Do you have a hero Mopar driver?
RJ: Oh, Ronnie Sox. Although I don’t know that Ronnie is a whole lot older than I am, but he got started a lot quicker and better than I did. We used to dream in the night when we were working on our cars that one of these times we would like to win races and run him. Back then it was Super 8's, Super Stock automatic with an 8 stick. We wanted to run like Ronnie did.
Do you consider Ronnie Sox as the greatest Mopar doorslammer racer that you've ever met or raced with?
RJ: Well, I never really raced with Ronnie because he was so much more advanced from where we were, but I thought Ronnie, Jake and Buddy had an excellent team together. For their day, I think they were the best.
In the early years did you run a 4-speed or automatic?
RJ: When I first started I ran a 4-speed in that '62 car and it didn't take me long to figure out that (a stick car) was a whole lot more work to run than an automatic. In the beginning I ran a push button automatic and then eventually we took the push button out and put in a 4-speed (automatic trans).
What do you think about former Mopar Performance head man, Lou Patane?
RJ: I don't think I should comment on that.
Do you have an opinion on who you think is the best Mopar fuel racer?
RJ: No, I don't pay any attention to the fuel cars really.
Do you have a favorite Mopar street machine that you've had over the years?
RJ: I had a '68 Road Runner that we played with on the street. Again, it was a 383 car, an automatic car. I just wore a lot of people out with that car. It got so bad that the cops came and told me that they knew who was doing all the drag racing and it better be stopped, so that ended the Road Runner.
Is there any Mopar that you wish you had, one you always wanted?
RJ: Back then I wanted a '65 Hemi car, one of those factory cars. They were $3500 back then, but I didn't have $35, let alone $3500.
One of the Hemi Belvedere's...
RJ: Yeah, a C or D automatic car. Yeah, I wanted one of those so bad.
What do you think of today's Super Stock A competition, the Hemi shootouts like we see at the U.S. Nationals?
RJ: Well, I would like to get involved -- and I guess it’s okay to mention it -- I'm going to be involved with not a Super Stock but an A/SM Comp Eliminator car. It hasn't been announced yet, but we're working it with George Bryce. He's building a '68 car and I'm kinda picking up some of my (engine) pieces that we don't use anymore, helping him out. I'm kinda excited about that, nobody really knows about that yet. By the time this comes out, it will probably be out. George is getting the car built somewhere in Louisiana; he's showed me pictures of it. We're just trying to pick up pieces that we don't use anymore and if he can use it, I'm giving him a good deal or helping him. I'm excited about it because he's going to try an automatic and a 4 speed.
He's a Hemi guy; I didn’t know that. He's got a bunch of Hemi cars -- you might want to ask him about that. We're going to try to help him, motor-wise with what they can do. They are limited with what they can do with one of today's 426…modern Hemi.
Why was Mopar so hard on you and your privateer race team efforts over the years?
RJ: Because…I guess we just didn't respond to their everyday wishes.
In terms of the support from that period, did they just ignore you and hope you'd go away?
RJ: They as much as told us to go away and of course every time they rejected anything we asked (of them) we were more determined. I guess it was probably a personality clash; that might be a better way to sum it up.
