Hemi® Power Hits the Strip

Charlie Westcott Jr. continued his Mopar® HEMI Challenge Race Series domination at the sixth annual Mopars at The Strip event.

Words: Darren Jacobs

The sixth edition of the Mopars at The Strip event, held on March 28–30, had something for every Mopar® nut: a car show, a swap meet, an auction, bracket racing, guests including 426 HEMI® engine “godfather” Tom Hoover, and a tribute to the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Super Stock HEMI Barracudas and Darts—and that was just for starters. But for dedicated racer Charlie Westcott Jr., the only event that mattered was the Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It wasn’t that Westcott Jr. didn’t appreciate the many attractions of the Mopars at The Strip extravaganza. He did. The problem was the Parma, Mich., native just didn’t have time to take in the sights because he was too busy winning yet another HEMI Challenge event.

“I never got more than 20 feet from my trailer,” said Westcott Jr., owner of Jackson Engine Tech. “We had nothing but work from the time we got there. When we go to the races we go to race. I never even had a chance to go check out the swap meet. I never buy anything, but it’s kind of fun to go look at everyone else’s junk and compare it to mine.”

His winning 1968 “War Fish” Plymouth Barracuda is far from a piece of junk. It has proven to be the toughest car on the Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series, which features fierce quarter-mile battles between 1968 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts from the NHRA Super Stock A-HEMI SS/AH) class.

Westcott Jr. qualified his “War Fish” third for the Mopars at The Strip HEMI Challenge. It was the second year the HEMI Challenge had visited the popular event. His father, Charlie Westcott Sr., John Rains and Fred Henson also qualified in the top four, giving cars equipped by Jackson Engine Tech the first four spots on the starting grid. In the elimination rounds Westcott Jr. defeated David Rayburn and knocked off defending Mopars at The Strip HEMI Challenge champ Rick Houser and No. 1 qualifier Rains before besting the 1968 Dodge Dart driven by Jim Pancake in the finals.

It was the second-straight Mopar HEMI Challenge victory for Westcott Jr., following his October 2007 win at the NHRA Pennsylvania Dutch Classic HEMI Challenge (he would make it three straight with a triumph the following week at the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals HEMI Challenge event—his fifth straight win at the Belle Rose HEMI Challenge stop).“It’s a real good venue. It’s a nice track and we always have a real good time when we go out there,” remarked Westcott Jr. of the Las Vegas HEMI Challenge race. “It’s kind of an interesting, scenic trip out there. This event and the Belle Rose event are my favorites.”

The 11-time HEMI Challenge race winner added, “I like going to these things. It’s fun. It’s heads up racing, and we all have the same kind of car.”

Westcott Jr., the inaugural Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series champion, leads the 2008 points standings with three events remaining: the 54th Annual NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 27–Sept. 1; the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 19–21; and the NHRA Northeast Dutch Classic in Reading, Pa., on Oct. 23–26. The 2008 HEMI Challenge champion will be crowned at Reading.

“Having present-day HEMI competitors showing their stuff alongside the likes of Arlen Vanke, Herb McCandless, Tom Hoover, Buddy Martin and several original 1968 package cars is the perfect way to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the HEMI package cars from Chrysler,” said Jon Clark, Mopar Performance’s Department Manager, of the combination of current and past HEMI competitors at Vegas event.

Added David Hakim, Mopar Brand Licensing Manager, “This year’s event was very special to me. Phil Painter and his staff did an excellent job in bringing these vintage race cars along with the original drivers who campaigned them back in ’68 together in one spot. The tales about what it was like driving these 500-plus horsepower Super Stocker cars on greasy tracks with ten-and-a-half-inch slicks back in 1968 were fascinating, but more entertaining was hearing about the shenanigans and pranks they used to pull on each other along with the drivers from the enemy camp. I got to listen to some great war stories from my heroes, such as Buddy Martin, Herb McCandless, Don Grotheer, Judy Lilly and Larry Griffith. It’s a wonder any of them are still alive today!”

How appropriate—next generation HEMI-powered star Westcott Jr. is sure to one day spin some “War Fish” stories of his own!