Mopar culture flexes its muscle cars at 41st National Trail weekend

HEBRON ― Because Mopar has been such a major part of his life, Joe Zolper can relate to the vehicles he seemingly raises from the dead on his popular "Garage Squad" TV show.

"The number one thing with Mopar fans is loyalty, and number two, it's the challenge," Zolper said Friday from opening day of the 41st Mopar Nationals at National Trail Raceway. "It's the thrill of the hunt, the rarity and the swap meets. It's the only way you can build one, and you can't say that about a lot of other car makes. They're a lot easier to build compared to Mopars."

Zolper admits he wasn't your typical kid growing up, but that's what made him who he is. He also runs Prison City Customs out of his hometown of Joliet, Illinois. On display was his 1969 Dodge Daytona, "Dauntless," a blown Hemi pro mod that he built from scratch and has worked on for years. He was planning on running it down the track, but recently broke a piston. That doesn't mean he's giving up. "It will take three months, but we'll get it back out there," he said.

"I was an oddball. I was different," Zolper admits. "I was a never gets picked for the team type of kid. My dad had Mopars, so my brother and I did too. No one ever wanted them, and now, everybody wants them."

That was never more apparent than on Friday, when Mopar owners, car builders and drag racers flocked to National Trail from around the country to kick off a big three-day weekend and see over 3,000 Mopars, old and new, and swap parts. There were license plates from all over Ohio, plus Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Arizona and North Dakota. Friday began burnouts and three days of drag racing for maxi-wedges, hemis, small blocks, big blocks, Gen II hemis, V-10s, Hellcats, Demons, Vipers and Red Eyes. Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, SRT, Jeep and AMC were well represented.

Darrell Gwynn, voted one of the top 50 NHRA drivers of all time and an International Drag Racing Hall of Fame member, came from Florida to catch up with old friends at National Trail, and make new ones among the Mopar fans. A five-time Car Craft Magazine Driver of the Year, he won 28 NHRA national events before crashing and becoming paralyzed.

Ironically, just six months before the crash, he began supporting the Marc Buoniconti Miami Project to Cure Paralysis in Miami, named after the son of NFL great Nick Buoniconti who was paralyzed while playing collegiately for the Citadel. A sticker was prominently displayed on his car. After his own crash, Gwynn established his own Darrell Gwynn Foundation to support paralysis victims, and in 2015, became director of the Quality of Life Chapter for the Buoniconti Fund.

"I last raced here in 1989, and won here in Top Fuel in 1988," said Gwynn, who also owned his own racing team up until 2003. "This place a lot of history and a lot of great memories for me, and a lot of great racers have run at this facility. This was our hub, and I've been friends with the JEGS family all of my life."

He was enjoying his chats with the fans on Friday. "One guy came up and said he got the same injury I had, by diving into a pool. He walking, barely, but still walking. The only difference between us was, mine happened when I was going 250 miles per hour," Gwynn said.

Nearby, Butch "The California Flash" Leal was talking to fans, and beside him, the "Motown Missile" from Michigan was on display. The "wire car," a Plymouth, came at the pinnacle of pro stock technology and was constructed like a Formula One race car.

The 1972 Mopars (50 years) and 1962 cars (60 years) are being honored at Mopar Nationals this weekend. Over 20 people from a Dunkirk, Ohio family, about 20 miles south of Findlay, wouldn't miss the event. "There's 21 of us, who all grew up within a quarter-mile of each other, and we have eight cars here today," said Mark Obenour. He had a 1972 Dodge Challenger Rally on display, and beside it was a 1972 Dodge Charger Rally.

Obenour sat under a Cleveland Browns tent, and his car was Browns' orange. "I bought it in 1988, when it only had 55,000 miles on it and I was in high school, and I drove it for about three years," he said. "I re-did it in 1996. I just had it at the big show over at Carlisle (Pennsylvania). We went to a show in Michigan, and we got invited to bring it to Chicago. It will be in Mopar Collectors Guide Magazine next month."

John Begian drove his 1962 Dodge Polara 500 to National Trail from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in 2014, drove it to California. Ironically, the spotless vehicle is scarlet colored with grey on the interior seating.

"I got it from Fresno, California in 1998, and it has about 180,000 miles on it," said Begian, who also owns 1957 and 1961 Chryslers, and a Studebaker. "It has the bucket seats and console, and is one of the weird looking cars. Dodge wanted a downsized car from a big car because Chevy was doing it, but then Chevy still did a big car. What saved it was drag racing, and it lasted into the 1970s. I liked it because it was unique."

Begian said there's a reason the Mopar Nationals have been so successful.

"You have to come to a place like this, to find the parts at the swap meets, and it's evolved over time," he said. "Mopars have always been kind of underdogs."

"Mopar culture has kept its strength, while some of the others have lost their following," Gwynn said. "Car people are the greatest people in the world."

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Mopar Nationals back for 41st year at National Trail Raceway