#ROYCE FREEMAN PRO#

Ran two 660 Holleys is what we ran on top of it. We ran Diamond pistons, we run stock crankshafts, we ran stock rods, we run Diamond pistons, we had polished and ported factory aluminum heads that come on a 427, but we ran 430 cubic inches. 'I want to tell you that because when we come out here, we didn’t qualify and the fastest we could run was the mid-10s, and we didn’t qualify. 'Let me tell you something when you got out of the 10’s you were hauling the mail,' Freeman said with a smile on his face.

#ROYCE FREEMAN PRO#

I think our first race, I think we weighed about 3,100 pounds for Pro Stock.'ĬAPTION - Pro Stock quickly separated the haves and the have-nots from the day the class launched.Īs Freeman smiles and admits, a dump truck might have provided a better competitive advantage. 'We could run any size motor we wanted to, but with my Camaro, we had to weigh seven and a half pounds per cubic inch. 'They did everything they could do with what was legal to do to their cars,' Freeman explained. Didn’t have any hood scoops we had to make our own hood scoops and everything.'įreeman believes those drivers, the leaders of the day in doorslammer racing, gained quite an advantage by merely getting in on the ground floor.

Because them days you had to run all steel. And we took it, and totally just took everything apart and put it back together. 'It was a Z28 that they had stolen the motor and stuff out of it. 'We took a stolen ’68 Camaro, we bought it off the police,' Freeman admitted. In fact, his car was a converted A/Modified Production a vehicle which was once 'hot,' literally. I’d never run any NHRA racing at all until I came to the first Pro Stock race.'įreeman, unlike many of his counterparts, didn't have a purpose-built car. 'It was the most exciting time of my life,' Freeman said. Though Freeman didn't rate a mention as an alternate in the event edition of National DRAGSTER, his feelings weren't hurt.įreeman fell way short of the 10.49 bubble and didn't entertain any wounded pride. That's about all the elder statesman of Pro Stock can say about his effort in the inaugural factory hot rod event back in 1970 at the NHRA Winternationals. This story is a result of the precious time we spent together. During our time together we solved roughly 45 percent of the world's problems and discussed his early days in Pro Stock. In April of 2019, Pops caught a ride with us to the race track (and through the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru) on the Satrurday of the NHRA Vegas Four-Wide Nationals. We were a fan of the man we knew simnply as 'Pops.' EDITOR'S NOTE - We at were shocked and heartbroken to learn of the passing of Royce Freeman Sr., on Saturday, July 9, 2022.

Royce freeman