Chrysler's Motown Missile: Mopar's Secret Engineering Program at the Dawn of Pro Stock. Geoff Stunkard

running as S/SE or Super Stock Experimental. Humble and well-versed in what a hard day’s work entailed, he and the Sox & Martin operation soon parted ways. After a stint with colorful car owner Billy Stepp, Don had a chat with Mr. Hoover and agreed to take over driving the Motown Missile test mule from Dick Oldfield in early 1971.

      His black-rimmed glasses actually made him the perfect complement to what Chrysler by then was calling the Special Vehicle Engineering group. They had computers and a weather station, brilliant ideas, and a tireless calling via testing to make it all work. On the 4-speed, Don Carlton was considered the equivalent of a cyborg, half man and half machine, repeating test after test after test. It would yield impressive results until a fateful 1977 day when he proved to be all too human.

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      The Motown Missile legend emerged from this soup of people and backgrounds. The world of drag racing was about to see what was possible when you pushed the envelope of technology. The silo was now ready for a weapon.