Mopars Hit The Eastern Classic In Maryland! Huge Gallery!

The northeast is rich with Dodge and Plymouth American muscle that includes bountiful quantities of 340, 360, Max Wedge and Hemi horsepower. Nowhere is that more obvious than at the recent 24th Annual Eastern Mopar Classic held at the popular Maryland International Raceway (MIR) this past October 29. The MIR promotion team stacked the deck with a full house of show and go action, while racers, show participants, and fans flooded in with classic and modern machinery to tear up the quarter-mile and take home those awesome show awards.

Track operator Royce Miller and his crew ensured a high level of excitement at the Classic, as the event featured our favorite Factory Appearing Stock Tire (FAST) series, 1955 to 1974 Mopar muscle cars, gear-jamming nostalgia Super Stockers, blazing Top Sportsman Quick 8, and a trio of bracket classes that allowed anyone to race for cash and trophies.

Truth be told, we didn't really want to leave the starting line; thankfully the show and shine area wasn't far. It's a good thing we strolled over there too because we spotted a slew of stock and modified Mopars that had us drooling. Talking with the owners and hearing their stories is always a thrill, and we met with some amazing people-young and old-who are fully engrossed in the Mopar lifestyle.

The Eastern Mopar Classic hands out awards for Best of Show, along with First-, Second-, and Third-place trophies for Best Paint, Interior, Engine, and Best Engineered. These awards got the Maryland Mopar contingent out in droves and we enjoyed seeing every bit of perfect paint and mirror-like chrome. Some of our favorites included Anthony Romito's tastefully modded Sassy Grass 1970 GTX and Gina Stewart's 2010 Purple SRT8 Challenger.

Probably the biggest highlight was watching the FAST/Pure Stock car on track. In the pits theses mild-mannered muscle cars look like any other freshly restored Challenger, Charger, or Road Runner. But internally, these cars are tweaked to fly. We caught up with Tom Cannon, driver of a 1971 Hemi four-speed Super Bee who has been racing these cars for decades. Cannon loves the challenge of racing on skinny G60 tires and keeping the cars visually unchanged from stock. His Bee ran in the 11s for the first time, clicking off an 11.99 at close to 120 mph. The quickest of the bunch was Dave Dudek's 1969 Hemi Road Runner, that has, well, let's just say a few tricks. The amazingly clean black B-Body left the line quite mellow, but Dudek poured the coals to the Hemi and blasted to a 9.90 at 140 mph!

With endless show cars, droves of bracket cars, and nostalgia Mopars, the 2016 Eastern Mopar Classic was a winner. If you're a Mopar lover and live on the East Coast, you should plan on hitting MIR's Eastern Classic in 2017!

Car Show Results

Best of Show:	Anthony Romito	1970 GTX
Best Paint:	Anthony Romito	1970 GTX
Best Engine:	Robert Gills	1963 Savoy
Best Interior:	Dave Snade	1968 Charger
Best Engineered:	Steve Sealock	1968 Dart

Top Sportsman
	Name:	car:	r/t:	dial-in/ET/mph:
Winner:	John Knapp	1970 Cuda	0.023	9.03/9.04/146
Runner-up:	Jeff Jones	1983 Omni	0.01	8.88/8.93/149

Nostalgia SS
Winner:	Chris Shaffer	1966 Sport Fury	0.07	9.87/9.87/129
Runner-up:	Roger Dalton Jr.	1968 Super Bee	0.052	11.10.11.15/117

Top ET
Winner:	Brent Noll	1972 Demon	0.140	9.00/9.03/144
Runner-up:	John Knapp	1970 Cuda	0.346	9.04/9.04/146

Mod ET
Winner:	Keith Burch	1971 Dart	0.06	10.51/10.49/123
Runner-up:	Eddie Payne	1970 Dart	0.064	10.13/10.11/128

Street ET
Winner:	Keith Mayers	1967 Coronet	0.024	11.92/11.920/108
Runner-up:	Eric Wessell	1974 Barracuda	0.108	11.12/11.09/118

Nelson Grimes went wheels-up with his Hemi-powered, four-speed-backed Ronnie Sox 'Cuda clone. The Plymouth was a fan favorite that ripped off mid-10s in true gear-banging fashion.

Best Of Show went to the spectacular 1970 GTX of Tony Romito. The Sassy Grass Green Plymouth was fully resto-modded with a 500-cube Wedge, six-speed transmission, Foose wheels, Wilwood brakes, and loads of extra detail.

Chris Shaffer took top honors in Nostalgia Super Stock with his unique 1966 Sport Fury. The mighty Mopar was packing 505 cubes and a G-Force racing G101 four-speed, and at 3,730 lbs. it was capable of running 9.80s at 133 mph on 100-percent muscle.

The 2016 Eastern Mopar Classic at MIR brought out some of our favorites, such as this pair of 1965 Plymouths. The A/FX machine in the far lane packed injection and a manual transmission!

A walk though the car show could fulfill your every Mopar dream. We spotted everything from restored muscle to radically modified machines.

You don't see a 1964 Plymouth with a Hemi as a tow rig very often, but Earnest Montgomery has been using one to pull his race Hemi around the Maryland area for years. Unfortunately, a big wheelie hurt the oil pan on the race car, ending his chance at a win.

Tom Cannon was ripping gears in his original Hemi four-speed 1971 Super Bee. Cannon ran with the FAST (Factory Appearing Stock Tire)/Pure Street group, where he busted off an 11.99 at 118 mph.

Gary Winemiller showed the crowd what modern muscle could do, as he laid down numerous low 12-second passes with his 2008 Super Bee.

Steve and Karen Sealock took home the Best Engineered award for their modified 1968 Dart. The Dodge had a modernized Pro Street look with a cage, tubbed rear, and Gen III Hemi EFI powerplant.

On the more radical side was this Charger packing an old-school 8-71 supercharger on its chromed-out Hemi.

We were loving the look of this 340 '70 'Cuda. It was tastefully modded with a custom interior, Torque Thrust wheels, and a few horsepower upgrades.

Another show favorite was Wes Cardmin's 1964 Plymouth. Cardmin went with a Candymatic theme on his Savoy that was motivated by a 528-inch Wedge. Backing the big-block was a four-speed and a Dana 60.

Gina Stewart proudly displayed her 2010 SRT8 Challenger that was modified with Mopar lowering springs, cold-air induction, and a Corsa exhaust.

There was no lack of hot Darts at MIR. William Door (near lane) went with the Super Stock look on his 9-second 440-powered model.

Challengers of all model years hustled down the quarter-mile at MIR. Here's a brand new one smoking the tires for some extra grip.

Robert Schatz (near lane) and Joe Caiata squared off in round one of Nostalgia Super Stock, with Schatz taking the win.

Michael Bolton had a blast with his IHRA Crate Motor 1966 Barracuda. The Plymouth sported a 360 and ran low 11s.

We found an endless supply of Hemi engines at MIR's Eastern Classic!

Mopar drag fans were not disappointed as Maryland was overflowing with modern and nostalgic Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars.

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