[Beentherebefore]

Great shot (shared from HAMB board) of Harry Holton's A990 package Hemi Belvedere. Harry created the "West Coast Hemis" company and built/raced Hemi cars for 40+ years. This is one of 2 '65 Hemi Belvederes that Harry raced.

In addition to the Belvederes, Harry built/raced 2 SS/AH Hemi 'Cudas and 1 SS/AH Dart over the years.

(photo shared from Pinterest)

Harry's cars were competitive enough that he recruited Jeggie Coughlin to drive one of his 'Cudas in the Mopar backed "Hemi Challenge" in 2004.

Jeggie won the event in this car.

 

[Beentherebefore]

ND article on the last NHRA National event of the 20th century - the 1999 finals @ Pomona. Stock winner Chuck Rayburn was featured on the cover of their Sportsman issue. In addition to this race, Chuck Rayburn drove this same car to the win at the 1995 NHRA Winternationals and then went on to win the National Championship in Stock that year.

There's lots more about the runnerup, Al Corda, back on P11 of this thread. He won 10 major NHRA National events in Mopars but switched to GM when Mopar pulled their support after this race. Chuck Rayburn is now racing a '64 Hemi Belvedere in the AA/SA class. Almost all the other Mopar drivers/builders mentioned in this article (Don Little, Steve Wann, Greg Luneack, John Shaul) are still actively building/racing Mopars on the West Coast with virtually no factory support.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Decades before other major US sports series (Nascar, MLB) sent teams to Europe to put on exhibitions to try to create an international fan base, NHRA sent teams to England for a "Dragfest".
In this photo (shared from the HAMB board) from 1964, we see Dave Strickler in his Bill Jenkins tuned Dodge AFXer racing against KS Pittman and his Hemi-powered Willys gasser.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Just read in ND that Harry Holton passed on to that great dragstrip in the sky on June 17th.

RIP, Harry.

In addition to what I posted in #421 above, the obit states that Harry actually owned a Chrysler-Dodge dealership at one time.

 

[Fast Eddie]

B/Modified Production from the 1970's

 

[Beentherebefore]

Looks like something else might have been "modified" besides the car .

 

[Fast Eddie]

Ted Flack's "Plum Crazy" Super Stock Plymouth. Both of us worked in the Race Engine Development area at Chrysler Engineering for over 40 years from 1966 to 2007 doing development on every major performance engine Chrysler put out. It didn't get any better than that.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Ted Flack's "Plum Crazy" Super Stock Plymouth

SS/EA class. IIRC, not an aluminum lightened front end & should be powered by a Max-wedge 426.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Photo (Shared from the HAMB board) of another '65 A990 lightweight package SS/BA Hemi car of some renown - this one being raced by Tom Crutchfield. I'm vaguely recalling that this car won an NHRA National event way back when but their records that far back are not complete. They do show that Tom was the runner up in SS at the 1970 NHRA Supernationals.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Not much for Mopar to brag about at this year's Northwest Nationals but there was plenty to celebrate at the race back in 2001;

 

[Beentherebefore]

Put this in the "Oh what might have been" category. Photo from ND of a young Greg Anderson as crew chief working on the Hemi motor of John Hagan's Plymouth Pro Stocker. Unfortunately Hagan was killed in a testing accident circa 1983 and with Mopar not interested much in Pro Stock or in retaining Anderson's services in that era, he gravitated over to Warren Johnson's team. The rest is history, as they say.

I've posted some more stuff about John Hagan and his Pro Stock Mopars back on P14 of this thread.

Also, here is a link to a "Competition Plus" article on the Anderson/Hagan partnership;

http://competitionplus.com/drag-rac...com/drag-racing/news/19823-greg-anderson-hagen-was-a-champion-waiting-to-happen

 

[Beentherebefore]

This 1963 Plymouth Savoy has seen it all on a drag strip (at https://www.nhra.com/news/2019/1963-plymouth-savoy-has-seen-it-all-drag-strip )

 

[Fast Eddie]

Hayden Profitt drag truck early 1960's

 

[Beentherebefore]

Hayden Profitt drag truck early 1960's

No class designation on the windows so probably the tow vehicle for this.......

or this.........

 

[Beentherebefore]

1999 Keystone Nationals.

As far as I know, Gregory Gay still races a Mopar at select NHRA National events but I believe that he races a different car in a lower class now.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Picked up this diecast at the Chrysler swap meet here in Michigan last weekend.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Picked up this diecast at the Chrysler swap meet here in Michigan last weekend.

I may have an article/pictures of that car in action somewhere in the pile of old faded ND's I've recently retrieved from the garage rafters. I'll post it if I find it.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Great shot (shared from Pinterest) of the Rod Shop Dodge Charger driven by Dave Boertman in 1971 & 1972. Dave won Stock Eliminator at multiple NHRA events in this car including the '71 Winternationals, the '71 Gatornationals, and the '71 World Finals which then made him the Stock Elim Champion for that year.

 

[Beentherebefore]

I posted a lot about Bob Lambeck and his team(s) back on P13 of this thread. Here is some more just posted by NHRA on their website;

SoCal doorslammer legend Bob Lambeck remembers first years of Pro Stock (at https://www.nhra.com/news/2020/socal-doorslammer-legend-bob-lambeck-remembers-first-years-pro-stock )

 

[Chuck Bartholomew]

Some other photos of Paul Rossi's Mopars on P17, but IIRC, he actually started out in SS in this '68 Hemi 'Cuda;

View attachment 9834

(photo shared from Pinterest)

Actually Paul Rossi started out in a 1951 mercury with a 53 olds it, then a 57 chevy fulie, which led to a 58 pontaic 389 fule, by 1963 he moved to a 63 plymouth 426 stage 3 wedge then he got one of the 50 plymouth 426 factory hemi cars, 65 saw him at the winter nationals returning home to make it an altered W/B match race car. He then was asked by ford to take Arlen Vankes 66 SOHC comet (Goldfender). Chrysler then got him to come back and run the 68 SS/AA Hemi Cuda. Up to then all his mopars were SS/AA's.