I've talk to him at several NHRA races and later in a restaurant on a Sunday morning before the races in Phoenix (SP), AZ when he was booked in for a 2 out of 3 match race with his arch enemy Gary Beck. He had beat Beck on the first round on Saturday pretty badly I ask him if he was going to give him a break on the next race that morning and he said definitely NOT.
I learn later at the races that day that he and Beck did NOT get along, which surprised me He got along with most racers that I knew of.
What caused the issue was he was fighting with Beck for the NHRA World Championship several year before, Don had won the NHRA Nationals at Indy that year and their was only one race left for Beck to win more points before the World finals and he and Beck had a match race schedule somewhere down south on the same weekend as that last point race in Las Vegas, NV.
Beck decided to go to the race in Las Vegas instead of the match race with Garlits, Beck qualified #1, set low ET and MPH and won that race which put him ahead of Garlits in points.
I was racing at that race and again at the World Finals at Ontario, CA . Garlits had to qualify #1, set low ET and top MPH and win the race AND Beck had to not win two rounds to lose the World Championship to Garlits.
Garlits had tried to sue NHRA to force them to not let Beck race at that race due to breach of contract on the match race before the World finals when he found out what beck had done but NHRA turn him down based on that the race was in CA, not back east were the breach of contract had occurred.
The stars align that day and Beck got beat in the second round and Garlits had already set both ends of the National record during qualifying Saturday, qualified #1 and won the race
He quit attending NHRA after that race for a lot of years, he basically told NHRA to stuff it
He is a good MAN