1965 Plymouth Barracuda
Petty Tribute Drag Race Car

On February 23, 1964, the Chrysler 426 Hemi made its first appearance at the Daytona 500. The engine was light years ahead of the rest in terms of technological advancement, and the MOPARs finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with Richard Petty winning the race.

 

Petty and Chrysler's new 426 Hemi so dominated the 1964 NASCAR season that NASCAR owner Bill France outlawed the engine for 1965. Rather than switching brands—or engines—Petty decided to forego racing NASCAR for the 1965 season. Instead, he built a Hemi-powered Barracuda for the dragstrips.

 

Petty ran the car at the NHRA Spring Nationals June 6, 1965. But, by June of 1965 Bill France had begun working on rules to allow the big 426 Hemi back into NASCAR racing. The Pettys and Chrysler/Plymouth had won the war of nerves! The 426 Hemi was soon to be in full production for six more years and used in NASCAR sanctioned racing for several more years after that. Richard soon gave up drag racing the stout little Barracuda named “43 JR” and the Pettys began preparing for the 1966 NASCAR season with a Hemi Powered Plymouth.

 

The big question from this story is what would have happened if the “43 JR” Barracuda drag race car had never been built? The 426 Hemi had been engineered to race in NASCAR competition. If the Hemi could not be used in NASCAR would Chrysler have continued to develop and build it, probably not. But, since NASCAR required engines to be build and produced in publicly sold vehicles, the “Street Hemi” was produced, and the rest is history! Richard Petty’s brief excursion into drag racing, in 1965, probably saved the 426 Hemi.