Clermont, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2011) – Charlie Westcott Jr. continued his family’s dominance of the Mopar® HEMI® Challenge event at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, powering to his fourth career victory at the Indy race and banking the record $15,000 winner’s purse in a final-round fight with his father, Charlie Westcott Sr., at Lucas Oil Raceway today.
“Congratulations to Charlie Westcott Jr. on winning the 11th annual Mopar HEMI Challenge,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Mopar is proud to support this outstanding event, which recognizes the grassroots racers who are the backbone of the Mopar brand.”
Westcott Jr. swept the Mopar HEMI Challenge, which features Super Stock A/HEMI (SS/AH) 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas in head-to head-battle, also claiming the $1,000 bonus for seizing the No. 1 Qualifier spot in the 20-car field. He drove his 1968 “Warfish” Plymouth Barracuda to victories over Steve Kent, Chuck Comella and Gary Wolkwitz to set up a father-and-son battle with Westcott Sr., who dispatched of Rick Houser, Stephen Herbert and Wendell Howes on his road to the final.
The elder Westcott, winner of the 2009 Mopar HEMI Challenge U.S. Nationals event, gave his son a lesson off the starting line in the final, recording a 0.010 reaction time to Jr.’s tardier 0.103 mark. However, youth would win out at the finish line, as Westcott Jr. pulled away in the battle of ’68 Plymouth Barracudas with an 8.441-second run at 158.50 mph to his father’s 8.549/157.65 effort. Including Westcott Sr.’s $2,000 runner-up purse, the Westcott clan will take $18,000 and the Mopar HEMI Challenge trophy back to their home in Parma, Mich.
“The heat has been killer, and we fought some issues with both our cars, but it ended up with me and my dad in the final," said Westcott Jr., who also triumphed at the Mopar HEMI Challenge U.S. Nationals event in 2005-2006 and 2008. "We’ve got a good rivalry going; the last two times I ran him in a final he beat me. We race wide open and we don’t have any gimmes. He ran a really good race. He had me a lot better on the reaction time; he treed me by a tenth.
“It’s a big deal to win here. Last year we broke both our motors here and went home with our tails between our legs. We came back stronger than ever, qualified No. 1 and No. 2, and basically had the field covered all weekend.
“This is the most cash that’s ever been put up at a Mopar HEMI Challenge. We basically took every dime that was up for grabs, including a $250 Mopar eStore gift certificate my dad won in a raffle during the Mopar Sportsman BBQ on Thursday. It couldn’t have went any better. We didn't blow anything up and we captured all the prize money, so we’ll go home happy.”
“Congratulations to Charlie Westcott Jr. on winning the 11th annual Mopar HEMI Challenge,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Mopar is proud to support this outstanding event, which recognizes the grassroots racers who are the backbone of the Mopar brand.”
Westcott Jr. swept the Mopar HEMI Challenge, which features Super Stock A/HEMI (SS/AH) 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas in head-to head-battle, also claiming the $1,000 bonus for seizing the No. 1 Qualifier spot in the 20-car field. He drove his 1968 “Warfish” Plymouth Barracuda to victories over Steve Kent, Chuck Comella and Gary Wolkwitz to set up a father-and-son battle with Westcott Sr., who dispatched of Rick Houser, Stephen Herbert and Wendell Howes on his road to the final.
The elder Westcott, winner of the 2009 Mopar HEMI Challenge U.S. Nationals event, gave his son a lesson off the starting line in the final, recording a 0.010 reaction time to Jr.’s tardier 0.103 mark. However, youth would win out at the finish line, as Westcott Jr. pulled away in the battle of ’68 Plymouth Barracudas with an 8.441-second run at 158.50 mph to his father’s 8.549/157.65 effort. Including Westcott Sr.’s $2,000 runner-up purse, the Westcott clan will take $18,000 and the Mopar HEMI Challenge trophy back to their home in Parma, Mich.
“The heat has been killer, and we fought some issues with both our cars, but it ended up with me and my dad in the final," said Westcott Jr., who also triumphed at the Mopar HEMI Challenge U.S. Nationals event in 2005-2006 and 2008. "We’ve got a good rivalry going; the last two times I ran him in a final he beat me. We race wide open and we don’t have any gimmes. He ran a really good race. He had me a lot better on the reaction time; he treed me by a tenth.
“It’s a big deal to win here. Last year we broke both our motors here and went home with our tails between our legs. We came back stronger than ever, qualified No. 1 and No. 2, and basically had the field covered all weekend.
“This is the most cash that’s ever been put up at a Mopar HEMI Challenge. We basically took every dime that was up for grabs, including a $250 Mopar eStore gift certificate my dad won in a raffle during the Mopar Sportsman BBQ on Thursday. It couldn’t have went any better. We didn't blow anything up and we captured all the prize money, so we’ll go home happy.”
