Relive Mopar's skunkworks racing team and its rise to dominance in this fascinating history!
The
drama of 1970s Chrysler Pro Stock drag racing unfolds in this new book,
which focuses on the racing and technological evolution of the
legendary Motown Missile and Mopar Missile racing programs from 1970 to
1977. Unequaled by any other drag racing development program, this was a
huge undertaking in term of time, money, and effort.
The 1970s
saw great change in Detroit and in auto racing, with Pro Stock being a
huge draw for fans. Chrysler racing historian and author Geoff Stunkard
presents a chronological recollection, drawing from many interviews and
summaries of the actual technical efforts that the factory accomplished
and includes both rare/unpublished technical and personal images from
the team members and some of the most dramatic images taken by the
sport's best photographers.
From the earliest days of
owner/engine builder Ted Spehar, factory engineer Tom Hoover, and driver
Don Carlton, the narrative is a colorful look at the team's inner
workings, programs, victories, and even defeats. Set against a backdrop
of characters like Bill Grumpy Jenkins, Dandy" Dick Landy, and Dyno Don
Nicholson, Carlton's driving prowess had few equals. Indeed, called by
one period scribe as a cyborg, the likeable pilot would pay the ultimate
price as a drag racing driver. From the Challengers and `Cuda to the
Demons and Colts, the book showcases the cars that made Chrysler so much
a part of this racing era, as well as Ted Spehar's
never-before-revealed information on the 1970s Pro Stock engine program.
Contents:
- Preflight Check in Autumn 1969: Origins of the Motown Missile
- 1970 Challenger: The First Spark
- 1971: A Real Race Car and the Mad Scientists
- 1972: The ’Cuda, Conflicts, and the Corporation
- 1973: The Duster, Decisions, and Don
- 1974: Fly by Wire, Less Is More, and Cha-Cha Changes
- 1975-1980: Retrospective on a Decade
- 50 Years Later: The Missiles and Don Carlton Race Cars Today
- Today’s Motown Missile: That Was Then, This Is Now