Mopar Factory Drag Cars: Dodge & Plymouth’s Quarter-Mile Domination 1961–1972

Blast down the quarter mile in your favorite 413 Long Ram, 426 Max Wedge, or 426 Hemi with Mopar Factory Drag Cars: Dodge & Plymouth’s Quarter-Mile Domination 1961–1972!

During the 1960s, stock-based drag racing required competitors to race genuine production cars available for public purchase. The strict rules meant manufacturers had to be fully committed to succeed — and no one was more dedicated than Chrysler. With the same intensity that powered its NASCAR Grand National program, Chrysler attacked Stock and Super Stock drag racing, even designing and producing new factory-built Super Stock turnkey race cars year after year. The result was total domination on the dragstrip and an enduring reputation for raw, unmatched performance.

The introduction of Pro Stock in 1970 promised exciting heads-up racing among multiple brands, but Chrysler’s Hemi-powered machines obliterated the competition, winning 12 of the 15 national races in the first two seasons. Their success was so overwhelming that NHRA had to introduce weight breaks to curb the Mopar advantage. By 1972, new rules favoring small-block compact cars began steering Pro Stock toward its modern tube-frame silhouette form, marking the end of an era.

Racing historian Steve Holmes captures this golden age of factory-backed competition, chronicling the careers of legendary racers and teams such as the Ramchargers, Melrose Missile, Bud Faubel, Dick Landy, Sox & Martin, Herb McCandless, Don Grotheer, and Motown Missile. Through detailed accounts and vivid storytelling, Holmes delivers a blow-by-blow history of Chrysler’s factory drag car programs — from conception to victory — during one of the most thrilling decades in American motorsport.

A must-read for muscle car fans, Mopar enthusiasts, and drag racing historians, this book brings to life the cars, the teams, and the unforgettable battles that defined Chrysler’s quarter-mile supremacy.