HEMI HARRY

National Dragster, Mar 19, 2004 by McKenna, Kevin

FOR MORE THAN FIVE DECADES, HARRY HOLTON HAS BEEN ONE OF SUPER STOCK'S PREMIER ENGINE BUILDERS

Harry Holton will be 73 in September, but unless you checked his driver's license, you'd never know it. At an age when most men are collecting Social Security checks, playing shuffleboard, or spending their afternoons strolling around a golf course, Holton remains, as he has for the last five decades, one of Super Stock's premier engine builders. Whether he's at the races or in his Modesto, Calif., shop, Holton works harder than most men half his age. He is constantly in motion: grinding cylinder heads, degreeing camshafts, and making pulls on his dyno. Thanks to his work ethic and his vast knowledge of Chrysler's Hemi engine, the fleet of Mopar entries that Holton maintains, including three SS/AA Hemi Barracudas, are among , the quickest cars in the class.

Holton, who set the NHRA SS/AA record at 8.58 at the Las Vegas Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event last October, is currently enjoying some of the best times of his lengthy career. In addition to team owner Michael Ogburn, Holton races alongside his family, including son Chris, daughter Julie Jordan - she races a J/SA Plymouth - and Julie's son Jared.

"When I started racing, we used to flat-tow our car to the track," said Holton. "Look at us now: We've got an 18-wheeler, three cars, and a trailer load of spare parts. A lot has changed since the 1960s and 1970s, but the important thing is that we're all having fun."

THE EARLY YEARS

One of Holton's early drag racing experiences came as a spectator at NHRA's inaugural national event in Great Bend, Kan., in 1955. At the time, Holton was 23 and serving in the U.S. Air Force at nearby Smoky Hill AFB in Salina.

"I was into cars at the time, but to be honest, the main reason we went to Great Bend was because it was a college town and knew that's where the girls would be," said Holton.

The other thing Holton remembers about the Great Bend event was how Californian Howard Johansen throttled his beloved Fords.

"I was a Ford fan back then, and I hated Chevys," he recalled. "When Howard Johansen came out there with a new C/Gas '55 Chevy and blew off all of the Fords, I was pretty upset."

After leaving the service, Holton moved back to California and opened a general auto-repair shop. Naturally, he spent his weekends at the racetrack.

"Since day one I have always built engines," he said. "My dad was a mechanic, and when I was a small boy, I used to help him. He had an old flathead Ford, and I got to clean the cylinders because my hand was small enough to fit inside the bore."

In 1964, Chrysler introduced the 426 Hemi, and Holton immediately knew he had to have one.

"I might have had the first Hemi on the West Coast," said Holton. "In 1965, I won the AHRA championship with a '65 Belvedere, and I've probably owned close to a dozen Hemi cars over the years. There's something about that whole Hemi mystique that has always appealed to me."

Though he never received factory support, Holton was more than capable of holding his own against more notable West Coast racers, such as Dick Landy, Butch Leal, and Shirley Shahan. In addition, he won a pair of NHRA points meets, at Pomona Raceway in 1974 and Sacramento Raceway in 1977.

Amazingly, Holton still owns the Hemi Belvedere; grandson Jared drives it in SS/BA.

"I once had an offer to trade the Belvedere to Alien Johnson for one of his Pro Stock Dodges, but I decided against it," Holton noted. "I knew that in four or five years the Pro Stock car would be so outdated that it would only be good for Super Gas, but the Belvedere would never lose its value. That car isn't going anywhere; they'll bury me in it. But I'd like to try Pro Stock sometime."

HEMI REVIVAL

Several years ago, Mopar began recasting blocks and cylinder heads, and a fresh supply of parts became available for Hemi racers. Not surprisingly, competition in SS/AA soon went from serious to out of control. Today, there are more than 40 SS/AA entries in North America, and more are being built every year. The annual Mopar Performance SS/AA Hemi Challenge in Indianapolis is the year's most eagerly anticipated event. In 2003, Modesto native Jerry Jenkins outlasted a field of nearly 30 entries to win the $10,000 top prize with his '68 'Cuda, which is powered by one of Holton's engines.

"I have to give [fellow engine builder] Ray Barton credit for helping bring this class back," said Holton. "There wasn't much new development being done until he came out and started running fast with his cars. Now there are four or five of us building engines, and the whole thing keeps growing."

Holton's program took a turn for the better when he met Ogburn, a successful investment banker from Mission Viejo, Calif. Ogburn wanted to put together an SS/AA entry, and he hired Holton to do it. Ogburn initially wanted to just get his feet wet with a single car on a limited schedule, but he has since jumped headfirst into the deep end, bankrolling an operation that rivals most Pro Stock teams in size and scope.