What does loyalty have to do with people who race for a living? It's about winning and you choose the combination that gives you the best chance of that.

People can speculate all they want on why Mopar gave money to this person and not this person. But the fact is WE don't know. It was a business decision. Maybe Mopar DID want Barton, but to get him was going to cost more than they were willing to pay. Racing at this level is BUSINESS, not a hobby

Most guys here, LOVE their Mopars and couldn't imagine being in something else. Most real racers really don't care that much about brands. If you read up, most of the "old school" guys chose Mopar originally because of the Max Wedge or the HEMI and thought they could win with it. And also Chrysler was heavy into racing at the time. So they chose Mopar NOT because of the brand, but because of equipment or opportunity. It's the same now

This particular car was built and payed for by Gary Wolkwitz who also campaigns a SS/AH car. David guided the build from what I've read and was given a platform to increase his business exposure. When most people think of Ray Barton Racing Engines, they typically think of a business that specializes in only doing Mopars, so him being given this opportunity is giving him a chance to show just how talented the Ray Barton Racing Engines team is with what they do.

The Barton's are also involved with Ford engines too. David's name and number were on a certain black and orange Mustang....They are running a business, and need to generate income. I would work on all makes as well if I owned a shop like the Bartons.

Not even close.... The Bartons needed a good platform to race and the Challenger wasn't it. Chevy bent over backwards to not only get Gary a car, but also WORKED WITH THEM!!

Chrysler seems to have forgotten where they came from, nor do they care. No loyalty and no parts. No B/RB blocks or heads for SS racers, and the Hemi racers have to worry when (not if) the block and head castings dry up.... And I wont even go into the Blown DragPak out of the Barton stable

Exactly

"David's name and number were on a certain black and orange Mustang"

I thought I saw that somewhere, but couldn't find it and just assumed I was dreaming.

"Chrysler seems to have forgotten where they came from, nor do they care."

That company doesn't exist anymore.

Cook Brothers car in Super Stock.

True, but back in the day those guys didn't change brands every ten minutes. The people in the stands ( and there actually were some ) knew Jenkins was chevy, Glidden was ford, etc. Yes, they jumped around a bit, but now the few left in the stands need a f--ckin score card. The focus is no longer on car brand name, but the driver / builder / owner name. Just think it hurt the ("BUSINESS") a bit. When it's all business, you get what you got - very fast jelly beans.

Back then, Mopar was Mopar.
That was then. They are pathetic now.

I guess people forget that Jake King was a ford mechanic, before being paid to built hemi's...
Or that Ronnie Sox started out racing Chevys before being paid to race Mopars...
Or that King Richard was paid to race a Ford in 1969...
Or that Grumpy Jenkins raced Mopars before going to Chevrolet...
When racing is what you do for a living...brand loyalty goes out the window, if the money stops coming in.
If you have a successful racing operation, making large amounts of money, racing a Mopar, then all of a sudden Mopar pulls the plug on funding, but GM or ford are willing to support you, are you going to continue to race out of pocket due to brand loyalty, close up your operation, and take a job in a factory somewhere, or go where the money is??

Brand loyalty is fine for the average car guy, but not when it's your business/lively hood.

My point was that Mopar dropped the ball big-time. I don't blame Barton one bit.

Agree and understand all of that. Just saying IMO it hurt the sport a bit when it became ALL about money and big business. The people that filled the stands and supported drag racing ( in the beginning at least ) were not about big $ and big business. Things change, not sure all for the better. If you look at the success of the street racing thing, although those guys spend cubic $, the program theme is not about the $ or big business. Most that watch it have no clue about the $ spent or drag racing in general. It's all about the personalities which they attached to the cars ( reads brand loyalty in a weird kinda way. )

You can thank the snake and mongoose for bringing in big business to drag racing.
But, without the influx of sponcer money, drag racing would have died years ago.

Racing has been a business for some drivers, builders, manufacturers & track owners for decades, there's just a few more zeros behind the $ than there was 20-30 years ago. If you want to stay competitive you have to have the resources & funds to do it.
Mopar is simply not as interested racing as Ford & GM are.

I can understand why racers change brands as they have to try to win if they can and make money when you do it for a living. I think brand loyal was much more in the 60's and 70's as I know when I watched racing in the 70's I wanted the car I liked to win as I did not care who drove it. I wanted Mopar to win and if Bil Jenkins had been in a Mopar I would have wanted his car to win.
Today they all vote for the drivers and not the car. But hey all the Pro cars look the same today anyway and you cant tell one brand from another. And as was said Mopar today is not what it used to be when it comes to racer support. Myself I would say I am still brand loyal but I do like all muscle car I just like Mopar first and always will but I can appreciate any cool muscle car. Course I am just some poor little guy who still loves to watch the cars of the 60's and 70's race. Thats why I like the NSS racing as its what I grew up loving and I can actually tell which cars are Mopars or Fords and Chevy's. But I dont blame for racers doing what they have to do today. Ron

"But hey, all pro cars look the same today" - $ and big business did that. Technology boiled down to "one best". I gotta look at the decal packages. Interesting to see who is still left in the stands at a big NHRA meet after the big 3 have made their passes.

I have raced every brand now--- Mopar, Ford and Chevy If they run good I like them! I love a Mopar! But...I have had some good laps in other brands--bottom line is I like going fast and working to win a race--That is what I am loyal to--CI's, HP and Speed!
Fiat don't give two bleeps about Mopars past

When Bob Glidden was on top, he ran a Camaro for 1 race, I can't recall if it was before or after the 340 Arrow.
So he ran a Ford, Chrysler and GM in Pro Stock before 1982.

Grumpy ran a Hemi in 1965.

Wayne County was known for their Chevies before they won Championships with the Daytona, although they did have a Hemi SS/B in 1967.

Dyno Don ran a 409 Chevy before he became known as a Ford racer.


Successful racers run the combo they can win (make money) with.

For the longest time guys in pro stock ran cars with
the longest front end.. they knew they were making the
track shorter... thats why they put a rule limit on the
length of the front end... thats why camero and firebirds
were the winners.... in the big ranks.. look how many fords
are out there now... ford is getting out of drag racing also

Glidden ran a Monza. Lingenfelter ended up with it.

Glidden switched to Mopar for the simple reason that Ford refused to give him any money. So Mopar bought him.