Every year we are honored to feature a number of special guests but this year even we were surprised. We knew well in advance that we were going to feature the Sox & Martin team including Dave Christie, Herb McCandless and Diane Sox. We couldn’t wait to welcome retired Chrysler designer John Samsen at the show and we spent more than a year making arrangements to have the star of the movie Christine join us. And of course we knew Chris Jacobs would be our headliner this year. In the final show planning stages we added retired Chrysler engineers Tom Hoover, Godfather of the Hemi, as well as Tom Coddington and Allen Adam. The next to join the list of celebrities was renowned drag racer Bill Stiles. About a week before the show we were informed of several Ramchargers team members who would be attending the show which was great news. But even we weren’t prepared when we heard that NASCAR legend Buddy Arrington was coming!! Buddy was gracious enough to sit in on the Meet & Greet with Mopar Legends. This just goes to show that you never know who might show up unannounced at Carlisle!

Chrysler’s High Impact Paint (HIP) colors certainly don’t need any help standing out in a crowd and arguably the wildest HIP color is FM3 Panther Pink/Moulin Rouge. With the help of Nick Taylor of PantherPink.com we were able to assemble a collection of ten factory FM3 vehicles that filled Building Y. Most of the cars were stock restorations but we added a Pro-Street Duster for a well-rounded display. Each car in Building Y was a factory FM3 vehicle and it was pretty cool to see some cars with very similar options.

This year we rewound the clock to 1968 to create our Retro Dealership Display located at Gate 1. Last year’s 1967 dealership was a success but this year’s 1968 display was a smash hit! The cars inside the building came from Invitational applications submitted by car owners and the cars outside on the “lot” were regular Fun Field classes. Most of the memorabilia used for the display came from Art’s Toys and Hobbies, Kohr’s Kustoms and Fezell’s Classics. If you have a 1969 Dodge, Chrysler or Plymouth that you think belongs in the dealership next year please be sure to submit a 2009 Invitational form.

• 2009 Invitational Form

We were honored to have Sox & Martin team members Herb McCandless and Dave Christie as well as Diane Sox, President of the Ronnie Sox Foundation and Ronnie’s widow. In addition to the team we also had five original Sox & Martin cars including one that was just found and returned to the U.S. Apparently in the ‘70s the Sox & Martin team sold a Pro Stock Hemi Duster to a gentleman in Brooklyn who made a street racer out of the car. This car was also shipped to Puerto Rico from time to time for exhibition races but certain governmental agencies thought the car was being used for other activities. To make a long story short the car was seized in a subsequent arrest and made its first appearance at the All-Chrysler Nationals after spending many years in Puerto Rico. We’d like to thank Todd Werner for sharing four of his Sox & Martin cars with us and Fred Ristagno for not only showing his Sox & Martin car but also for running it the way it was meant to be run. Rather than the typical exhibition passes that consist of a decent launch then coasting through the traps, Fred made several hard, full throttle passes on Friday at Quarter Aces Drag-O-Way.

The Mopar Muscle engine giveaway was a huge success and all of the parties involved are already working on next year’s engine. This year’s winner was Scott Geary from Dedham, MA. Scott took home a custom-built 505” big block that was built around a seasoned iron 440 block and topped with Edelbrock aluminum heads. This beast was dyno’d at 596.6 horsepower and 659.8 ft/lbs of torque at 5,300 and 4,000 RPM, respectively. With such a low RPM, only 10:1 compression and a mild hydraulic cam this will make a serious street engine that will do just fine on pump gas! Thanks to the crew from Muscle Motors of Lansing, MI for building the engine and supplying many of the parts.

• View Giveaway Poster

We want to make sure that the cars we love are preserved well into the future by the next generation of hobbyists and we found some of the young guns that have the talent to do so with our first ever Young Guns classes. To kick-off the inaugural year for the Young Guns we put the spotlight on Steve Sigel and his ’71 Charger Super Bee. Steve, along with two of his high school buddies spent the last year working on a car that many enthusiasts wouldn’t even consider good enough to be a parts car! If you’re a regular on Moparts.com you probably saw the progress photos and just how many major components needed to be replaced such as the inner fenders, cowl, full floor pan, trunk floor and taillight panel. In less than a year these three teens had the rolling shell reassembled and in primer. These guys have been quite an inspiration to many “older” Mopar owners as well as role models to their peers.

Young Guns isn’t just about the classics, either. In addition to the rear wheel drive class other classes were offered for late model Mopars to include front wheel drive and all wheel drive as well as a class for trucks, Jeeps, vans and 4x4s. Each class was well-represented but we’d love to expand this and add even more classes in the future. If you’re a Mopar owner and a licensed driver between the ages of 16 and 25 then you and your ride are eligible to compete in Young Guns.

Every area of the all new Quarter Aces Drag-O-Way was packed on Friday afternoon for some great drag racing action! The spectator side of the track had the crowd stretching almost all the way to the finish line and the newly expanded pit area was nearly overflowing with racers. In addition to the regular class racing we had exhibition runs from a Nitro Funny Car, several Gassers and an original Sox & Martin ’73 Duster Pro Stock Hemi owned by Fred Ristagno. Those who were there know that Fred didn’t just make some wimpy half-throttle passes.

A new element this year was the SuperCar ShootOut Series featuring F.A.S.T. (Factory Appearing Stock Tire) Class Muscle Cars. These cars look like show poodles but run like greyhounds and they do it on tires of the same size and construction as the cars wore from the factory! They raced on Friday then competed on the Fun Field the rest of the weekend. We intend to make this a regular part of the show and we’re even considering allowing class-legal Fords and GMs to race against the Mopars starting next year.

• Quarter Aces Drag-O-Way
• Quarter Aces Drag-O-Way Directions

The team of judges headed by Dave Ferro scrutinized 25 Mopars over the weekend and when the scores were all totaled it was the 1970 440 Six Barrel ‘Cuda of Ricky Greer that came out on top with a score of 97.75 out of a possible 100 points. Each vehicle is evaluated for the condition of its exterior, interior, engine bay and undercarriage while an operations test rounds out the assessment. The complete list of vehicles and scores can be seen at the following link:

• 2008 SME results

How often do you get to watch a movie while the star of the film is right next to you? Those who took advantage of the opportunity to watch the movie Christine at the Cumberland Drive-In were able to do just that. Christine’s mortal caretaker Bill Gibson took her to the drive-in on Friday evening where she was able to watch herself on the big screen. It was a real treat for Christine and her fans.

Although the Northeast Hemi Owners Association were again the winners of the Club Challenge the second place Viper Club of America continues to close the gap and could be making a run for the top spot next year. Several clubs are gaining ground in the Challenge too and this year there was a tie for third place between 2GN.org and Mopar Mailing List. Either of these clubs could easily move to second place next year and possibly be a threat for top honors in the near future.

Not everything related to clubs is about the numbers. New this year was the Coolest Club Hangout. This award goes to the club that is the best example of a club having the most fun during the show. While there are no formal criteria for the display we are looking for a tent that has festive decorations. The most important aspect to the Coolest Club Hangout is that we see lots of people having fun!! This year’s winner was the Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts. The winning club gets the “Coolest Club Hangout” banner and bragging rights – at least until next year.

Be part of the excitement for next year’s All-Chrysler Nationals on July 10-12, 2009.