Bob Glidden

Bob Glidden (August 18, 1944 – December 17, 2017) was an American drag racer. He retired from Pro Stock racing in 1997 and returned in 2010. 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. Glidden won 85 NHRA National Events. In the Professional classes, he was behind Force (147) and Warren Johnson (97). Currently, Glidden ranks fourth behind Greg Anderson (104). Glidden's ten Pro Stock championships included five in a row beginning in 1985. Among his numerous accomplishments, Glidden won nine straight NHRA national races in 1979 and was the No. 1 qualifier 23 times in a row, including the entire 1987 season. At one point, he won 50 eliminations rounds in a row. 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. However, a Top Sportsman car driven by Bill Kuhlmann ran 202 miles per hour later that evening. He won 21 IHRA races and won one IHRA championship. In the late 2000s, Justin Humphreys added Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden to his RaceRedi Motorsports/Knoll-Gas Energy Pontiac GTO team.