JULY 9-11, 2010 - Carlisle Events

JAMES BEST
aka ROSCO P. COLTRANE
James Best is probably most widely
known for his role as Rosco P. Coltrane
in the long-running television series The
Dukes of Hazzard. The Dukes of Hazzard
went on to become one of the biggest
hits in Television history. The CBS show
ran for seven seasons and was the top
rated series on the air for three full years.
Today, Best helps to make events special
by making appearances across the country
to meet “Dukes” fans and is here this
weekend in Building T to sign autographs
and meet with fans.
BYRON CHERRY
aka COY DUKE
Byron Cherry starred as Coy Duke, one
of the new Duke Boys, in the 1982-1983
season of The Dukes of Hazzard. After appearing
on the “Dukes,” he did an episode
of Murder She Wrote and a comedy horror
movie in 1990 called Blood Savage
with heavyweight champ Evander Holyfi
eld. This weekend you’ll fi nd Cherry and
fellow “Dukes” cast member James Best
in Building T.
TOM CODDINGTON
Tom Coddington was a Chrysler executive
and engineer with ties to both the
birth of the 426 Hemi and the success
of the original RAMCHARGERS team.
In 1963, Coddington along with Tom
Hoover and a group of engineers developed
and introduced the thunderous
Hemi. In 2005, Coddington worked with
Specialized Vehicles Inc. (SVI) to build the
ST-X concept car for Subaru.
SPECIAL GUESTS
MEET THEM THIS WEEKEND!
TOM HOOVER
Tom Hoover won the C Gas title at the
1960 NHRA Nationals in Detroit, with a
1958 Plymouth powered by a strangelooking
392 ci Chrysler Hemi. Hoover
is known best as the Father of the 426
Hemi engine. The Hemi totally dominated
qualifying in 1964 and Richard Petty
won the Daytona 500 in a 426-powered
Plymouth. Hoover remained the center
of racing development at Chrysler helping
Dodge and Plymouth Hemis to lead
drag racing through the golden ages of
Super Stock, Factory Experimental, and
Pro Stock eras.
HERB MCCANDLESS
Known as Mr. Mopar or Mr. 4-speed,
Herb McCandless has been a drag racing
legend and automotive performance
wizard for over 40 years. Elected to the
NHRA Southeast Division Hall of Fame in
1988, McCandless won the U.S. Nationals
in 1970 driving the No. 24 Sox and
Martin Pro Stock car. McCandless also
gained notoriety for his strip work in his
Pro Stock ‘Cuda. McCandless became involved
in Chrysler’s race program in 1965
and raced Hemi cars from 1965-1974.
In 1974, he started McCandless Performance,
one of the largest Chrysler Direct
Connection and Mopar Performance
dealers. A Hemi hero of drag racing, Mc-
Candless won championships in Darts,
Dusters and Barracudas.
JOHN SAMSEN
John Samsen began his automotive career
with Studebaker while working on
jet engine design. Moving on to Dearborn,
Mich., Samsen was hired as a Ford
designer and was assigned to the Thunderbird
project in 1952, where he worked
on the front end, grille, front fenders and
hood design of the T-Bird. After three
years of Blue Oval work, Samsen was
hired by Mopar and helped design many
of Chrysler’s muscle cars, including Barracudas,
Furries, Roadrunners, Imperials
and Dusters.
LOU SANTIAGO
Lou Santiago is the host of the Discovery
Channel’s Ultimate Car Build Off where
he interviews and challenges shop builders
from across the country in a custom
build off competition. Competitors on
the Ultimate Car Build Off showcase
their knowledge of vehicle fabrication
and push their creativity to the limits
with each episode leading up to the fi -
nal project build and the chance to win
$100,000. Santiago always says, “You too
can be a car builder extraordinaire!”
DAVID SNYDER
Celebrated automotive artist David Snyder
is in Building T with a display of his
automotive art featuring vehicles produced
by Chrysler. Stop by and see fi rsthand
his artistic ability, as he is working
on new paintings throughout the weekend.
Snyder is also available to personalize
his new book The Automotive Art of
David Snyder.
BILL STILES
Bill Stiles is known not only as one of
the pioneer drivers of Super Stock and
Pro Stock racing but also as an expert
performance and racing mechanic. As
a driver, Stiles is most widely known for
racing one of the original factory SS/BA
Hemi-powered Plymouth Barracudas. As
a mechanic, Stiles geared Jere Stahl and
Dave Strickler to many victories on the
quarter mile. With multiple class wins,
Stiles was a key driver in the success of
the new Hemi Barracudas and Darts that
dominated Super Stock throughout the
mid and late ‘60s. For the ’70 season, Bill
moved to Pro Stock with a Duster that
he ran until 1973. Today, he is known as
an expert in preparing magneto ignition
systems for racing applications out of his
shop, Stiles Performance, in York, PA. Bill
Stiles is here with the Barracuda and the
Duster all weekend at the Superior Classic
Auto Restoration booth on the Manufacturers
Midway to meet with fans and
to talk racing and Mopars.
CarlisleEvents.com / CARLISLE CHRYSLER NATIONALS 2010 / 11