Quote: Joe, Back in the day, considering that The Missile was the Chrysler house team what was the relationship with the other Pro Stock teams like, ie; S&M, Landy, Jenkins, etc.?
You are right that the Missile team was the Chrysler "house" team. We did the R&D and passed information on to the other Chrysler Pro Stock teams through the Chrysler race group channels. When it came to the other Chrysler teams we had a great relationship. We all wanted Chrysler to win and if we could not do it ourselves, we were just as happy when one of the other Chysler teams scored the W. Ronnie Sox, Buddy Martin, Dick Landy, Butch Leal, Bill Bagshaw, Mike Fons, Irv Berringhaus, Don Grothier, and all the other Chrysler teams were first class folks. We worked hard and we played hard - that is just what we did.
The Ford, Chevy, and AMC teams were competitors but we partied just as hard with them as we did with the Chrysler guys. You have got to remember that we ALL traveled together and raced together about 10 months a year. We were like a traveling automotive circus act (don't throw stones at my analogy guys). The racing teams were all very close. We came out of the Detroit area and there were several teams right in our area - Fons, Wally Booth, Maskin & Kanners to name a few. We were friends then and still are today. I regularly see Dave Kanners and his wife Sue for dinner. Wally Booth gets his hair cuts from the same barber I have been going to for the last 28 years (yes, Wally and I still have some hair to cut!).
Our racing was serious but our friendships were just as serious. We all helped each other at the track and off the track.
