What's the difference between a stock Hemi engine and a Hemi "stocker"?

[Sabre]

I know I'm probably going to sound stupid......

I'm discussing 1/4 mile times with someone who claims stock Dodge Chargers past or present have never been capable of 12's in the 1/4 mile.  I have an issue of Hot Rod where they have old pictures and quotes from articles over the past few decades.  One quote was about the 1969 Dodge Charger 500.

Steve Kelly, Hot Rod Magazine Feb issue 1969...

We buzzed the stick car to six grand for each shift. The 4.10 gear brought us through th traps in high gear at 5200 rpm, using 29 inch diameter tire. Best time with the stick shift machine was 13.48 and 109mph. As we said, a hemi will go in the 12's with external touching up, but a really good teardown-&money-will put a hemi-stocker at the 11 second break even mark.

So the quote from Kelly claims the Hemi with a good tear-down and money will put a Hemi "stocker" at the 11 second break even mark.  So my question is, is the Hemi "stocker" still considered "stock" if not why do they call it a Hemi "stocker?"

[Ghoste]

Semantics really.  Typically, when someone is using the slang term "stocker" in drag racing they are talking about a stock engine that has been tuned to the 9's.  The rules in stock eliminator are some of the most restrictive in motorsports and those cars definitely run the numbers and remain stock.  They aren't necessarily streetable anymore though.  Street use usually means compromises and those compromises mean lost performance.  In NASCAR use, "stocker" at one time was just a slang term applied to any Grand National car and those were by no means anything except pure race engines.  The Hot Rod article you are referring to is certainly implying a stock engine as in the way it came from the factory with some very sharp tuning both under hood and around the chassis.
So, to sum up, your friend who says that no Hemi Charger past or present runs 12's stock, well, maybe not the way they came immediately off the showroom floor but damned close.  A little tuning and not swapping out to better cam or higher compression pistons and the like is what I still consider a stock engine and those can run 12's.  The new ones don't need much to hit 12's either, so... the argument really becomes how you are going to define it.

[Sabre]

Semantics really.  Typically, when someone is using the slang term "stocker" in drag racing they are talking about a stock engine that has been tuned to the 9's.  The rules in stock eliminator are some of the most restrictive in motorsports and those cars definitely run the numbers and remain stock.  They aren't necessarily streetable anymore though.  Street use usually means compromises and those compromises mean lost performance.  In NASCAR use, "stocker" at one time was just a slang term applied to any Grand National car and those were by no means anything except pure race engines.  The Hot Rod article you are referring to is certainly implying a stock engine as in the way it came from the factory with some very sharp tuning both under hood and around the chassis.
So, to sum up, your friend who says that no Hemi Charger past or present runs 12's stock, well, maybe not the way they came immediately off the showroom floor but damned close.  A little tuning and not swapping out to better cam or higher compression pistons and the like is what I still consider a stock engine and those can run 12's.  The new ones don't need much to hit 12's either, so... the argument really becomes how you are going to define it.

That makes sense, thanks.

[Brock Samson]

the '67 "Super Stock" A-bods were pretty much 11 sec. cars straight from the factory,..
a good driver (Ronnie Sox) and tuning would chop a full second off the 1/4 mile time though.