Back in the day, Norman Mayersohn was a hands-on drag-racing editor at Car Craft magazine. Since then he’s gotten a haircut and has held positions as Auto Editor, Popular Mechanics magazine and Deputy Auto Editor, The New York Times. And, he's been a friend for decades. He reminisces about winning races and setting national records in his ’65 Chevelle Super/Stock.
Norman, top, with record-setting crapbox Chevelle sedan at the 1974 SPORTSnationals and, above, left, with CarGuyChronicles edi...
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NHRA drag racing
FORD: TOTAL PERFORMANCE, ROAD & TRACK!
CarGuyChronicles Editor and Ford GT owner, Martyn Schorr chronicles Ford’s rich performance heritage from the 1920s through the golden age of musclecars. And, takes you inside Ford’s Skunk Works.
FORD TOTAL PERFORMANCE is 208 slick pages of Ford race and street car history from 1920s Fours, 1930s-1940s Flatheads, 1950s Y-Blocks and 1960s to 1971 big-blocks. It showcases Boss 302-351-429 Mustangs, Shelby GT Mustangs, Shelby & AC Cobras, Pantera, Torinos, Sunbeam Tiger & Lola-Ford GT ...
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GO FAST, DO GOOD: ’15 COPO CAMARO #1!
The first ’15 COPO Camaro will go to the highest bidder at Barrett-Jackson
Palm Beach auction; all proceeds will go to the Achilles Freedom
Team of Wounded Veterans.
Chevrolet is selling the first ‘15 COPO Camaro racecar, Vin # 2015COPO001, on Saturday, April 18, to raise money for Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans, a non-profit organization that helps disabled athletes, including veterans, gain access to races, equipment, and training dedicated to improve their physical ...
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DRAGON’S FYRE: JET-POWERED DRAGSTER!
Exhibition drag racers partner with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF): Go fast & do good.
Few exhibitions create more buzz and excitement than 40-foot flames erupting from the rear of a jet powered dragster truck. The driving force behind the jet-powered NHRA/IHRA exhibition drag racing vehicle “Dragon’s Fyre” is Dave Modder. As owner/driver and volunteer firefighter for the Town of Randall, WI Fire Dept., this partnership has a high emotional connection.
"Those of us i...
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SD-421 SUPER-DUTY PONTIAC: LIGHTWEIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT!
Swiss Cheese ’63 SD-421 Catalina is one of 14 factory built and held NHRA C/Stock record for a number of years.
As the 1962 drag season drew to a close, it was obvious that Pontiac’s position at the top of the Super/Stock hierarchy was weakening. Ford, Chrysler and Chevrolet were gaining on the Chiefs with bigger engines and an ever-increasing supply of special parts, including weight-saving aluminum components and body panels. Pontiac engineers knew they had to have a lighter, more p...
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’62 CHEVY SS409 IMPALA: LIGHTWEIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT!
Anyone could order a 409 Impala in 1962; just 18 racers ordered the purpose-built lightweight version. It's in original condition and fully documented.
Chevy introduced its W-series cast-iron engine family in 1958 as a performance step-up over the popular 283-inch small-block V-8. The first “W” was a 348-inch powerplant that could be fitted with Tri-Power, rated at 315 horsepower. On December 17, 1960, Chevy announced it was enlarging the 348 engine to 409 cubic inches and would offer the...
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CHEVY RPO Z-11 427: THE 409 GROWS UP!
A lack of official racing programs at Chevrolet forced Z-11 Chevys from NHRA S/S to A/FX, making them less competitive. Most ended up being match raced.
The handwriting was on the wall in 1962: Chevrolet was in for big trouble on drag strips in 1963. While its 409-inch update of the W-Series 348 held its ground in 1962, Pontiac, Dodge Plymouth and Ford were readying serious assaults the following year that Chevrolet would not be ready for. Enter RPO Z-11, a much-improved 427-inch W-style m...
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’70 OLDS W-30 442: FROM TRACK TO STREET!
Record-holding D/SA racer goes back to its roots, now a street & show muscle car.
Most drag racing cars, especially those that were hard-charging record-holders, end up being parted out, updated for new seasons, or relegated to spend its life rusting away. Not so with Tom Kelly’s W-30 442. His beautiful restored street & show machine started life as D/SA racecar campaigned on the NHRA-IHRA circuits for a couple of decades, with sponsorship
from the Music City Rod Shop in N...
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MOPAR HEMI ENGINE: GOLDEN OLDIE!
Chrysler celebrates the golden anniversary of the 426-inch Hemi, an engine that has been 'rewriting' drag strip, circle track & Bonneville record books for 50 years!
“Mopar is proud to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Gen II 426 HEMI, a revolutionary engine that inspired a long line of quality products in our brand’s portfolio,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC. “The 426 HEMI is such a vital part of our heritage and a key in...
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‘14 CAMARO COPO: BOWTIE BASHER!
Limited-run Camaro can be ordered with choice of 327 to 427 cubic inch engines, targeting a variety of NHRA classes.
Chevrolet Performance’s COPO Camaro program returns for the third year with another limitedrun of factory-produced racecars and a pair of new racing engine choices. To purchase one of the exclusive models, potential customers must sign up for the COPO Camaro mailing list at chevroletperformance.com. Like in the two previous years, only 69 racecars will be built for NHRA Stock ...
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