Woooo! Bagged the other Release 20 Charger, the bright red one with the white top! Won this one from the same seller as the blue one, and for the same price: not cheap, but not outrageous. I don’t usually feel good after a bidding war, but I think I did pretty well on this pair of Chargers…because I can’t have too many!
“One Eyed Jacks Are Deadly…Even When They Smile.” Thus warned pompadoured heart throb Johnny Burnette in “The Ballad Of The One Eyed Jack,” a warning taken to heart by a professional gambler of the next generation, whose life was made of danger. What would a professional gambler drive if he were looking for the thrill of the tables out on the open road? It would have to be something comfortable enough to traverse distances but stylish enough to turn heads in casino parking lots, but above all, it would have to be powerful enough to make opening her up feel like a Vegas roller coaster. Would a ’69 Hemi Charger fit the bill?
Oklahoma native Jaryl Garen certainly thought so. Mr. Garen, alias “The Gambler,” has led an interesting and dangerous life both on and off the track: having been a bull rider and a bouncer in his youth, he settled on a career as a professional card sharp, and a very successful one at that. At the age of 30 he took up drag racing, and crashed or burned up several cars while learning to love Mopar Hemis. When he hit 45 and decided to go road racing, he rebuilt his first drag car into this satan red monster that gleams on the asphalt at Drag City: a ’69 Hemi Charger he appropriately named “One Eyed Jack.”
Although it is a factory original R/T Charger, “Jack” was originally a 440 car, but when “The Gambler” acquired it in 1980 it had a good body but no drive train. He remedied that with a race-spec Hemi bolted to a 4-speed and ending in a Dana 60 with 4.11’s, which he shortly swapped out for a more track friendly 3.70.
Garen has excelled at nearly everything he’s attempted, and since he thrives on adrenaline, his entry into the 1985 season at Drag City is going to be competitive. The crowd is anxiously awaiting to see if he can turn his time trial numbers into wins. Place your bets, race fans!
Another beauty to the fleet! These cars are so fun and I can imagine there is a lot of instant gratification that comes with getting these beauties and making any needed modifications to get them ready for Drag City!