What dreams are made of...
Our Story
is six decades in the making...
Chester "Sarge" Gariss
In a little leased garage in Sapulpa, OK in the fall of 1963, Chester and Sarah Gariss built the first of many rolling billboards in their almost 50 year storied venture in the industry of motorsports marketing. Their contemporaries were the likes of Don Garlits, Don Prudomme and Shirley Muldowney to name just a few. They were part of the great pioneering group that took racing from abandon air strips to national media. They were innovators, risk takers, entrepreneurs in both motorsports and marketing.
Much has changed in both since those days and we get it. We are not just a sticker on a car. We don't have sponsors. We have a passion for representing great companies in our region and beyond. We go before you as ambassadors for your brand, products and services. We want to go where you are headed. From events to cyber space we take your brand with us.
From those humble beginnings until now we continue to provide brand value to our marketing partnerships. With opportunities in multiple National and Regional series we put your brand out front.
We also believe in giving back. Still today, just like in the beginning, Gariss Racing gives opportunities to drivers who don’t always get a chance to compete at the next level. From when we ran top alcohol and top fuel dragsters to todays micros, midgets and sprintcars we continues to push the envelope for both our marketing partners and our drivers.
Take a lap with us as we take you on a ride into how mobile media and brand actuation in motorsports can be your next great move.
Above are Chester "Sarge" Gariss on the left and Marvin "Who" Graham on the right.
Our Stories Timeline
Fun around town
1960's
The 58 and 59 Impala
Sarah and Chester built the first of many drag cars
1963
OKC to Shawnee and on to Moore
Brown and Gariss
Mid-1960's
Larry Brown of Big Bang fame driving short wheel based front engine injected chevy with Chester tuning a joint ventured dragsters
The ambush begins
Late 1960's
Danny Davis driving the Ambusher TF front engine dragster. Some 2x4's, hose clamps and the phrase "send it"
Danny Davis running the first front engine Hemi powered dragster
1970's
From the background to the limelight
The Big Bang
1972
Lending a hand in history at the 1972 PRA. Our old friend Larry "The Okie Smoker" Brown makes history in getting beat to the line by his own engine.
One Fall Day
1974
One of drag racing's biggest questions... Marvin?
Smoked
Late 1970's
The last of the dragsters
New era and the next generation
1980's
Where did all this dirt come from?
More dirt and more good times
1990's
The dirt track, the road course, This is where the next generation takes it. Four son's later(or five, six, seven, who's counting).
Something bigger than we imagined
2000's
Gariss Racing moves from micros to full size sprints again.
End of an era
2007
Chester Gariss, co-founder, RIP
Tributes to 07
2008
The last build of a legend
Mobile sport media
2010's
Marketing in the digital age
Dreams over the fence
2015
National and Regional midget racing
micro's, midgets and sprints, Oh my!
2020's
The third generation starts
David Ray Stephenson - From humble starts. S&G, DSO, The Rat Fink and lots of cookies
2022
Thanks for the ride friend, RIP
Celebrating 60 years of Motorsports Marketing
2023
Twisters, Honda and Lots more...