Though he never (to my knowledge) drove a Maverick or a Comet, the passing of Bob Glidden is a gut punch to all Ford fans. Condolences to Etta, Bill and Rusty. Bob was a great engine builder and drag racer. He will be sorely missed!!
There are not a lot of people that won more races then Bob Glidden, one of his old cars still races at our track. RIP Bob
Type Bob Glidden in the search box. There is a ton of stories about Bob in our forum. He was a legend. MD
I stumbled upon this interview of Bob Glidden from 2016. I never knew much about him. What a great career, and a very classy, humble competitor.... an all around great man. I never knew him well enough to "miss" him, but after that interview I so wished I could have had one afternoon with him. I guess it takes getting to a certain age to stop taking people for granted, and to recognize the overwhelming value of a life well lived. RIP Bob, I miss you too.
I feel bad I didn't know he passed! Saw him race and watched him wrench in the pits at Firebird at the '86 Winter Nationals not long after his roll accident. He was one of my heroes. RIP
I had the good fortune to meet him. Told him he was a hero of mine, which made him blush profusely. The neat thing about that situation was that it was at the Gatornationals (maybe 2010 or 2012?). This was long after he retired. He was in the pits with Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, also retired, and they were working together on Mark Pawuk's car! I looked at Pawuk and said, "You have a Ford guy and a Chevy guy working on your Mopar. How'd you ever pull that one off?!?" Pawuk laughed and said " I guess they both felt sorry for me..."
Lot of respect for Glidden as driver and mechanic. A true legend. I enjoyed watching him race and his rivalry with 'the professor'.