Archive picture Jack Werst Superbird Atco Dragway NJ

[nascarxx29]

Found this wingcar picture and a non wing Dart K&K car with #71 on it?

[moparchris]

Great picture of the Werst superbird!  Two thoughts on the Dart sport #71 car.  It could either be their short track car or sportsman car or it could have been a developmental car for the kit car program that was going on at that time.  At that time Chrysler was using Challenger and Dart sheet metal for the kit car program, maybe K&K did some testing and painted their test car up like the Charger's?

[Big Bird]

Great pic Dave, brings back fine memories of Atco Dragway. I raced my 68 Roadrunner regularly from 1973 thru 1980,....what time period do you think this pic repesents ?

[nascarxx29]

Hemi Fred Ristagno who currently owns and races a original Sox and Martin duster.Was Jack Werst Crew chief back in the day.And is a regular at atco.Maybe can pin point a timeline

[Ghoste]

Isn't Hemi Fred on the lam right now?

[nascarxx29]

Maybe your thinking Hemi Fred Engelhart with legal issues? .This is the Hemi Fred Ive known for years .
http://www.prostockhemi.com/hemifred/

[Ghoste]

Yes, my mistake and I stand corrected with apologies to Fred Ristagno.

[nascarxx29]

Hemifred lives in NJ and still own and runs this vintage Sox and Martin Duster

http://www.prostockhemi.com/
http://www.fortunecity.com/bennyhills/Woopie/145/soxmartin/soxmartin.htm

[nascarxx29]

Date: 08/31/2005
Owner: Fred Ristagno
Size:  640x492 750x576
Full size: 750x576

[nascarxx29]

The Jack Werst superbird and the Ken Jennings superbird also known as the Phoenix are the same car .What interesting this missing in action Sox and Martin superbird also appears to have white interior.But rumors I heard it might be in Louisiana

[nascarxx29]

It might be this car thats rumored to be in Louisiana 

[nascarxx29]

Great pic Dave, brings back fine memories of Atco Dragway. I raced my 68 Roadrunner regularly from 1973 thru 1980,....what time period do you think this pic repesents ?

Hi Ron I emailed and got this reponse.
JACK ONLY RACED IT FOR ABOUT A MONTH
SO IT WOULD HAVE TO BE THE YEAR IT WAS BUILT FOR INDY 69-70 ?

[Highbanked Hauler]

Found this wingcar picture and a non wing Dart K&K car with #71 on it?

    I'll bet not many know that the lace paint work on the side of the car was state of the art in the day.

[nascarxx29]

I got some color shots of the/Jack Werst Tosten Jennings superbird its a work or art

[nascarxx29]

Found this in my newsletter about 71 K&K Dart  .Harry Hyde was Boby Unsers crew cheif and the dart was a Pikes Peak Dodge kit car.Also more pictures and info on near bottom of this link
http://www.freewebs.com/danno340/kkd/73-74.html

[tan top]

remember reading a feature on Mr 5 & 50 , didn't they alter the wheelbase , then disguise it with the lattice paint job
for an optical illusion , think it was  supposed to be that highest Vin for a superbird  or was not in the same batch as the others  i for get now  , or could have got totally mixed up with something else 
good pictures & links    thanks for posting

[Redbird]

I looked at the Jennings car in about 1978. I had had an ad in Hot Rod magazine in 1976 looking for a Superbird (you couldn't get them in Minnesota, Wendall Anderson- the Governor had sent out a letter saying that there was no front bumper-hence cars like Ed Waldraf (Sic) had had to weld a Barracuda bumper in front of the nose). Ken Jennings had sent me a letter asking $7500 for his car in '76-it was a lot of money then. In 1978 I was out on the east coast and one of my sisters and I were driving from NYC to Washington D.C. so we stopped in Aberdeen Maryland, at Ken Jennings shop. Aberdeen has a military base there so in the '60's a lot of folks wanting fast cars with their combat pay were there. Ken had his shop (he had a car repair shop ) in the back 1/2 of his old car dealership, the front was a strip joint; my sister was none too thrilled at my choice of where to stop on the drive.

I spent about an hour talking to Ken, I sat in the Superbird. Ken had pictures of his front line of cars for sale in 1969. A picture had something like 22 69 1/2 6bbl Roadrunners. The Superbird was under about an inch of dust. Ken told his stories about the weight transfer being moved around etc... I felt inside the rear wheel lips in the rear quarters, they were rolled under and round, not bent and L shaped. Ken seemed like he liked to talk, even to a 20 year old like me. He also talked about his other Super Stock car.

I enjoyed the stop, my sister not so much so.

[RTDaddy]

Harry Hyde was involved in some of the devolpment work on the Chrysler kit car program.  When owner Nord Kroskopf was on the outs with Nascar, (73-74), they went Usac racing with Bobby Unser, adn that car was run at Pikes Peak.

"IF YOU'RE UNDER CONTROL, YOU AIN'T GOING FAST ENOUGH."

[nascarxx29]

http://www.dragracingonline.com/features/featurecar/vii_9-superbird-1.html

[held1823]

Was the Superbird that Herb McCandless drove the exact same car that Ronnie Sox campaigned earlier on, or did Sox & Martin actually have two different Superbirds? It had a black roof when McCandless raced it, while it was the traditional blue when Sox drove it.

[greulings]

I've heard over and over speculation of two cars.  Why would they add the vinyl top (1 car theory)? 

NASCARXX29:  Do you know whereabouts in Louisian the SuperChicken was raced, or by who?  I hear it was in a wreck and raced without the nose later in the 70s.  Pics of it without the nose would be good to see.

[greulings]

Think I may have stumbled onto why S & M started with no vinyl top and then put one on later.  There was an article on the Mr. 5 & 50 car at dragracingonline (I think).  Said two birds were built - 1 auto, 1 4spd.  Auto went to Jack Werst and was converted to 4spd.  The 4spd car was built for Sox.  Anyway, both were delivered with no vinyl top, but Werst had to put one on to comply with Stock rules.  Makes sense...S&M probably painted their car in their scheme, may have gotten away with "bending the rules" for a few races, but eventually had to put a vinyl roof on it.  Only way to know for sure is date and timeline the pics that exist.  Anybody feel like taking that one on?

[nascarxx29]

My friend Fred Ristagno was Jack Wersts crew chief back in the day
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,67778.0.html