The Art Dury Dodge was owned and driven by Jay Broderick, the chief mechanic at the Gramatan Dodge dealership in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. My friends and neighbors were the crew. They whooped asses with that car. It was origionally one of Herman Mosser’s “Ramchargers” with the red stripes on the roof, but never raced. It was only a vehicle for car shows and display exhabitions. Jay and his buddies ( my friends…) made a serious contender out of it. They tied the NHRA Eastern Division record in SS/A with the famous Tasca Ford on the weekend in May of 1965 when I graduated from my high school.
I still think that we had more fun racing in those days than we do today. That was when a class win meant something and there were local, regional and national records to be had and bragged about. We also had a meningfull and coherant classification system supporting our efforts.
Ron Abbatt’s “Helzapoppin” gave Don Garlits a run for his money at the 1963 NHRA Nationals in Indy for the final round. That was a very close race and I mean iches, I have it on video. I bet neither driver knew who won until they got out of the cockpit. I have heard that Ron still has it in a warehouse up in Albany.
maso.
