[oldskool]

OK, the nat event schedule gets cranked up today, at the Pomona Winter Nats.

Every year at this time, I think about the Pontiac powered cars that did good there, back in the early '60's. In '62, Mickey Thompson's 421SD powered A/FX Tempest won the class, with Hayden Proffitt driving.

And I've mentioned that Carol Cox became the 1st female to win a class, at a nat event, winning the S/SA class.

A '63 Tempest won the A/FX class in '63. Not sure of all the other Pontiac wins back in those days. As mentioned, I've read that in those early days, the A/FX & S/SA classes ran in "Top Stock". But, the class was called SS, by some, even back in those early days.

"... Factory Experimental Pontiac Tempests.

The first one appeared in 1962 at the NHRA Winternationals, built at Mickey Thompson’s shop in Long Beach, CA, by Hayden
Proffitt and Lloyd Cox. It was a standard 4-cylinder Pontiac Tempest Le Mans, now fitted with a 421 Super Duty engine and
transmission out of one of Mickey Thompson’s Super Stock cars (legal Super Stock engines were an NHRA requirement at the time). The stock Tempest rear swing-axle was replaced by a Pontiac Catalina rear end. In short, it was a 1962 Pontiac Super Stocker in a compact Tempest body/chassis. It dominated the A/FX class at the 1962 NHRA Winternationals.

What worked well in the FX class in 1962, built by independent racers, would work just as well in 1963, built by the factory and distributed to the favored Pontiac racers around the country. Whereas the full size Catalina sedans had a 119 inch wheelbase, the Pontiac Tempest was built on a much smaller (and lighter) 112 inch wheelbase.

A total of twelve Pontiac Tempest A/FX cars were built, all with the 421 Super Duty engines. Six were Tempest coupes and six were Tempest station wagons. All the factory cars were delivered with a special rear-mounted trans-axle set up but many of the racers eventually switched to the standard engine-mounted transmissions and the Catalina rear axle assembly..."