Best Pontiac Powered Stockers

[oldskool]

Lots of '65 season coverage. NHRA added a couple of nat events, the Spring Nats & the World Finals. No list of class winners.

A couple of GTO's are mentioned. One is the '65 Tin Indian GTO, which I've mentioned. The book says that Knafel Pontiac cars won over 200 races, during the '60's & '70's.

It also mentions a '62 421 A/S Cat that was driven by Jess Tyree. Says the car ran 11.90's & was a frequent winner in div 7, in '65. Also held records in both NHRA & AHRA.

On page 171 of the book, begins a listing of most division points & nat event winners, from '64 thru '71. In '65, the only name I recognize as Pontiac is Jay Hamilton. In order to win the division points, I assume he had to win a div 7 race or 2, & go rounds at most of 'em. So far, I only have one pic of Jay Hamilton's '58 Pontiac.

The caption of the Mary Ann Foss pic says that she won her class at the World Finals. But, in the text, it says she was RU. Don't know which is correct.

[gsa612]

Mary Ann Foss (Jackson) is Nitro Joe Jackson's (Nitro Joe's Stats) Mother.He can give you all the info on the 58' Pontiac...gsa612

[oldskool]

Originally Posted by gsa612

Mary Ann Foss (Jackson) is Nitro Joe Jackson's (Nitro Joe's Stats) Mother.He can give you all the info on the 58' Pontiac...gsa612

Yeah, that would be cool, to know all the races she won with the Pontiac. As well as all records & class wins she had with it.

According to the book, after that Pontiac, she switched over to Mopar. Obviously, for this thread, I'm not interested in the Mopar stats.

[oldskool]

For '66, the 1st Pontiac mentioned is Bob Chiesa's E/SA '58 Pontiac. He won class @ the Winter Nats, with a 13.84. Lost the Stock final, with a 13.83. So, I suppose that means he was RU that year.

Jay Hamilton was again the div 7 champ. He also won the World Finals that year, with a 13.66, in his E/SA '58 Pontiac.

Arlen Vanke won the Spring Nats, in his Knafel Pontiac C/S '66 GTO, with a 12.90. He also won the C/S class @ the Spring Nats, with a 12.77. That was the car that won so many trophies, and has a pic with lots of 'em sitting around on it. I've posted that pic several times. But it needs to go on this post also. There were actually 2 of those cars, with slightly different paint jobs.

Also at the Spring Nats, Harold Ramsey won M/S, with a 16.85.

[oldskool]

In '67, Graham Douglas won the Winter Nats, in a '60 Pontiac wagon. He'd won the G/SA class, then set a new nat record in the event final.

Jay Hamilton won another nat event. This time it was the Spring Nats.

Another Pontiac that was mentioned was the C/SA '60 Pontiac of Ed Beyer. It said that he raced several Pontiacs. Also said he was one of the original Hurst Shifty Doctors.

The book also mentions that Gary Ledbetter won the I/SA class @ Indy, in a '56 Pontiac.

[oldskool]

The book mentions several Pontiacs, in the '68 section. The 1st one was the Ron Sanders '61 Bonny wagon, which I've mentioned. Said the car set 5 nat records. One was a 13.39 in H/SA, in '68. Was RU in class @ Indy.

At the Winter Nats, Graham Douglas won the L/SA class, with a 14.35, in a Pontiac wagon.

Next one mentioned is the Ramon Lowe '58. He won the div 7 points, in '68.

Next is the Ray McLelland C/SA '62 Cat. In '68 it set the mph record @ 112.78, & won class @ the Spring Nats. He switched to D/SA for '69, & won class @ the Spring Nats again, with a 12.56. Also won class @ Indy.

The next name I don't remember ever seeing. The book spends 2 pages talkin about the Joe Perzan '60 "Big Bruiser" wagon. According to the book, Ray had set the E/SA record, in '67, @ 13.62. Says that he switched to an I/SA combo, in '68. On the nat record day, the 1st 2 time trials were both 13.49. The current record was 13.77. He didn't want to to set the new record that low, so he de-tuned the car a bit, & set the new record @ 13.67. One guy says he thinks this car was a former Bob Maxey "Clinton Shaker" wagon.

Not real sure why he included the next Pontiac, since he didn't list any times or races won. Maybe because it was so rare. He says it was one of 12 '68 1/2 Ram Air II convertibles. Says that Pete Whitehead was a body man, & rebuilt this car from a burned out hulk. Thru the years, those engines have won quite a few races, in Stock. Probably due to the round port heads & bigger legal cam. The 1st winner I remember was Truman Fields, @ the '73 US Nats. As mentioned, he was my 1st Pontiac hero.

Another Pontiac mentioned was Greg Murnane's "Limelighter" D/S '67 GTO. Says the car finished 2nd in points, in div 5, & in July, held the class record @ 12.31. Says it was one of the quickest Goats in the nation.

Another odd Pontiac mention was the yellow N/SA '59 Pontiac named "Cheet'n Cheef". Said it got the job done in South Florida, whatever that means.

[oldskool]

According to the 1968 division points winners list, Rod Kister not only won the div 6 points, but was also national points champ. Don't ya'll think that would have been worthy of at least a mention, in the 1968 season text of the book ? I could have missed it. But looking back thru it, I didn't see a pic or even a mention of the name or car.

Rod Kister ran some Pontiacs named Big Iron, which I've mentioned. I have a pic of a big Pontiac & a '69 Judge, with that name on 'em. The '69 obviously couldn't have been run during the early '68 season. So, I'm not sure exactly what car, or cars, Rod was driving, in order to win the division & the overall NHRA Stock Points championship. But, I think it deserves mention !

If anybody here has more info and/or pics of the car or cars that Rod was driving during the '68 season, please post the info/pics on this thread. Thanks !

This article should clear up some of it. Says that Ron was still driving the big "Big Iron", for the '68 season. Then in '69 & '70, he ran new Judges, & set records with both.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp...ontiac-safari/