The Mopar® HEMI® Challenge Race Series Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas go head-to-head for a $5,000 payout this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the NHRA JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals at National Trail Raceway. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 25, with final eliminations set for Saturday, Sept. 26, starting at 1:00 p.m.
The team of Charlie Westcott Sr. and Charlie Westcott Jr. is the odds-on favorite to take the money. Westcott Sr. won the recent Mopar HEMI Challenge at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in an epic thrash on Labor Day Weekend. It was the fourth time in five years that a Westcott took the Indy title. The Westcotts have claimed numerous Mopar HEMI Challenge victories over the last four years.
Westcott Sr.’s engine suffered damage during a bye run into the Indy finals. His son and a host of their fierce HEMI Challenge competitors ganged up and swapped John Rains’ spare Westcott-built 426 HEMI engine into Westcott Sr.’s ’68 Barracuda in 90 minutes. The car made it to the line with no time to spare. Westcott Sr. then left a surprised David Barton on the line to take the win.
The impromptu team that aided Westcott Sr. also included Mike Roth of MR2 Performance, Brian Olson, Darrell Marvel, Jim DeFrank, Chuck Comela and several others. Chassis constructor Gary Hanson, builder of Rains’ HEMI Dart, had a big role in the frantic project.
Westcott Jr. holds both ends of the SS/AH record, with an elapsed time of 8.38 seconds at a top speed of 157.08 mph. Aside from the Westcotts the field of HEMI Super Stockers is expected to include Dart drivers Jim Daniels from Yardley Pa.; Rains, of Santa Paula, Calif.; and Jim Pancake, a Chrysler dealer from Newport, Ohio. Barracuda runners include Darrell Marvel of Big Rapids, Mich.; Jim Keyes, from Durand, Mich.; Jeff Kobylski, of Macomb Twp., Mich.; Don Bales, of Connersville, Ind.; and Randy Warford, of Nashville, Ind.
Bales’ spectacular Silver Bullet Barracuda won the prestigious overall “Best Appearing Car” award at the U.S. Nationals. Not just pretty, his HEMI SS/AH is fast enough to compete for the overall victory in the class.
Following the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals, the Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series will visit the Dutch Classic, Oct. 22–25, at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., where another $5,000 in prize money will be offered to the winner. Daniels is the defending event champion.
The Mopar Brand: Authentic Motor Parts and Accessories for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.
Mopar—a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts—was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC.
The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s—the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.
In addition to its proud muscle-car heritage, Mopar established a solid reputation as a one-stop shop for proven, quality-tested, reliable and original parts. Just this year, in 2009, Mopar has introduced more than 200 new parts and accessories.
“Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered by the same team that creates all of our factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles,” said Pietro Gorlier, President & CEO, Mopar Service, Parts & Customer Care, Chrysler Group LLC. “At Mopar, we offer more than 280,000 parts and accessories for customers who want to customize and refresh their rides.”
Today, Mopar is responsible for the distribution of authentic Mopar replacement parts, components and accessories for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles sold in more than 90 countries. To assure quality, reliability and durability, all Mopar parts and accessories are designed in strict adherence to Chrysler engineering standards