Glenn Edward Solano was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 6, 1941 to Ilene and Pete Solano.

After high school, Glenn moved with his mother and stepfather Howard to Torrance, California.  Glenn then joined the Army.  When he returned home from the Army, he went to work with his father doing sheet metal work.  He married and had three children, Scott, Jaime and Ronnie.  They also had several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Unfortunately, he and his wife divorced.  Soon, he was introduced to drag racing.  Glenn himself raced for several years in several different classes as a driver until, eventually he found the nitro ranks (which are the super-fast cars).  During this time, his best friend Mike Vanzant was going into the Army.  Glenn told him when he returned home from the service, they would both build a new car.  So, when Mike returned home, with the help of Kenny Youngblood, the new car was built and named the Invader AA-FC.  They campaigned several invader funny cars through the years and were very competitive in the sport.  Also, in the late 80’s, Glenn went in partners with Kenny Youngblood and built a double AA-FC funny car which was driven by Gary Ritter.

Glenn moved to Arkansas in 1992 and continued to work in the sheet metal business while taking care of his mother, stepfather and his Aunt Leo.  After he retired from sheet metal, Glenn decided to build another version of his invader car AA-FC.  This one was a 1970 Corvette which he raced and had several different drivers to drive this car.  Glenn’s passion was always racing cars, getting them to go faster.  Tom tried to talk Glenn into selling his cars and taking a vacation to Italy, where his ancestors are from.  However, his love for racing was so strong, this was not an option and he just wanted to continue to race cars.

We have had a great group of guys who have helped Glenn over the last 12 years, going to his house to work on his race car every Wednesday which Glenn looked forward to.  These friends included Tom, Terry, Bill, Brandon, Randall, Ted, Jason, Daryl, Bruce and Evan.  The drivers included James Day, Cameron Farr and Derick and Rick Kraft.

Glenn also had a passion for all kinds of cars, including a 1970 Cuda AAR which Glenn purchased from his friend in 1971.  He also had a 1931 Ford Vicky which he loved, and his dream car was always a Plymouth Prowler which he eventually purchased.

Glenn also loved participating in car shows and was a member of “Nash Back at Ya” Car Club.  He loved having his cars in the car shows.

To stay in shape, Glenn was active at the Rogers Wellness Center where he enjoyed his Parkinson group of friends immensely.

The last year and a half of Glenn’s life, he was very ill and was being cared for by home health caretaker Cristel Kurich.  He was also a member of Lakeside Baptist Church.

Another passion of Glenn’s was animals (The Nash Back at Ya Car Club would donate their profits to the Rogers Humane Society).  Unfortunately, he lost his precious dog Daisy last year.

Glenn loved his mother with all his heart, and when she passed away February 25, 2009, he was heartbroken.  He will be laid to rest beside his mother, Aunt Leo and stepfather, all of whom he loved with all his heart.  We take comfort in knowing that Glenn is now resting in peace in the arms of our Lord.

Graveside services will be 4:00 PM Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at Zion Cemetery (5760 Butterfield Coach Rd in Springdale, 2.2 miles south of Hwy 412).