Silver Bullet & American League Hitters

Words: Bruce Biegler

Mopar® Maestro

There are a number of very impressive SS/AH cars on the circuit these days, however few would argue that Indiana’s Mike Roth has not single handedly raised the bar.

Roth, who is the owner and operator of MR2 Performance, did a simply masterful job when he built an incredible SS/AH ’68 Barracuda for owner Don Bales, also from Indiana.

After being under construction for over a year, the stunning new “Silver Bullet” Barracuda made its public debut during last September’s NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals event. Not only did the car cause a lot of fan buzz in the pits, it also ran extremely well right out of the box, hitting the 8-second zone at close to 150 mph during one of its maiden runs down the course.

“A while back, Don Bales (who also owns a Nostalgia Super Stock Barracuda also built by Roth) contacted me about a big dream he had—to build the ultimate HEMI® car on the planet,” explained Mike Roth. “He gave me a free reign and also the funds to do whatever I wanted to do, including paint, theme and interior. I built everything on this car. I literally put a year of my life into it. So it is pretty exciting for me to see all of the reaction. In the end that makes all of the hard work well worth it.”

The Barracuda is a state-of-the-art piece for the demanding SS/AH category. The roll cage is 25:5, and it has a lower sitting chassis resembling a Pro Stock car. The car’s paint is about as dramatic as it could be—a unique vision of art deco and street rod. The engine program is a powerful 426 cid HEMI by Ray Barton.

While Roth’s car-building ventures into drag racing have been somewhat limited to this point, all of his accomplishments have been impressive. One predecessor was the Randy Warford 1968 HEMI Barracuda SS/AH, which won prestigious “Best Engineered” during the 50th Anniversary NHRA U.S. Nationals. Roth confirms that since the debut of the Bales Barracuda, he has, and deservingly so, received more job offers.

American League Hitters

Mopar® drag racers certainly hit home runs during the Pro Mod orientated 2008 season for the very popular Flowmaster and National Guard-sponsored ADRL (American Drag Racing League). Brand drivers Jason Scruggs and Billy Harper both emerged with prestigious season championships following hard fought titles during the ADRL’s season finals, held at Dallas’ Texas Motorplex.

Scruggs (from Mississippi) and Harper (from Kentucky) both won overall season-ending Pro Mod class titles during the “Battle for the Belts” event, which is a special elimination showdown showcasing the top eight points earners in each category.

Scruggs, the defending 2007 ADRL Pro Extreme Champion, retained his title in the P/X category driving his supercharged and HEMI-powered 2007 Dodge Stratus. He topped Wes Johnson in the championship final after defeating Bill Clanton and Brian Daniels in earlier eliminations. Scruggs’ strong ’08 ADRL season also included a super fast 1/8 mile speed of 205.47 mph, which came during the spring. That was recognized as an official ADRL national record.

Harper’s title came in the Pro Nitrous (P/N) category, driving his stealth-like and fan favorite Dodge Viper. The very popular circuit racer’s route to the title was anything but an easy one, as he had to defeat no less then three different and highly funded Al-Anabi Motorsports cars to claim his “Belt.” Harper beat out Burton Auxier and Shannon Jenkins before besting Rickie Smith in the final round. Harper had entered the “Battle for the Belts” showdown as the number one seed in points.