Drag racing legend Darrell Gwynn hasn’t made a competitive run since he was paralyzed in a frightening crash in April of 1990, but on March 7, Gwynn will make his greatest motorsports journey as he’ll be among the new class of inductees to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
The 35th annual induction ceremony for the MSHFA will be held at Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach and will be the 61-year-old Gwynn’s “greatest professional accomplishment.”
As an NHRA Top Alcohol world champion and 28-time NHRA winner, Gwynn was at the top of the drag racing world in 1990 when, during an exhibition race at Santa Pod Raceway in Bedford, England, his Top Fuel dragster suddenly broke and veered left into the retaining wall at approximately 240 mph.
The force of the impact left the 28-year-old driver with major, life-threatening injuries. Gwynn was left paralyzed and had to endure the amputation of his left arm.
Gwynn will be presented into the Hall of Fame by “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, the first MSHFA inductee in the Drag Racing category when he was part of the inaugural class in 1989.
“I look at this as the greatest professional accomplishment of my life,” Gwynn said of his impending induction into the MSHFA. “We won a championship and won a lot of races, but to get recognized by the largest motorsports-related hall of fame is remarkable for me. It was about what we were able to accomplish in a short period of time. What means the most to me is the former inductees vote on who gets into the Hall of Fame, so the racers voted to elect me in.
“When your peers vote you in, that means the most to me,” Gwynn said. “I was just a little kid peeking my head through a hole in the fence watching these guys race and hoping I could compete with them some day. And not only did I get to race with them, the same group of racers felt I was worthy of being voted into the Hall of Fame. It’s doesn’t get any better.”
Gwynn earned the NHRA Top Alcohol title in 1983, graduated to the Top Fuel class and accumulated 28 triumphs between the two divisions.
After his accident, he earned another 15 NHRA victories as a team owner.
Gwynn continues to make a commitment to be a champion for others through charitable work in the hopes of one day accomplishing the ultimate victory of finding a cure for paralysis.
In 2015, Gwynn teamed up with The Buoniconti Fund and its efforts to raise funds and awareness to support The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The Miami Project and its fundraising arm, The Buoniconti Fund, along with its amazing staff of scientists, physicians and clinicians, have since enabled Gwynn to have a family and enjoy an incredibly high level of function and independence.
Gwynn continues to dedicate his life to raise funds and awareness toward a victory over paralysis.
Fundraisers not only support much-needed research, Gwynn also donates customized and motorized wheelchairs to children.
“I’m 61 years old and feel like I have a lot of energy and a lot more to give,” Gwynn said. “I’ll keep going until I can’t anymore. I can’t sit around and I’ve never been able to just sit around from the time I was a child. I joke that I can’t sit still and I’m 61 and in a wheelchair. I like having fun and I like raising money and I love being around racetracks. We got to do all three of those at Daytona a few weeks ago, and at Gainesville coming up, and many other places, as well. When you can have fun, donate a chair and raise money for a great cause, and get to be around all of my like-minded people and friends, that’s kind of a grand slam for me.”
Joining Gwynn in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on March 7 will be Zora Duntov, Henry Banks, Dick Burleson, Art Chester, Ray Evernham, Fonty Flock, Ab Jenkins and Drs. Stephen Olvey and Terry Trammell.
Keyword: Darrell Gwynn To Enter Motorsports Hall Of Fame