GTO Stockers

oldskool · 09-21-2021, 12:34 AM

'72 was sort of a unique year for the GTO.

(1) It was the last year of the '70-'72 body style, which all had similar rear tail lights. Was also the last year before the drastic, & unpopular, body style change in '73.

(2) The Judge option had been dropped. And the GTO was just an option on a Lemans.

(3) The '72 T-41 front cap was a little different than the '71. The grills were a bit different & there were fender vents, behind the wheel well openings.

(4) It was the last year of the round port 455HO engine.

The most well known '72 GTO drag car is probably the Sonny Ray SS car. Sonny set records & won nat events with it. And David Rampy won his 1st nat event with it, at the '83 Cajun Nats. But, this thread is for GTO Stockers.

I've already posted a pic of an Axemaker '72 GTO. But, I've read there were 2 of 'em. This pic I have shows a solid brown color. I suppose it could be the same car. Not sure.

Gary Wood ran one. I think he & his wife Charlene both drove it.

Todd Hoven ran one for a while. Won a nat event & won class at Indy. I think Troy Vogel has it now.

There were probably quite a few '72 Lemans Stockers, thru the years. Since they can run the same engines as a '72 GTO, I'll include them, here. The one I'm most familiar with belonged to Larry Maxwell. It's now driven by Stephanie Pike.

oldskool · 09-21-2021, 03:19 AM

Gotta say a little more about the last Pontiac powered GTO. They were very competitive, from when they 1st came out, and continued to be competitive Stockers until they took such a big hp hit from NHRA.

Bill Rink has taken credit for that, & switched his GTO over to Super Stock. But, before that, there were lots of '74 GTO record holders & class winners, thru the years.

Since the Ventura could run the same engine as the GTO, some guys ran a Ventura & some ran 'em with GTO trim. I suppose the main differences were the GTO shaker hood & lights in the grills.

I've noticed that the quickest '74 GTO Stocker, ever, now runs a flat Ventura hood, on a GTO body. So, NHRA obviously don't care which hood you run.

Several of these cars pictured were record holders. I noticed on the Duttweiler car that it was a record holder 5 years in a row, back in the early '90's.

Bill Rink's GTO was often near the top of the Q-list. He's posted here that this level of performance, on a "Western Swing" resulted in a big NHRA hp hit. He made the show at Indy several times. In '05, he was #21 & got the J/SA class win.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

The last hp hit, up to 277hp came in Nov of '05.

http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...8&MAKE=Pontiac

This is probably the performance that triggered the big hit. #1 @ 1.289 under, on 9/29/05.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop

Brad Koivisto has run some really low 11's & has even dipped into the high 10's. I have a copy of a Q-list from South GA Motorsports Park, from a race called the "Southern Sportsman Showdown", held in March of this year, showing that Brad ran a 10.821 ! Therefore I assume his '74 GTO is the quickest '74 GTO Stocker, ever, by a good margin.

mopar68 · 10-25-2022, 03:22 PM

10-25-2022, 03:22 PM	#3
mopar68 VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,660 Likes: 8 Liked 44 Times in 27 Posts	Re: GTO Stockers __________________ "The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." - Tacitus

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09-21-2021, 12:34 AM	#1
oldskool VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: The Land of Bayous, Boudin & Crawfish Posts: 1,668 Likes: 223 Liked 747 Times in 362 Posts	Re: GTO Stockers '72 was sort of a unique year for the GTO. (1) It was the last year of the '70-'72 body style, which all had similar rear tail lights. Was also the last year before the drastic, & unpopular, body style change in '73. (2) The Judge option had been dropped. And the GTO was just an option on a Lemans. (3) The '72 T-41 front cap was a little different than the '71. The grills were a bit different & there were fender vents, behind the wheel well openings. (4) It was the last year of the round port 455HO engine. The most well known '72 GTO drag car is probably the Sonny Ray SS car. Sonny set records & won nat events with it. And David Rampy won his 1st nat event with it, at the '83 Cajun Nats. But, this thread is for GTO Stockers. I've already posted a pic of an Axemaker '72 GTO. But, I've read there were 2 of 'em. This pic I have shows a solid brown color. I suppose it could be the same car. Not sure. Gary Wood ran one. I think he & his wife Charlene both drove it. Todd Hoven ran one for a while. Won a nat event & won class at Indy. I think Troy Vogel has it now. There were probably quite a few '72 Lemans Stockers, thru the years. Since they can run the same engines as a '72 GTO, I'll include them, here. The one I'm most familiar with belonged to Larry Maxwell. It's now driven by Stephanie Pike. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by oldskool; 09-21-2021 at 12:49 AM.

09-21-2021, 03:19 AM	#2
oldskool VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: The Land of Bayous, Boudin & Crawfish Posts: 1,668 Likes: 223 Liked 747 Times in 362 Posts	Re: GTO Stockers Gotta say a little more about the last Pontiac powered GTO. They were very competitive, from when they 1st came out, and continued to be competitive Stockers until they took such a big hp hit from NHRA. Bill Rink has taken credit for that, & switched his GTO over to Super Stock. But, before that, there were lots of '74 GTO record holders & class winners, thru the years. Since the Ventura could run the same engine as the GTO, some guys ran a Ventura & some ran 'em with GTO trim. I suppose the main differences were the GTO shaker hood & lights in the grills. I've noticed that the quickest '74 GTO Stocker, ever, now runs a flat Ventura hood, on a GTO body. So, NHRA obviously don't care which hood you run. Several of these cars pictured were record holders. I noticed on the Duttweiler car that it was a record holder 5 years in a row, back in the early '90's. Bill Rink's GTO was often near the top of the Q-list. He's posted here that this level of performance, on a "Western Swing" resulted in a big NHRA hp hit. He made the show at Indy several times. In '05, he was #21 & got the J/SA class win. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop The last hp hit, up to 277hp came in Nov of '05. http://www.classracerinfo.com/Engine...8&MAKE=Pontiac This is probably the performance that triggered the big hit. #1 @ 1.289 under, on 9/29/05. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2005#indextop Brad Koivisto has run some really low 11's & has even dipped into the high 10's. I have a copy of a Q-list from South GA Motorsports Park, from a race called the "Southern Sportsman Showdown", held in March of this year, showing that Brad ran a 10.821 ! Therefore I assume his '74 GTO is the quickest '74 GTO Stocker, ever, by a good margin. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by oldskool; 09-21-2021 at 01:07 PM.