Bob Glidden

Bob Glidden (August 18, 1944 – December 17, 2017) was an American drag racer.

Glidden began his drag racing career in the 1960s in a Ford 427 Fairlane.

In 1968 he changed to a 428 Cobra Jet Mustang.

He started out in Stock and moved up to Super Stock.

He was sponsored by Ed Martin Ford, where he worked as a mechanic.

He was a frequent winner in Division 3 before turning Pro in 1972.

In those days, the series included participation in both national and divisional races.

He sold his two Super Stock Mustangs late in the season 1972, and purchased a Pro Stock Pinto from Jack Roush and Wayne Gapp.

He quit his job at Ed Martin Ford to race full-time.

In his first Pro race, he finished second to Bill Jenkins at the final Supernationals of the 1972 season.

Glidden had his first national win the following season at the U.S. Nationals.

His 9.03 second pass, at a national record 152.54 mph, was #1 qualifying time in the fastest Pro Stock field.

He beat Gapp in the event finals.

1974 was his second full season in Pro Stock.

He won three events including the Springnationals and U.S. Nationals.

That season he set the record for the lowest elapsed time (e.t.) and the highest speed (8.83 seconds and 154.90 mph, respectively) at a Division 3 event at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The feat earned him 400 bonus points towards the championship.

He had an 8.81 second qualifying pass at the U.S. Nationals to lower his e.t. record, and beat Gapp in the final round.

These wins contributed to his come-from-behind win to beat rivals Gapp and Wally Booth for the season championship.

While in a mid-season slump, he reacquired his 1974 Pinto.

His seven events wins (including the Winternationals, World Finals, Gatornationals, and Fallnationals) helped propel him to his second straight Winston title.

He set low e.t. six times.

Glidden followed with a banner year in 1975.

He had five top qualifier runs and eight top speeds during the season.

He used three cars during the season.

Glidden had an off year in 1976, finishing sixth in the points.

He finished second in 1977 behind Don Nicholson.

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 several IHRA races and won one IHRA championship.

He is most closely associated with Ford cars, a manufacturer that he used throughout his career, except in 1979, winning the world championship in a Plymouth Arrow.

Glidden's ten Pro Stock championships included five in a row beginning in 1985.

He was 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 (90).

In the late 2000s, Justin Humphreys added Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden to his RaceRedi Motorsports/Knoll-Gas Energy Pontiac GTO team.