Going Forward Into The Past

I find the title of this weeks blog kind of ironic as this post sort of marks the end of an era. This particular entry will mark the last blog with the title Maximum Power. Starting in January 2016, the name will have changed to Full Throttle. The format, contents, and mission of the blog will not change - only the title will. I'm changing it because I feel it's time for that change. There's no legal, moral, or copyright formalities to deal with. The blog will still be published every weekend, save for certain dates during the year. For example, the blog will not be published next weekend due to the Christmas holiday. We're still here - keep comin' back!

A boatload of cool vintage stuff came across the radar this week starting with this off-the-hook 1965 Corvette Sting Ray. Listed on eBay as a barn find as well as true survivor, the buying public and jury seem to split on those accounts. A survivor is generally considered original. This Vette is far from that - everything from the psychedelic, love it or hate it paint scheme to the circa 70's drag stance. In this case however, many original cues and options on the car are still

present; from the polished stainless steel ignition shield over the distributor, to the Protect-O-Plate that is still in the back of the original owners manual. Another big question about the vehicle is just who did the paint job? Does the vintage custom paint on this ’65 Corvette make it worth more or less than one that's been restored? If one recalls the recent auction of Janis Joplin’s 356 Porsche with a recreation of the psychedelic mural Dave Roberts once painted for Janis, selling for $1.7 million, a person could get pretty pumped. But most collectors feel that unless the paint and acetylene smoke graphics were laid down by a famous west coast cat like Von Dutch, the best thing for the next owner of this Vette to do is restore the car back to stock. This particular specimen has some fairly rare original options that the car came with when ordered new; like the N36 telescopic steering wheel, A31 power windows, and it's number-matching 365hp 327 engine.

This past week, December 17th to be exact, we celebrated the birthday of famed drag racing driver Ronnie Sox. For over 40 years, his list of accomplishments are staggering. Sox took home five NHRA championships, won more than 50 events in Pro Stock and Super Stock, and was absolutely dominant during Pro Stock’s "four-speed era". Starting at a young age in the 1950's where he began racing at a local airport in Burlington NC, he gained notoriety when he teamed up with Buddy Martin and joined with Chrysler in the 1960s. That would began the tour de force that would take Sox into the 1990s as a driver. Many fans remember him the the teams infamous red, white, and blue color-scheme machines, starting with the 1965 altered-wheelbase

Plymouth Belvedere, which was banned from NHRA competition. This didn’t hurt Sox & Martin, who pounded through AHRA match races in their “funny-looking car” and eventually secured the first 9-second pass in an all-motor door-slammer. Between the heavy factory support and Sox’s incredible consistency and speed on a four-speed manual, the Sox & Martin team saw a mass of success in the late-1960s. Along with “Dyno Don” Nicholson in his Ford, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins in his Chevrolet, Ronnie Sox was one of the driving forces behind the creation of Pro Stock in 1970. Sox & Martin and their Mopars found a wealth of success again in the new heads-up format; short of losing to Grumpy at the 1970 Winternationals, Sox went undefeated in that first year. After another dominating year in 1971, the NHRA began to tweak the minimum weight requirements for the different models, so the Fords and Chevrolets were given a massive weight advantage over the Mopars, (upwards of 600-700 pounds) effectively barring Sox & Martin’s Mopars from the winner’s circle. Eventually, Chrysler had enough with the show and pulled the plug on the factory-backed drag-racing program.

This week, NASCAR also paid some special tribute to three of the pioneering women drivers of the sport. Step inside the Maximum Power time machine and we'll go way back to the late 40's. Sara Christian was the first female NASCAR driver in history. She was married to driver Frank Christian, and together they had two children. Christian’s car was named 711, after the ages of her two children at the time. Her first race took place on June 19, 1949 at Charlotte Speedway. She drove her husband’s car and came in 13th place out of 33. They were also the first married couple team to compete against each other. Christian also competed in the second Daytona Beach race on July 10, 1949 along with two other women, Ethel Mobley and Louise Smith. This marked the first race in NASCAR history having three women competing at the same time. Christian was named United States Driver Association Woman of the Year in 1949.

Ethel Mobley’s blood was practically infused with the racing gene, and it’s even been said that her father named her after the gasoline he put in his taxi. Mobley’s love for racing was born after attending many a moonshine races with her family on Sunday afternoons. When she did dive into the driving world, Mobley was tied with Louise Smith as the second female NASCAR driver. Mobley was part of the “Flying Flocks” - a name bestowed upon Ethel and her three siblings, Tim, Fonty and Bob. They were the first family of drivers in NASCAR history to have four siblings compete in the same race, the Daytona Beach Course on July 10, 1949. This race also marked the first time for a brother and sister combo to compete against one another.Tim finished second, while Ethel finished 11^th — beating both Fonty and Bob in her Cadillac. Ethel competed in over 100 races over the duration of her career, the most notable being a Florida race in which she competed against 57 men and finished in an admirable eighth place.

Tied with Ethel Mobley as the second female racer in NASCAR history, Georgia-born Louise Smith was fondly known as the “First Lady of Racing.” Smith’s racing career was initiated when she visited the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1949, simply to watch the race. Once there, she didn’t have it in her to remain a spectator. She entered the race using her family’s new Ford Coupe. Issued unlucky number 13, she unsuccessfully pleaded with every single race car driver to switch numbers with her. She tried to shake her superstitions, but later suffered the misfortune of crashing into a seven car pile-up during the race, thereby perpetuating the unlucky myth behind the number 13. Ironically she finished the race in 13th place. Smith’s career spanned from 1949 to 1956, where she brought home an impressive 38 wins. In 1999, she again made her mark on NASCAR history as the first woman to be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

In spite of all this deja-vu that I checked out this week, I came across another throwback piece from my local library - a book called "The All-American Hot Rod". If you're looking for that last minute Christmas gift for the hot-rodder in your life that seems to have everything, you may want to consider this hard-cover book. It is a time trip with tons of vintage photos, (as well as modern full color photos), advertisements, pulp-fiction, and who knows how much vintage hilarity (that wasn't so 50-60 years ago in our anti-hot rod society) - never mind the fact it's a great read. If you have a chance, check it out. It's worth your time.


I wish all of you the happiest of holidays and a prosperous new year. See you in 2016!
Until next time, peace out.
Dave