Hi Tim and Gang,
I really don't want to get into this friendly cold war on Dodges but I will
throw this last piece of information in.
If your were classified to STOCK class, but owned
a really fast car, you could asked to be raised to a
HIGHER stock class. Going to a higher class with an average cars is
very unwise. You may also go from a Stock class to a Modified Class. There
they would take your cu inches divided in to your
actual weight on the scales to figure out what class you would be in,
but it was only opened to cars with a single carburetor.
Gas Classes were decided the same as the Modified Classes
however they were for cars that had more than one
carburetor.
When a close friend would go to the drag strip with me and would be in
my class, I would asked to run Modified class if I had 1/4 bbl or if I had 2/4
bbl carbs on I would asked to be put in Gas Class. That way we could both have a
chance of winning and not have to eliminate each other. (After all us Mopar
guys were greatly out numbered by Chevy's and Ford's.) I always felt it was
stupid to eliminate another Mopar when the classes were full of GM and Ford
cars.
Modified Class eventually got an automatic class but Gas Class did
not, and most of the cars in both these two classes were stick shift cars.
I would ask to be changed to Modified or Gas class many times
over the years, but it was risky because you have to have a very fast car to do
that. A few times I got my doors blow off. ( When a guy advances
to another class, that's because he is usually showing off that he can
beat the stock cars and the Modified and Gas Cars too.)
Being Stock and going into a higher class or a Modified or Gas
class is like a light weight boxer fighting a heavy weight he better be damn
good.
Ron Swartley
PS. Bill Golden is still putting on exhibition runs with the
"LITTLE RED TRUCKS" which runs through the quarter mile with the front
wheels in the air for the full length of the track. He is at Carlisle "All
Chrysler Products National Show" almost every
year.