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Drag Racing Picture of the Day!

Farewell to Marie Lagana

By Art Cimilluca

Marie Lagana was the glue that held the Twilight Zone Top Fuel team together. This quote was on the TF car all year. Photo by Art Cimilluca
Marie Lagana was the glue that held the Twilight Zone Top Fuel team together. This quote was on the TF car all year. Photo by Art Cimilluca

The drag racing world lost yet another member of its family this past week. Marie Lagana, the wife and mother of the father and son "Twilight Zone" Top Fuel team of Bob and Bobby Lagana passed away Friday after a yearlong illness. This hurts. Marie was another racer whom I have known since the mid '80s. She and Bobby always made room in their pit space for me.

The life of an independent fuel racer is anything but easy, but Marie Lagana worked right beside Bobby on his series of funny cars and then fuelers, sacrificing some of life's comforts to feed the nitro monster. Eventually, Bobby, Jr., hit the track, too, and Marie was there to support both her husband and her son in their uphill battle for Top Fuel glory. I can't imagine a more supportive wife or mother. Marie's passing leaves a large void in the collective soul of independent fuel racers everywhere. RIP, Marie. Bill Pratt

Marie Lagana was 50 years old. She had been sick a tad over a year. She was a big time Beatles fan (she was laid to rest in her favorite Beatles Tee Shirt) Besides Bobby, Jr., the second oldest, her children are Marie (oldest), Laura, and Dominic (the youngest). She was the business end of the team, the cook, and the entertainer. 

If there is a substance stronger than glue, Marie was it (i.e., she kept everyone in line.) A very calm person, she was the calmest when Junior was injured in Rochester a few years ago. She held it together in every way possible. I seriously doubt the Zone would have ever ventured down the track without her influence.

Art Cimilluca

 




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