It was a groundbreaking idea when the program kicked off, as it spurred more sales of both performance cars and parts at dealers across the country by allowing the Sox & Martin team to meet current or potential customers face-to-face and talk about high-performance cars and parts. The new sponsorship agreement also required the Sox & Martin team to hold “Supercar Clinics” at select Chrysler/Plymouth dealerships across the country. With Sox & Martin already running under the Plymouth banner starting in 1965, Buddy Martin and his team received their marching orders for 1967 they were to campaign a pair of brand-new Plymouth Belvedere GTX models in Super Stock. “The last time I checked, we don’t sell nitro Funny Cars,” was a sentiment echoed by many of the top marketing brass at Chrysler during the early fall of 1966. Remember, it was Plymouth and Dodge that had the marketing foresight to get their factory-backed racers out of those flimsy, unsafe, time bomb, nitromethane-guzzling A/FX machines (the precursor to the Funny Car class) and into vehicles that actually resembled what was coming off the assembly line and into dealer showrooms. The team’s biggest sponsor, Chrysler Corporation (or more specifically, the Plymouth brand) was the partner that Buddy focused most of his energy on. With wins racking up, many of these automotive and aftermarket companies had their logos plastered on the Sox & Martin cars and were more than happy to “ride with the winners.” Buddy made sure to cross-promote these brands and products to keep them front and center in the eyes of muscle car buyers and performance parts DIYers alike. It was Buddy Martin who ran the race team like a business and made sure to leverage the many sponsor partners to the fullest and keep the cash flow steady. It was a team effort – the talented driving skills of Ronnie Sox and his ability to cut good lights while powershifting his way down the track paired with the meticulously prepared 426 HEMI engines built by crew chief Jake King, and the always thinking Buddy Martin who managed the team operations while constantly thinking two steps ahead of the competition. These red, white and blue racecars conquered drag strips across America during the 1960s and into the early ’70s. If you’re a Mopar ® enthusiast, you’ve probably heard many stories and tales about Sox & Martin and their dominating HEMI ® V8 engine-powered Plymouth Super Stockers and Pro Stockers.
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