the Car Craft Magazine All-Star Drag Racing Team. We have set your language to Please enter your email and password to sign in.