Mopar® Sportsman Racers Coast to Coast
The 2009 drag racing season was a great one for Mopar® drag racers and their fan base. It produced truly interesting stories at almost every level or angle conceivable. This issue’s drag race dateline highlights developments from the east, the west and even the american heartland.
Words and Photos: Bruce Biegler
VISION RETENTION
During the 1970s the name Shirley Shahan was one of the most famous lady names in drag racing. She and her husband H.L. Shahan terrorized U.S. drag strips with a series of very potent DRAG-ON-LADY Chrysler Super Stock cars and became legendary while doing that.
Now long retired from the driver’s seat, Shirley’s story however remains in tact thanks largely to the efforts of her son Bob. In central California, Bob Shahan, along with his famous father, are campaigning a replica of Shirley’s 1968 Dodge Dart and are having a great time doing it.
“The original HEMI® Super Stock Dart was auctioned off last year,” said Bob Shahan. “We acquired this car about eight years ago—it’s a close restoration to the original car.”
Over that period of time Bob and “HL” have massaged the car from a 13-second machine to a 9.70-second performer. It features a 440-cid engine equipped with a stock crankshaft and rods. The team now puts most of their focus with Nostalgia Drag Racing circuits running it in a Super Stock classification.
“Obviously I grew up being around all the Dodge and Chrysler teams so I have been a Mopar® guy all my life,” Bob added. “Now we are having a great time carrying on our family racing name and tradition.”
MINI CAR + MINI MOTOR
The propensity for unique creations remains one of the main attractions for fans to the sport of drag racing. That notion is once again being emphasized by Oklahoma’s Jody Holland, who has somehow managed to marry a European styled mini-car from a bygone era with the latest in Mopar four-cylinder engine technology. The end result is a highly competitive and truly one-of-a-kind NHRA competition eliminator car.
Powered by a 193-cid Mopar engine, Holland’s 1972 Opel replica runs in the L/AA (Altered/Automatic) category. Weighing in at only 1,780 lbs, the car has run a quick 8.93 seconds at 148.69 mph.
“We picked the Mopar engine because in my opinion it is the best four-cylinder out there,” said Holland. “The big thing about this engine project is the nice numbers we get throughout the torque range. That really helps in our category when you are running an automatic transmission. We run the Mopar P5 cylinder head and all together it makes between 450 and 480 horsepower.”
After making some limited appearances during 2008, this past 2009 season was in fact the first full year for the car, which sees most of its action within the NHRA Division Four Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series circuit.
Holland, who is a manager for an Oilfield Service Company back in Oklahoma, races the car in conjunction with Charlie Williams. Williams is a famous name within Mopar drag racing annals for his unique national record setting Jeep®-powered Altered which he campaigned during the mid 1990s. Holland’s engine development is also a partnership with another Mopar racing veteran, wiry 80-year-old Bill Gibbs.
BUCKY IS BEST!
Diehard West Virginia-based Mopar drag racer Bucky Hess had what was arguably his biggest moment yet in drag racing when during early October he won his first ever NHRA national event title. Driving his absolutely awesome King Kuda II 1968 HEMI Barracuda, Hess prevailed during NHRA’s Virginia Nationals, winning Super Stock eliminator.After qualifying near the middle for the 52-car field with a run that was .916 of a second under his SS/AH class index, Hess prevailed during six rounds of competition to take the event. In the final round he ran a near perfect 8.701 seconds (8.70 sec. dial) at 150.63 mph to defeat final round opponent Grant Lewis.
“It was the most gratifying thing that I have done in racing,” admitted Hess. “The closest to it would have been winning the first HEMI Challenge at Indy. Our car performed flawlessly, and all of my 60 foot times were within thousandths. You don’t know how many racers have raced their whole life and haven’t won (a national event). That makes this very humbling.”
