Charlie Westcott Sr. Wins Mopar(R) HEMI(R) Challenge Event at U.S. Nationals
The Westcott family, of Parma, Mich., pulled off another victory on Friday, Sept. 4, in the Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series event at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind. Charlie Westcott Sr. did it this time, in his 1968 HEMI Barracuda, besting David Barton, of Robesonia, Pa. Westcott needed a lot of help from his son, Charlie Westcott Jr., and a bunch of their competitors.
After Westcott Sr.'s engine dropped a valve in his semifinal bye run, Westcott Jr. reclaimed a Mopar 426 HEMI engine he had just delivered to John Raines, of Santa Paula, Calif. In Californian Jim DeFrank's well-equipped trailer, with the help of many Mopar HEMI Challenge racers, the engine swap took ninety minutes, just in time to get to the starting line where finalist Barton was waiting in his Barracuda.
Westcott Sr. was much quicker off the line as he claimed the Mopar HEMI Challenge Indy title with an 8.626-second run at 156.15 mph. Barton trailed with an 8.802 ET and a speed of 152.87 mph. Westcott Sr. hauled home $10,000 for the victory, his first at the U.S. Nationals. His son had won three out of the last four Mopar HEMI Challenge events at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
"Jason Line came up to me after I won and said, 'You give me something to look forward to when I get old,'" said the 66-year-old Westcott Sr. Line is a veteran NHRA Pro Stock champion.
Westcott Jr. had the same engine problem as his father, preventing him from appearing in an earlier round. He was the fastest Mopar HEMI Challenge qualifier on Thursday, Sept. 3, with an 8.491-second ET in his 1968 HEMI Barracuda. Jim Daniels, of Yardley, Pa., was the second-fastest, recording an 8.519 ET in his HEMI Barracuda. Daniels made it to the third round before losing to Raines, who then lost to Barton in the semifinals.
Twenty-one 1968 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracudas participated in the Mopar HEMI Challenge event at the U.S. Nationals. Entrants came from thirteen states across the U.S. Next up is the Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series event at the JEGS Northern SPORTSnationals, Sept. 25–27, at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.