Mopar Southern Classic Event Coverage

Mountain Park Dragway of Clay City, Kentucky kicked off October and the first weekend of beautiful fall weather, with their annual Mopar Southern Classic and a great turnout of die-hard Mopar racers traveling from the Bluegrass Area and from as far as Canada.  Along with a Quick 8 Race, Car Show, Swap Meet, and a special appearance from Sheldon Bissessar of  Trinadad & Tobago testing his new Top Alcohol Dragster for the first time with Aaron Sipple of ASE & IRONMAN Chassis, the weekend was a definite crowd pleaser, full of activities for everyone.

Friday night and Saturday were kicked off with qualifying runs for the Quick 8 and Mopar races, with Glenn Robinson taking home the win for the Quick 8 by nights end with a 5.33 at 125mph over Billy Varner in the final.  Jim Shehan got the green light and the win for Top ET, while Ryan Foley dominated in the Modified category, and Steve Foley accompanied him for the win in Super Street.  On Sunday, Billy Varner came back out with a win in the Quick 16, and Ryan and Steve Foley doubled up for a second win each in Modified and Super Street.  Lonnie Smith took over the win spot for Top ET, while Don Edelstein won the Super Stock Hemi category, Dirk Hale won the Max Wedge, and Brendon Owens took the win in Street Rage after Billy Varner red lighted in the finals.  For a complete listing of the results at the Mopar Southern Classic visit Mountain Park Dragway's website at http://www.mpdragway.com/. 

Sheldon Bissessar, a well-known racer in Trinidad & Tobago and on the Pro Top Outlaw Circuit here in the States, made a special appearance at the Mountain Park Dragway for testing out his new ride for the Rockingham Nationals coming up October 17-19.  The Top Alcohol Dragster, tuned and completed by Aaron Sipple of ASE and IRONMAN Chassis, put on a great show, running a 3.96 in the 1/8 mile and a 6.18 in the ¼ mile after only a few passes.

Now I have to tell you that I have personally been around and deeply involved with the world of drag racing for the past eight years, but I wasn't born into it.  I've had to school myself, educate myself, and spend countless hours listening to the never-ending conversations of my husband, friends, customers and family members.  My husband and I own a Chassis shop where we offer everything from tuning services to complete car builds.  Of course I leave most of that up Aaron; if you come in as a customer I'll process your paper work but I won't be tuning your car anytime soon.  But I'm a fan and can keep up with most everything drag racing related on a regular basis!  I know the components of the cars, the motors, and all.  I can talk the lingo and give you the stats.  I know the history, most of it, and stay up watching the NHRA races on ESPN long after my husband has fell asleep.  I tell you this to show I am not a total flake, because Saturday afternoon as we all sat around in the trailer enjoying the cool fall air, I turned to Aaron and quietly, as to not embarrass myself, asked, "What is Mopar?"  To which he replied " I don't know, what do you mean?"  I responded, "Are you kidding me, you can't tell me what it means!?!"  I was shocked my husband, who has professionally been in and around drag racing for 18 years couldn't explain to me the significance of Mopar.  So I looked around and saw the logo and said, "Ooooh, okay, I know, Gary Scelzi!  So it's a product right?"  "Well yeah," Aaron said, "its products of Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge & Jeep, if that's what you meant by what is Mopar."  "Oh!  So I drive a Mopar everyday!"  We are big Jeep fans.  We have a Wrangler and Commander and have owned a Grand Cherokee in the past.  "Sure." Aaron said.  "Your true Mopar guys won't be caught driving anything but a Dodge truck.....see that guy hauling his car with the Ford....not diehard.  But look around and most of these guys are in a Dodge."

I still wanted to know the significance of Mopar and how the term associated with Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep manufacturing came about.  So I came home and Googled it.  Simply put, in the 1930's, an Activity Council, led by Nelson Farley of the Chrysler division, had to come up with a product name to put on cans of Chrysler Motor Parts antifreeze that was being used in their cars.  The geniuses kept it simple, using a combination of the words "motor" and "parts," and the greatness of "Mopar" was born.  The logo we all know today didn't take form until the late 60's.  The technology of the 70's and 80's made Chrysler's products for their vehicles under the name of Mopar truly a success.  By 1990, Chrysler was flourishing and expanded their parts operation and made Mopar a household name by gaining recognition in industries such as drag racing.  The Mopar logo became significant in distinguishing genuine Chrysler parts from other aftermarket and counterfeit parts. 

Of course, the most significant of all Mopar motors over the years has to be the coveted Hemi, of which many proudly displayed this weekend at Clay City.  So after my history lesson and realization of the meaning of Mopar after this weekend at the Mopar Southern Classic at Moutain Park Dragway, I'll proudly give a wink and a wave to my fellow Mopar drivers out on the road the next time I'm out cruising in my Jeep Commander!  And oh yeah, it's got a Hemi.