[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)

 

[Beentherebefore]

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.

I wasn't attending drag racing events till around 1962, so wasn't aware of any of his earlier cars. Do you have any photos/articles of them (Mopars only - the other brands belong on Ford or Chebbie boards)? If you do, then this is the place to post them. Lots of members here (including me) love to see stuff on those legendary old Mopars.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Dug around in that old box of stuff that I pulled out of the rafters and I do, indeed, have the May, 1999 issue of "National Dragster" that features Allen Johnson's first win in the NHRA Pro Stock class.

 

[Beentherebefore]

ND article on the 2002 Gatornationals covering Dodge driver Darrell Alderman's 28th (and last) win in the Pro Stock class.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Photo (shared from the HAMB board) of Big Daddy" Don Garlits 1963 SS Dodge doorslammer which he drove in addition to his early Hemi-powered dragsters. In the early 60's NASCAR had a drag racing division in addition to it's oval tracks and Garlits raced at some of their events in this car.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Herb McCandless was the team's "hired gun" driver. He won the "Big Go" (US Nationals) in 1970.


Herb McCandless' 1970 Sox & Martin Pro Stock season—Photo Gallery (at https://www.nhra.com/news/2020/herb-mccandless-1970-sox-martin-pro-stock-season-photo-gallery )

 

[Beentherebefore]

Great Youtube video of the first appearances of the '65 Mopar AWB Factory Stockers (later to morph into early "Funny Cars") at a major national drag racing event - The AHRA Winternationals in 1965 (video is mislabeled as 1964). AHRA was a worthy and fierce competitor to NHRA throughout the early 1960's till NHRA landed the first network TV exposure for drag racing (old "Wide World of Sports") and was able to attract more big name drivers with increased purses and slowly pulled away and left AHRA on the ash heap of history. In this video you can see many of the legendary early Mopar AFX, SS, and what was to become Funny Car drivers in action. Among others, Sox & Martin, Ramchargers, Golden Commandos, Bud Faubel, Bobby Harop, Dick Landy, Dave Strickler, and Roger Lindamood.

This event was usually held a week or two before the NHRA Winternationals @ Pomona so was the place to be to see the debut of what had been built new over the winter. Ford was so shocked by what they saw that they told their factory supported Mustang AFX drivers to keep their cars trailered and not to try to compete with the Mopars. A week later at Pomona, Ford prevailed in their pleas to NHRA that the AWB Mopars were not legal doorslammer racers and NHRA told the Mopar drivers that they would have to compete as C/Altereds in Comp Eliminator instead of heads-up against the Fords. Mopar told it's factory supported AWB cars' drivers to stay in their trailers and not to compete at the event.

 

[Beentherebefore]

Great action in this not too great quality video of the 1971 (mis-labeled as 1970) season ending NHRA Supernationals held at the old Ontario Motor Speedway. I was there to see the Mopar utter domination of the Pro Stock class. Mopars swept every major NHRA National event that year and caused NHRA to put weight handicaps on the Gen II Hemi powered cars so that they were never really competitive again. Ontario was a great racing facility in all respects (except financial) and the Supernationals were run on the dragstrip that was actually the pit lane for oval track events.

 

[Ron mopar power wann]

Half Moon Bay dragstrip, 1962 Half Moon Bay, Calif.

You can read about the development of the max-wedge motors on Curtis's and the Ramchargers' articles on another part of this board. Those of us that were hanging around at West Coast dragstrips in 1962 began to hear about "something big" coming from Mopar. Fortunately, I just happen to be at HMB with a borrowed old Brownie box camera (hence the less than ideal picture quality) when this monster showed up - the first in a line of "Melrose Missile"s, driven by Tommy Grove. This car had already been shaken down (I wasn't there) because on this day, it set a new national record in Super Stock by almost a full quarter second! What happened in SS was front page news in those days - the equivalent of Pro Stock or even Funny Car today as NHRA had neither of those classes in the 60s.

Tommy Grove had held the old track record in a 409 Chevy. After he started to drive the Missile, he put that 409 to better use - as a towcar to get the Plymouth to the track. You can see part of it if you look real close to the picture.

Thanks for your help Sir👍👍, the missile , recognized it immediately, yes , funny cars originated from SS CLASSES, watched a special awhile back on this very thing, showed early GRUMPY JENKINS CARS, missile, etc, wow!! Dropping record one second? Richard Petty was doing the same thing when the SUPER BEE CAME OUT , with that large wing, just was not fair😂. WOW! Brownie box camera, originated in 1900, 1$ price tag, name originated from mystical fairy name “BROWMIES”, many WWI, soldiers took them to war, look forward to wedge Moyer origins, I recall going to one or two races in half moon bay, what about VERNALIS RACEWAY? Basically an abandoned air strip, Dad, and uncle Donnie hated it, but it was close to Modesto , ca. It had a dip at the end of track, I was at the race when a driver (dad was talking to this driver right before his run) lost control after hitting this dip , lost control and died, GOD! BLESS😞😞, Track closed shortly afterwards, thanks for pictures buddy, GO MOPAR

 

[Ron mopar power wann]

Great action in this not too great quality video of the 1971 (mis-labeled as 1970) season ending NHRA Supernationals held at the old Ontario Motor Speedway. I was there to see the Mopar utter domination of the Pro Stock class. Mopars swept every major NHRA National event that year and caused NHRA to put weight handicaps on the Gen II Hemi powered cars so that they were never really competitive again. Ontario was a great racing facility in all respects (except financial) and the Supernationals were run on the dragstrip that was actually the pit lane for oval track events.

Just watched DICK LANDY WITH CIGAR, and banging gears in your video, AMAZING STUFF!!! Thanks 👍👍👍

 

[Beentherebefore]

Just watched DICK LANDY WITH CIGAR, and banging gears in your video, AMAZING STUFF!!! Thanks 👍👍👍

Ah, glad you found the thread. You probably noticed that there are 23 pages of Mopar NHRA history for you to scroll through. This is the place to post all the photos/articles you have of your Uncle Don's & Cousin Steve's cars when you get out of your medical care facility.

At the very top of the page, just below the ALLPAR banner, you can see "Historical" in small blue letters. If you click on that, it will take you to the main index page where you can find historical posts about Mopars in Nascar, USAC, Trans Am, ARCA, Nascar Truck series, and more. Plenty for you to catch up on .

 

[Ron mopar power wann]

Ah, glad you found the thread. You probably noticed that there are 23 pages of Mopar NHRA history for you to scroll through. This is the place to post all the photos/articles you have of your Uncle Don's & Cousin Steve's cars when you get out of your medical care facility.

At the very top of the page, just below the ALLPAR banner, you can see "Historical" in small blue letters. If you click on that, it will take you to the main index page where you can find historical posts about Mopars in Nascar, USAC, Trans Am, ARCA, Nascar Truck series, and more. Plenty for you to catch up on .

Thank you my friend, I did see up to 23 pages, Ist one was Dick LANDY history, medical rules my days, But almost done learning nursing home stuff, busy week, but yeah, Will have some free time soon, to enjoy looking through all 23 pages of history, I will find somebody here to show how to post pictures of Dad and Dons cars , My cousin Steve( AKA MR. 413 is stopping by our home in Missouri on his way to Indy, I will pick his brain for all pictures he has, and take some good pictures myself of his power train etc, JOHN SAUL IS LIKE STEVES OTHER FATHER, they are very close, do not quote me, but I BELIEVE JOHN GAVE STEVE ONE CAR? There’s the blue 62(not 63, my bad), and a white one to, both cars have Steve Wann power, Never seen the white one race, I WILL GET ACCURATE INFO, Before posting all this, DAD said his road runner , he won stock at golden gate nationals with in 1983 , was a 1969 roadrunner , not a 70, and I was corrected again, he did not drop to DS/A , he added wieght, or adjusted timing, I do have national dragster pages from 83 win, Dad earned it, he was on limited budget, DAD TOLD ME AN NHRA OFFICIAL CHECKED HIS GAS AFTER THAT WIN, AND ASKED, “WHAT KIND OF GAS YOU RUNNING”? , dad laughed and said, BEST GAS I CAN GET AT YOUR LOCAL STATION😂😂, DAD SAID JUST SAID HE ACTUALLY TOOK LOW GEAR SET UP OUT OF TRANSMISION, PUT STOCK GEAR BACK IN, AND TOOK OUT 4 DEG. Timing out to get it to hook up, sorry , been awhile since 83😂, I do know he was running 4 tenths under index at best, and lost so many races at the line, do to tire spin, drove him crazy😂, said he wished he had figured out making stock gear, and timing decision years earlier, promise to get pictures my friend, thanks again, I got 22 pages left to enjoy,, GO MOPAR

 

[Beentherebefore]

Thank you my friend, I did see up to 23 pages, Ist one was Dick LANDY history, medical rules my days, But almost done learning nursing home stuff, busy week, but yeah, Will have some free time soon, to enjoy looking through all 23 pages of history, I will find somebody here to show how to post pictures of Dad and Dons cars , My cousin Steve( AKA MR. 413 is stopping by our home in Missouri on his way to Indy, I will pick his brain for all pictures he has, and take some good pictures myself of his power train etc, JOHN SAUL IS LIKE STEVES OTHER FATHER, they are very close, do not quote me, but I BELIEVE JOHN GAVE STEVE ONE CAR? There’s the blue 62(not 63, my bad), and a white one to, both cars have Steve Wann power, Never seen the white one race, I WILL GET ACCURATE INFO, Before posting all this, DAD said his road runner , he won stock at golden gate nationals with in 1983 , was a 1969 roadrunner , not a 70, and I was corrected again, he did not drop to DS/A , he added wieght, or adjusted timing, I do have national dragster pages from 83 win, Dad earned it, he was on limited budget, DAD TOLD ME AN NHRA OFFICIAL CHECKED HIS GAS AFTER THAT WIN, AND ASKED, “WHAT KIND OF GAS YOU RUNNING”? , dad laughed and said, BEST GAS I CAN GET AT YOUR LOCAL STATION😂😂, DAD SAID JUST SAID HE ACTUALLY TOOK LOW GEAR SET UP OUT OF TRANSMISION, PUT STOCK GEAR BACK IN, AND TOOK OUT 4 DEG. Timing out to get it to hook up, sorry , been awhile since 83😂, I do know he was running 4 tenths under index at best, and lost so many races at the line, do to tire spin, drove him crazy😂, said he wished he had figured out making stock gear, and timing decision years earlier, promise to get pictures my friend, thanks again, I got 22 pages left to enjoy,, GO MOPAR

Check your PM's (now called "Alerts")

 

[Beentherebefore]

Back in the early mid - 60's there were enough different drag racing publications that you could read a different one every night of the week. Here is the front page of "Drag World" from March 5, 1965, featuring 2 stories of big interest to Mopar fans back then - One being Richard Petty's drag racing Hemi-Cuda crashing into a crowd at a Georgia dragstrip, killing an 8 year old boy and injuring about 10 others. As the article states, Petty (and the dragstrip) had no insurance and, IIRC, Chrysler Corp was sued instead by a victim's group.

The second story of interest is FoMoCo's reaction to the new AWB Mopar Factory race cars. Ford had stufffed their SOHC 427's into Mustangs and planned to rule the AFX class (would be equivalent of Pro Stock now) with them. Hard to read but the first paragraph reads " Ford Motor Company Officials have collectively issued a directive to their AFX Mustang owners/drivers to the effect that any competiton between the new overhead cam Mustangs and Mopar's controversial altered wheelbase models is strictly forbidden"

.

 

[Red Baron]

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.

View attachment 24451

68 Winters
Winner SS/BA
Tom Crutchfield
65 Dodge WO1 A990 - Down & Crutchfield - (1519)
426 Race Hemi
11.13 @ 126.76

 

[Beentherebefore]

68 Winters
Winner SS/BA
Tom Crutchfield
65 Dodge WO1 A990 - Down & Crutchfield - (1519)
426 Race Hemi
11.13 @ 126.76

I was there! I attended every NHRA Winternationals @ Pomona from 1967 thru about 2007. Crutchfield's class win there was over 50 years ago - that's why I can only "vaguely" recall it .

 

[Red Baron]

I was there! I attended every NHRA Winternationals @ Pomona from 1967 thru about 2007. Crutchfield's class win there was over 50 years ago - that's why I can only "vaguely" recall it .

Thats why I’m creating this web site - absolute disgrace the NHRA doesn’t have this information compiled and on line.

The NHRA 60’s Superstock Diary

This is a compilation of Stock and SuperStock Class results of the NHRA between 1961 and 1969. “Long ago, one observer described Stock class racers as “the guys who were actually paying attention in high school physics class,” and that’s a pretty fair description. The Rail and Altered racers...

skunkwerkssuperstock.wordpress.com

 

[Beentherebefore]

Thats why I’m creating this web site - absolute disgrace the NHRA doesn’t have this information compiled and on line.

The NHRA 60’s Superstock Diary

This is a compilation of Stock and SuperStock Class results of the NHRA between 1961 and 1969. “Long ago, one observer described Stock class racers as “the guys who were actually paying attention in high school physics class,” and that’s a pretty fair description. The Rail and Altered racers...

skunkwerkssuperstock.wordpress.com

To be honest, I don't think that NHRA thought that they would ever become such a staple of the American motorsports scene. In the early 60s, they were in a tooth & nail battle with AHRA, UDRA, IHRA, and even Nascar's drag racing branch to snare the newsworthy drivers that would draw enough spectators to their events which were usually held at converted airports where NHRA had to pay rent. NHRA didn't even allow fuel powered cars at their events in the early 60s and independent & outlaw tracks that featured fuel cars drew much larger crowds than the average NHRA events did. Only when NHRA started to get exposure on network TV sports shows (specifically ABC's "Wide World of Sports") circa 1966 did they start pulling in enough $$$ to start thinking about a secure future. They only started to focus on their legacy & history when they started to plan & build the NHRA museum at the Pomona fairgrounds, about 25 years ago. I've been subscribing to "National Dragster", their house organ, since 1965. Why they didn't keep copies of those back to their earliest issues is beyond me. The earliest of their events were actually showcased in "Hot Rod Magazine" where Wally Parks was editor. Every once in a while they will put something historical in ND but only back to the early 70s. Nobody on their current editorial staff has been around as long as I have and I often find mistakes in their "historical" reporting.

Your new site is interesting and accurate as far as I can recall. I've posted a lot of NHRA stuff from the 60's on the early pages of this thread. In keeping with the theme of this board, I only post stuff that feature Mopars. I remember a lot of the Chebbie & Ford cars you feature on your site - I was at the tracks cheering for the Mopars to spank them .

 

[Beentherebefore]

A little Pro Stock history for AMC fans.........

Pro Stock Racing Legend Wally Booth and AMC’s 27-Month Miracle

How Wally Booth and his AMC race cars became one of the greatest giant-slayer stories in drag racing history.

www.motortrend.com

 

[Red Baron]

It appears that he applied his transmission building skills well. After another runner-up to Ronnie Sox at the '69 U.S. Nationals, he went on to win the 1970 Summernationals, the 1970 U.S. Nationals, the 1971 Supernationals, and the 1973 Summernationals..

Dave Wren in a 64 Plymouth was r/up to Sox at the 69 Nats SS Eliminator. Wren broke his driveshaft on the starting line.

John Hagen won SS/B class over Sox.