Holton Power

 National Dragster

By Kevin McKenna

 Mar 19, 2004

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

Harry Holton will be 74 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 the three SS/AA Hemi Barracudas of the West Coast Hemi Team, 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 in October 2004, 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."

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.

Asked how he'd describe Holton, Ogburn replied with a single word, " The Legend."

As does Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson, Holton lists his hobby as work. he spends seven days a week in the shop, including most holidays, and often puts in 11-hour workdays. He insists that there are no magic tricks to his profession, just an unwavering dedication to his craft and decades of experience through trial and error.

"Eight of 10 things we try with these engines don't work," said Holton. "We just keep going. When we build a new cylinder head, we might have it on and off the flow hench 10 times per port. It's a lot of work, but it pays off in the end. I still drive, but I don't enjoy it as much as working in the shop. When we put an engine on the dyno and it makes 10 or 15 more horsepower, that's my high. I still enjoy when we set records and run good numbers, especially because the competition has gotten so tough.

"Thankfully, Michael has given us the budget to put together a first-class operation," added Holton. "I don't think he realized just what he was getting into when he started."

EAST VERSUS WEST

For the last few years, Holton and the Ogburn team have been embroiled in an intense rivalry with fellow SS/AA competitors, most notably engine builders Barton, of Pennsylvania, and, more recently, former Comp racer Charlie Westcott, whose shop is in Michigan.

According to Holton, the finger-pointing, accusations of cheating, and general animosity began shortly after he set the SS/AA elapsed-time record in Boise, Idaho.

"I got a call from Ray Barton shortly after that race, and he told me that he was going to come out there and take [the record] back from me," said Holton. "I told him, 'Bring everything you've got because you're going to need it.' "

The fireworks continued in 2001, when Holton recorded a non-altitude-factored 8.68 at Canada's Mission Raceway, and in 2002, when Ogburn's busy schedule prevented them from making it to Indianapolis for the annual NHRA Mopar Performance SS/AA Hemi Challenge.

"We really heard it after we missed Indy," said Holton. "They said that the reason we didn't go to Indy was because our cars were bogus, we were running special fuel, or just because we were chickens. We heard that stuff for a full year."

But no one was laughing after the 2003 Hemi Challenge. Jenkins drove his Holton-powered Barracuda to a final-round victory over Modesto neighbor Dave Raybourn, whose Barracuda was powered by a Westcott-built powerplant. Jenkins also had the quickest car in the event with an 8.81 best.

"We still have a pretty good rivalry going," said Holton. ."I think it's a good thing; it helped fuel interest in the class. Now we've got guys willing to travel all over the country just to prove a point. [Mopar Performance] pays $10,000 for that Hemi Challenge, hut the truth is it could have us race for a couple of quarts of oil and we'd still work just as hard."

Though he'd rather tune than drive, Holton paced the 63-car Super Stock field at the rain-delayed K&N Filters Winternationals with an 8.68. Teammate Ogburn was close behind as SS/AA entries claimed the top six spots. In fact, the parade of Hemi cars at the top of the qualifying list caused some racers to lobby for an index change, something Holton doesn't think is necessary.

"With the amount of money and the hard work that is going into this class, it doesn't surprise me that we're leading qualifying," he said. "If someone were to put the same time, money, and effort into an SS/IA Camaro as we put into these cars, they'd probably be right up there as well. We're making more than 900 horsepower, and when I first started with these cars, we probably didn't make 500."

Just as there seems to be no stopping the Hemi Super Stock cars, Holton shows no sign of slowing down. he doesn't even like to take a day off.

I've seen too many instances where a guy retires at 65 and is dead by 68," said Holton. "I think that slowing down is one of the worst things you can do. I plan to keep doing this as long as Mike wants to keep going or until I'm physically unable to. The main thing is that I still enjoy it, and that's what keeps me going."

Copyright National Hot Rod Association Mar 19, 2004