Limited-Edition Print o f 500 (13x19) prints
Signed and numbered by the Artist.
If you haven't had the opportunity to read Dr. David Rockwell's book "We were the Ramchargers," give yourself a treat and grab a copy fast, as it is one of the best Drag Racing books to date...
With that being said, there isn't much I need to say about this 65 Dodge from the Ferndale boys. This car is a true legend in the sport, and as we all know it was the first FXer to run in the 8s.
I've wanted to paint this car for a long time, but it's difficult as a painter to illustrate a white car in an interesting manner, since white cars don't have many reflections: It wasn't until Dr. Rockwell sent me some photo reference that really inspired this painting...This is a scene from Capital Raceway in October 65, as Jim Thornton is here driving the car on 90% Nitro...
I think the warm Autumn colors contrast nicely with one of the "Most" recognizable paint schemes in Drag Racing.
As for notables with this car, where do I begin. Super Stock magazine speculated it was a "first Funny Car". In my book I discussed the origins of the term "Funny Car". It was probably the first AWB car to run on Fuel. It was arguably, the first AWB and naturally aspirated car to break the 9 second barrier. There is no debating, it broke the 8 second barrier for Funny Cars of any configuration. After the installation of the fuel injection package, which it was the pioneer for, it essentially went the entire 1965 season unbeaten ( including among other Chrysler AWB's Sox, Landy, Fauble, Color Me Gone, etc.) with the exception of a race with Seatons Shaker where it crashed, detailed in our book. It was the Professional Drag Racing Asssociation 1965 Naional Champion, which was the most pretigous Funny Car organization of the era. It probably was the Ramchargers single most successful car, which is saying a mouthful. All in all, it probably broke more ground and was more successful than any Funny Car in history.