Through good times and bad, Super Stock as an eliminator bracket continues to thrive. It has survived gas shortages, recessions, wars and domestic turmoil, and evolved to the point that today old-time Detroit muscle can be seen racing newer style "GT" types. After all these years, this category still boasts thousands of race cars throughout the country.

The stars of this category, and among the most popular cars in the entire sport, are the mighty SS/AA Hemi Barracudas and Darts built by Chrysler in 1968. They are not finesse vehicles by any stretch of the imagination, and are about as subtle as an M1A3 Abrams battle tank. Simply put, these cars are hairy-chested brutes, and nothing Detroit has ever produced before or since can compare to them for out-of-the-box acceleration.

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Forward to NHRA’s largest and richest event, the NHRA US Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park this past Labor Day and to the "Hemi Shootout", the class eliminations for these cars. This event-within-the-event has grown into its own happening, with its own TV coverage, something that no other sportsman category can boast. The grandstands were packed, and the ESPN cameras rolling when the last pair of these legendary cars pulled into the staging lanes for the class final. Past NHRA Pro Stock Champ Jeg Coughlin had added even more interest to this class when he had agreed to drive the record-holding ‘68 Barracuda of Harry Holton and the West Coast Hemi team.

This car, adorned with period-style Jeg’s Automotive lettering on the front fender, had been dominant all weekend, and in front of thousands of cheering fans went on to win the class and "shootout" event, writing yet another chapter in the history of Super Stock.

The record holding Cuda of Holton had earlier been denied entry at this past year’s edition of the shootout due to the rapid filling of Indy’s entry list. It had filled up before adequate "grade points" could be earned at West Coast events, thus denying this high-profile class one of the big guns of the defending championship team, as well as the National Record Holder.

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Holton, team manager and engine builder, decided to go to extraordinary measures to allow the record holder to be present. "Jeg was the only one I would consider to drive," stated Holton. "He appeared to have a terrific interest in these cars, as he was always on the starting line wherever and whenever we ran. Michael Ogburn contacted him and asked him if he would consider driving the car at Indy, and he accepted right away. His wife told us later that he was really excited, and pumped up about the opportunity. "He did a good job," Holton said. "Jeg is a PR machine, and his participation was the best thing that could have happened to our class. On top of that, he is a terrific, nice young man, and very impressive."

Holton, the 73-year-old Hemi wizard from Modesto, California, has been around these cars and the sport since the beginning. He attended the very first NHRA Nationals in Great Bend, Kansas, while serving in the US Air Force. He began his drag racing career with a 1957 Ford Fairlane with a 312 Y block engine, and raced at most of the many California drag strips that were being built to accommodate this burgeoning sport.

He began his experience with Hemi cars in 1965 with a Plymouth Belvedere, which he still owns. "That car is sitting right here in the shop, awaiting restoration." It ran most of the high-profile events on the West Coast at that time, the NHRA events as well as major independent events such as the annual Hot Rod Magazine event held at Riverside. He went on with a series of Hemi cars, including an original Hemi Dart that now resides in New York State. "The owner contacted me recently for permission to restore it, and I told him to go ahead."

As racing has changed, so has Harry. He remembers his younger days of racing as "very intense, once we were done we packed up and left. Now, we do this for fun, and I really, really enjoy it." Lest anyone think the drive to succeed has waned, though, Harry stated "I am still competitive, still want to race against the best." When asked of the biggest difference between then and now, he was right to the point: "price!"

Super Stock Hemi expansion really took off when NHRA opened up the cylinder heads to further development, Holton said. "When they opened up the heads we took a big step forward. The cork now is the carburetors. We have to run the original 770’s, and if they would let us use a decent carburetor it would make a big difference."

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Holton is currently preparing some Hemi motors for the NSCA opener in Pomona, for the Barracudas of the West Coast Hemi entourage. He also has a piece being readied for the ex-Mike Booker Hemi B body SS/BA car, which is "well over 900 hp, and should run well." However, he feels that the 64-65 B bodies are at a distinct disadvantage against the Corvettes in SS/BA, "because they are simply too big."

As far as letting the Corvettes pull some weight out and race in SS/AA against the Cudas and Darts, he is dead set against it. "That class is a Hemi class!" he commented. "To let the Chevies in would take away all its luster and uniqueness. Chevrolet never produced a car that fits the class, so it is a non-issue. Besides, it would be like all the other times, we would have to let them run 500 pounds lighter so they could be competitive, and give them perks so they could run with us".

Harry is enjoying the long overdue accolades he is receiving these days, as well he should. He enjoys being with his family, and watching his grandson Jared Jordan break into the Hemi ranks with a 1965 Plymouth Belvedere that Holton obtained in 1990. He beams when talking about the car running an 8.98 at Las Vegas last year to set the SS/BA record, but admits "the car did not really have a real good motor. We knew that when the Corvettes went to Montgomery late in the fall, with those mine shaft conditions, they would get the record back."

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The entire West Coast Hemi team is a family affair, consisting of daughter Julie Jordan’s I/SA Plymouth Volare, the SS/BA Belvedere of Jared Jordan, and four SS/AA Barracudas of Holton himself, Jerry Jenkins, Michael Ogburn (team owner), and Phil Mandella. The crew list consists of wives, sons and daughters, and is a reflection of the deep family commitment apparent with this team. It is truly outstanding, and refreshing.

Thinking about the future of Super Stock Hemi racing, it appears to be very bright, indeed. "Some of the very high-ups at Chrysler were at Indy, and spent a good deal of time talking to us. This whole Hemi thing has been very, very good for them, and they are very interested in what we are doing." He also hinted at even more exposure in the future, as the possibilities of a "six or eight race Hemi shootout series at National events is a distinct possibility. ESPN is on board for television coverage, and the popularity of the Indy Hemi shootout indicates this may indeed happen, however we are still in the very early stages."

When we talked about our amazement that, now, even after forty years, the Hemi would still hold the legendary status it did decades ago, Harry commented, "Isn’t that amazing? Who would have ever thought?"

The history of these cars and their owners and racers is so closely linked to the history of drag racing that it is almost impossible to tell the story of the sport without telling the story of these cars and those who have raced them. None are more amazing and more impressive than Harry Holton, who continues to write chapters in the story of these cars and the sport. This 73-year-young man is truly one of the more inspiring chapters of this story, and the end is not in sight. The future will be fun to watch.