[Rich Biebel]

Todd.......I don't mean to slander Spankos or Jenkins but I don't recall the Monster Mash ever winning anything on a national level. Maybe he won locally and I am sure he did at places like Cecil and many other tracks in their area and maybe a special race here or there......but I have no memory of the car winning anything major like an NHRA national.

Some of the Jenkins cars were regulars at Island and if there was a special race they might show up.....Pete Preston......The Mash a time or two....Dink Lawrence were some names I can recall around 1966. Jenkins raced there himself a few times....and everyone was well aware of any car with the Jenkins logo on it.......It was usually going to be a fast car....

As my friend Billy Nees mentioned you had to win class every week at your local track to run the eliminator. Local regulars got special treatment and you know that is true......BUT it only went so far. If someone thought you were cheating they could protest you and it did happen......and it happened to me and my partner with our sedan delivery.......

We were running a bucks up Jr stock race at Island and John Archambault protested us.....He wanted our cam checked and insisted it could not be stock because we ran a couple MPH better than him.......We were under protest so we made BYE runs thru the eliminator......untill the final......We raced The Monster Mash and expected to lose.....He missed a gear and we won........We were torn down in the barn up the hill from the track and after a long time we were awarded the win and the money.......
This race was in the fall after Indy.....
We were DQ'ed at Indy as the class r/up for a camshaft that was in the car that came from GM as a replacement......but was not accepted by NHRA yet.....The class winner was DQ'ed for the same thing.......A few weeks later the cam was accepted and it was what was in the car.....

If you were branded a cheater by being flunked in the barn.....Well you had a tough time undoing that and your competitors let you know it right up front.....

Trust me when I tell you those days were not all just friendly competition.......

My only point in all this is to point out that things were a lot different back then......The rulebook was not that much different than today when it comes to heads. Yes valves and the valvjob is more liberal but not the wording about the rest of it......

NHRA has no man power....will or interest in enforcing the rules so what you have today is a direct result of years of that......and I guess if you're going to run Stock.....you do what your comfortable with......

I probably enjoy driving a stocker as much or more than any other car or class.......and I have driven a lot of cars over the years.......I just dislike some of the "issues" that go with the category......

Your cars always run well and your a good racer......The Hard Times car is high on my list of all time great Stockers.....I always had a liking for Pontiacs........