Ronnie Sox

:glasses7:

I went to the track a lot starting in 69, saw Sox & Martin race several times at a couple different places.

Back then you could walk right up to the cars in the pit area, look at stuff, talk to the people, pretty cool. Was even able to do that at NHRA national up until the early 80s.

Back in 70 or 71 I went to the Oswego Ill. dragstrip on a Sunday to see Sox & Martin match race Dyno Don Nickelson. Unfortuneatly, S&M could not run their car because of damage that happened while racing somewhere else on Sat. night. Ronnie had got the front of the car WAY up in the air when coming off the line and came down hard, bent up the front suspension, seriously smashed up the headers and oil pan. Even though they couldn't race they showed up anyway, hung out and talked to people.

They had Don Grotheer fill in for S&M so there would still be a race with Dyno Don.

I went to the U.S. Nationals every year from 1970 through 1975. S & M were my favorites so I took pictures of them whenever I could. It's true, you could walk right up to the cars and check them out parked on the grass. So i have 35mm pix of them in the "pits" around the cars. I remember when Landy kept a towel over his engine to hide the new 16 plug Hemi heads as he was the first to use them. Of course I was too intimidated to actually talk to these gods. Later I sent $3 or $5 to them and they sent me a S & M T-shirt and stickers that I still have. (the shirt is a medium and it's kind of yellowed but it's original) In 1970, Herb won the Pro stock race at Indy after Grumpy's rear wheel and slick came off after his burnout. I have a pic of his car with one side laying on the track. Back then there were only 4, then 5 National races the whole year and they were dominant. So dominant, NHRA (Wally Parks) legislated them right out of competition. I remember hangin around their car at the 70 Nats and Ronnie comes rolling up in some car I had never seen before, ever. It was a 1971 Tor-red Road Runner and I have pix of that too. Back then there was no internet or spy photos so it was shocking to see that car for the first time on Labor day. Ronnie seemed to be pretty friendly with Linda Hurst as she came around pretty often. Not suggestin', just sayin'. In the evenings my buddy and I would cruise around to the local motels until we found where they were staying. All the cars would just be parked in the lots on their trailers with car guys milling about. One night, Jake had the 70 cuda halfway up the ramps of the trailer/truck and he was lying on the ground under the engine. So I crawled under there, laid on my back, and silently watched as he pulled the rod caps off checking the bearings. Jake was the silent hero as S & M were probably off at a party somewhere while there he was, checking the Hemi out for the next day. One night we watched a Fuel Dragster "team" rebuilding their Hemi in a local gas station bay. We thought that was pretty amazing. They didn't rebuild their motors between rounds back then, just changed the oil and plugs once in a while.

There was always a hotel parking lot back then where the car crews would have mini bike drag races in the parking lot. After a couple years they had a portable Christmas tree and some of the bikes were running nitro. You could hear the extra POP in the exhaust and smell the fumes.

Much later, in the 80's or so, I got autographs from Ronnie, Buddy, Landy, and Herb. I've also met Ronnie's wife and I'm sure she remembers me...NOT! I went to the Hemi reunion at Quaker City a few years ago and took 779 pictures in a single day.(my personal record) That was the best Mopar event I've been to in my life and I've been doing this a long time. I think I only missed 2 Mopar Nats so far. The Herb McCandless Dart (built by S&M and shown above) was the first car to use the latest wider tires. First time out he pulled a legendary and very famous wheelstand. He talked about it at the reunion. He had just gotten some heart work done a few days earlier and his doctor said he had to take it easy for awhile. Herb said I have to go to Ohio in a few days and the doc said Absolutely Not! Herb said I HAVE to go. Finally the doc Googled Herb McCandless and found out who he really was and made an exception but he had to promise to take it easy. His wife and son were keeping a close eye on him. He was talking to someone about some Mopar guy and he whipped out an old, large, dog-eared address book and gave the guy someone's phone number. Man that book was 40 years old and it was just full of history, business cards, scraps of paper, etc. Every contact he ever had in the car world has to be in there.

I'll have to dig out some pix and scan them. But Ronnie is the biggest reason I do this. My dad always had Mopars and I came home from the hospital in my dad's Plymouth convertible so I'm hooked.

the most fun was at the motels in the evenings ....in the motel parking lots where the crews worked on the cars....and the motel bars where the BS was alive and well..(Roy Hill was my favorite too many beers....lets line em up in the parking lot.... BSer)

back then....there was no PC bull$hit...it was great, I really missed those days.

Here's a shot of Ronnie's last run at the Rockingham Dragway. I had his son Dean sign a couple of the prints for me a few years back.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Diane Sox and like her husband she is one of the wonderful poeple placed on this earth. While Ronnie was sick she tells of him through all the pain and suffering feeling bad for kids that also had cancer. So with great determination she set up the Ronnie Sox Foundation with the primary goal to raise money for St Judes Childrens Hospital and to fight childhood cancer. She does a wonderful and hard job of travelling and working to raise money while still having a full time job to support herself while honoring Ronnie. PLease go visit the site and check out the memorabelia and the new 50th anniversary shirt, it really looks good.
http://www.ronniesox.org/home.html

JDMopar said:

I met Ronnie Sox quite by accident at Greer Dragway around 1994. I went to test and tune night with my 71 Challenger conv. , and was sitting in the staging lanes. Some guy walks up and pays a nice compliment about my car, and starts talking. He sounded like he knew his stuff about Mopars, and drag racing. Then he tells me him and some buddies used to race Hemi Cudas in Pro Stock back in the day, but that he never had a conv. Then I'm thinking..."Yeah right, here we go!" So I asked him if they ever did any good? (It had never dawned on me who this 50 something year old dude was.) He said "Yeah, we did alright. We won the Pro Stock Championship a few times." I was sitting there in my car, and must have had the most dumbfounded look on my face....and this wirey little ol guy smiles and sticks his hand in my window to shake hands with me and says..."Hi. I'm Ronnie Sox." You coulda knocked me out with a feather! As soon as he said it, I recognized his face. He walked along as I moved up in the lanes, and just kept talking like he had known me all his life. He was there testing a Pro Mod Mercury Comet he was running at the time. I went over to his pit later and talked to him some more. Just a heck of a nice guy. rayer: That ended up being one of the best days I ever spent at the race track, and that's my Ronnie Sox story.

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Luv that story!

My friends and I met Ronnie Sox at one of their Super Car Clinics in Hempstead, Long Island
back in July 1968.

It was a few days before the 1968 Super Stock Magazine Nationals that were held at
New York National Speedway.

My friend had just bought a brand new 1968 Road Runner '383' 4-Speed.

He asked Ronnie why Sox & Martin didn't run a 383 Road Runner in E/S or E/SA for
1968, since the 68' Road Runners were Plymouth's 'most popular street musclecar'.

Ronnie was completely honest, and said that the 383 Road Runner just couldn't compete
with the 68' 340 Barracuda or Dart, or as he said the 'Mini Hercules' in reference to the 340.

Ronnie said at the track in 1968, the NHRA Legal E/S or E/SA 383 Road Runner was fighting
a losing battle.

But, he did say, on the street, and with the right set-up, they could be a force.

He was correct, and honest..........

:glasses7:

:coffee2: :happy1:

slickchick said:

:coffee2: :happy1:

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if I ever had an earthly hero, it was sox. used to go to some of the old match races, and watch him waste jenkins and nicholson on a regular bassis.:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

I have a photo of him at Minn Dragways way back when ,racing a Colt,those were the Days for sure,I will work on getting it posted!

almost looks like an early A or something different....definitely not a 68 dash

RaniDart70 said:

almost looks like an early A or something different....definitely not a 68 dash

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64-65 B-Body Plymouth :glasses7:

dang ...i wish i could buy a poster size of this one .....cant stop looking at this pic ....really captures his bad-assness

I saw Ronnie many times over the years at Minnesota Dragways and at the U.S. Nationals. Here are two photos I took of his cars at Minnesota Dragways. The '72 'Cuda Pro Stock was from a 1972 USRT Match race (that's Buddy Martin in the photo) and the Dodge Colt was from the 1974 USRT Event. I was lucky enough to get both of these photos published in Mopar Muscle Magazine in the June 2012 issue, pretty proud of that.

Great idea for a thread. Cool stuff. That picture of Ronnie slamming the shifter,was a ad for Hurst. Wish I had been there to see.

Great thread, Rani!!

I met him in about 71 when they were on tour giving their Sox and Martin "clinics" at local dealerships. As I recall it was in Ft. Lauderdale prior to them running at Miami Holiday speedway. I was surprised the I won the door prize since I have never won anything since. It was a dual point distributor which I'm sure was an Accel or one of their sponsors. I had a RR with a 383 auto and dropped it in. later that year I won the "pure stock championship" in the State of Florida with it.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Herb MCcandless at the Ocean City Md. Cruise- In two weeks ago. It was his wife & his first time at that show. What a great guy! I think I was the only one there that actually knew who he was & his involvement with Ronnie Sox. Made my day for sure JD, Love that story!

www.rpmotorcars.com/1968-Plymouth-BARRACUDA-SOX-AND-MARTIN-Phoenix-Arizona-85027/4484031
1/4 million and it's yours!

72_340_Demon said:

.......the Dodge Colt was from the 1974 USRT Event. I was lucky enough
to get both of these photos published in Mopar Muscle Magazine in the
June 2012 issue, pretty proud of that.

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That Colt, one of several that Sox drove, was the "short scoop" dry sump
car that was formerly owned by my pal Stewart Pomeroy. Stewart also
owned the 1972 Mopar Missle Duster that was in the Accel Spark plug ad.

Colt shown as first built, as driven by Sox and as driven by Stewart under
the looney pseudonym "Seymour Guntz" (he still has the helmet and jacket
labeled as such).

RaniDart70 said:

im not sure if Sox and Martin ever had a 68 dart ...all im finding is the Dick Landy 68 dart

shame too...that would have been cool to have a Sox and Martin 68 dart....my favorite car and favorite racer together.:?

i might just have to build my own Sox and Martin 68 dart tribute car myself

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YES!! Please do! It would look awesome! I don't have any pictures of the man. The first two years I went to Mopars at Englishtown he was there with a bunch of toys. (insert drool) Like an idiot I was so in awe of all the Mopars ( my first big event) I didn't even get an autograph. I did get a bunch of other drivers in the later years. I'm a slow learner I guess!

View attachment Ronnie Sox1.jpg

My best story happened when this photo was taken about 2002. Our local track,Elk Creek Dragway, had an all MOPAR shootout. Ronnie was on hand to sign autographs and be a supporter of the event. I am practically a lifelong fan as my first model car was the JoHan Sox&Martin Cuda when I was about 4 years old.My brother built it for me as I was too little so from that point I always looked for their cars in the magazines and tried to keep up with them. I won the Mopar event at the track and as an extra bonus, the trophy was presented by Ronnie himself. This is probably one of the most rewarding wins that I have ever experienced and will never forget. My Duster dragcar also bears his signature inside the trunk lid from that same day.

Rani Sox,I think you hit a jugular nerve...(lol!) Awesome thread.