Quarter-Mile Muscle
by Larry Davis
In many ways, drag racing spawned the muscle car era of the ‘60s. Super Stock drag racing was huge in the early ‘60s, and the factories encouraged their teams’ success by building high-power, lightweight cars that’d be sure hits at the drags.

Then in ’64, Pontiac introduced the GTO, with the classic “small car, big engine� formula that hot rodders had been using for years. Other manufacturers responded with their own pony cars and muscle cars, and for nearly 10 years, muscle cars ruled the drags.

Quarter Mile Muscle covers the development and success of the muscle cars at the drags in all classes, from Super Stock to the early musclecar-based funny cars. Special attention is paid to low-production factory cars that were intended specifically for the drags – cars like the COPO Camaros, Ford Thunderbolts, and the dealer-built specials from Yenko, Motion, and others.