Quote: I've always wanted to know more about the backgrounds of guys like Tom Hoover or Ted Spehar, in terms of just what they did in life that got them involved and were actually very good at the drag racing specific end of the automotive industry. Of course, I know that Hoover was an engineer by profession, but how did that translate itself to his apparent passion for as well as obviously his skill in the racing side of Chrysler. Seems like in a guy like Hoover's case, he must have been quite knowledgeable/proficient in just about every aspect of a drag car whereas maybe most guys are knowledgeable in one thing moreso than another, i.e. engine vs. suspension vs transmissions. I've always gotten the impression Hoover was sort of the 'overseer' of operations so to speak in the Mopar drag racing efforts, at least for a specific team. Wasn't Hoover also responsible for the initial design of the 426 version of the Hemi? In the case of any of those guys, were some just found to be good race guys by someone at Chrysler and that's how they got involved or what? Just curious about the backgrounds of some of the other guys whose name's I have read or heard so much about, but don't really know just 'who' they are...
John, I might be able to answer some of your questions. There's always been a group at Chrysler interested in motorsports and in the promotion of Chrysler products, but the "modern" era probably began with the Ramchargers and their '49 Plymouth "High and Mighty" C/A. Some of the early efforts, such as the Indy runs, were directly promoted by the corporation, but the Ramchargers were formed as strictly a "grass roots" operation. In fact, we were afraid we might lose our jobs if our dragracing efforts were discovered by our managers. To most engineers in the automotive industry, the job is simply another 8 to 5 engineering job and nothing more. (I actually had a manager tell me, during a review, that I was "too interested in cars." That was Bill Swan, in Advanced Development, if there's a Chrysler retiree hanging about this board.)
I just registered, but, as soon as I figure out how to do so, I'll post some pictures of the C/A taken during construction. I see there's a chance to attach a file, so, if I'm lucky, there'll be a picture with this post. Okay, unless the picture's too big, you'll see three kids sitting at the rear of a '49 Plymouth sans body. The guy in the middle is yours truly. On my left is Herman Mozer, the first president of the Ramchargers. On my right is Jack MacPherson and the guy hiding behind the steering wheel is Dwight Knupp.
