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One of NHRA’s
“50 GREATEST DRIVERS OF ALL-TIME”
One of NHRA’s
“50 GREATEST DRIVERS OF ALL-TIME”

Darrell Gwynn:
Champion, Spokesperson, and Leader

As a world champion drag racer in the 1980s, Darrell Gwynn was at the top of his game and chose to donate a portion of his winnings to The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. He felt so strongly about Marc Buoniconti’s struggle to find a cure for paralysis, and the plight of those suffering from paralyzing spinal cord injuries, that he personally placed the iconic Miami Project wheelchair logo in a prime location on his racecar to show his support.

In April 1990, his life changed dramatically after a devastating racing accident which caused his paralysis. Following his accident, Gwynn established the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, which provided support for people with paralysis and worked to prevent spinal cord injuries through their Wheelchair Donation Program and Education & Prevention Program. In 2015, Darrell felt that it was time to “go home” and has become the Director of the Darrell Gwynn Quality of Life Chapter of The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. The Chapter will continue quality of life initiatives and assist The Buoniconti Fund in their role to raise funds and awareness to support The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

Here, on Darrell Gwynn’s official website, you can learn about his history, where he is today, and how you can get involved in his most treasured charities. You can also browse an extensive selection of authentic photographs.

Darrell's Ongoing Legacy

Before his tragic 1990 accident, Gwynn won an NHRA World Championship in 1983 (Top Alcohol Dragster). In 2001, he was voted one of NHRA’s “50 Greatest Drivers All-Time” and in 2002, he was inducted into the prestigious International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Gwynn is a brand ambassador for Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s and Director of the Darrell Gwynn Quality of Life Chapter of The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. Gwynn is also the President of Darrell Gwynn Ventures.
It is highly plausible that Darrell Gwynn’s mortal and career lives might have instantly ended in the flaming, twisted wreckage of his dragster which had moments earlier slammed a British raceway’s concrete wall at nearly 250 mph. It was the result of a completely unanticipated mechanical failure which instantly changed car and driver into an earthbound missile. Miraculously, still alive, Darrell was burned, broken but barely alive. The crash took an unimaginable toll, robbing him of an arm and a functioning spinal cord system. Mere survival was now his ultimate racing victory.  A perpetual course of physical and emotional recovery underlined that his driving and walking days were over.
 

The preexisting partnership with The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, immediately came to the fore to personally guide his life future in a realm far greater than simple health and physical therapy. Gwynn transitioned to a potentially lengthy lifespan as a quadriplegic.  A resulting and equally miraculous impact was the birth of a beautiful, healthy daughter, Katie, to Darrell and spouse Lisa via a fledgling fertility initiative offered by The Miami Project. Parenthood was a seemingly unstoppable feat.

Continued ownership and operation of his race team was now pitted with a simultaneous commitment to give back to those who sustained his life and racing team, led by The Miami Project itself.  A new and lasting pairing with the technology driven Quickie Wheelchair division of Sunrise Medical was born. Together, Gwynn honed his emerging skills as a motivational speaker while traveling the country awarding free wheelchairs to carefully selected paralyzed Americans. Gwynn then authored an unprecedented series of charity fishing tournaments held onsite at NASCAR racing events at Florida’s Daytona and Homestead Speedways. Ongoing brand and product consultancies for the likes of Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s have followed.
Tireless fundraising efforts have rewarded The Miami Project with millions in funding gathered by Gwynn, leading to establishing the Darrell Gwynn Quality of Life Chapter at The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.

His racing peers have further honored him by induction into their most prestigious halls of fame including the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Improving the lives of others remains the measure of Darrell Gwynn and his legendary life to date.