Mopar Plymouth Race Car Driver Ronnie Sox - Mr. Four Speed

To say that Ronnie Sox was...        read full caption To say that Ronnie Sox was the greatest four-speed driver that ever lived is a bold, but in my opinion, a true statement. The longtime racing partner of Buddy Martin was the winningest Pro Stock driver during the short-lived four-speed era (1970-'72) of drag racing. He claimed six Super Stock victories from 1967 to 1969. according to teammate Buddy Martin, "Ronnie's skills as a driver were a gift. He was coordinated with the hand and foot. In addition to his shifting, his reaction times were outstanding. Everybody drove four-speed cars at that time, and other drivers would miss gears left and right. That never happened with Ronnie. Everybody had an excuse, but Ronnie could get into anyone's car and have no problems whatsoever." Sadly, Ronnie Sox passed away on April 22 after a long battle with cancer. -Randy Bolig

Sox and the Sox & Martin race...        read full caption Sox and the Sox & Martin race cars were loved by fans wherever they traveled, but the crowds at Bristol International Dragway were something special. Here, Ronnie leaves against Dick Harrell's Camaro in the AHRA Spring National Grand American race at the old Bristol, prior to its complete makeover a few years ago.

Ronnie Sox, the quiet, blonde-haired, southern gentleman known for his mystical mastery of power-shifting a manual four-speed transmission passed away Saturday, April 22, 2006, at his home near Richmond, Virginia. Ronnie succumbed following a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. His beloved wife Diane, family, and friends were nearby when the legendary driver took his last ride.

During his long and storied drag racing career, the Burlington, North Carolina, native garnered practically every honor and championship available for the full-bodied drag race cars he loved. His wins included NHRA and IHRA World Championships, and he was nominated as AHRA Driver of the Year in 1968. In 2002, Ronnie was an inaugural inductee into the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame, just one of the many honors bestowed upon him during his five-decades-long racing career. in 2001, he was named Number 15 in the Top 50 Drivers poll announced by NHRA .

In 1971, Ronnie, along with other invitees Richard Petty and Bobby Unser, were honored guests at the White House, meeting President Richard Nixon. With help from a co-author, Ronnie penned a book titled: The Sox & Martin Book of Drag Racing, which was published in 1974.

Ronnie began his drag racing career as a teenager, sneaking into the local drags and racing his dad's '49 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Seeking more speed, he soon switched to a Y-Block 312-powered '57 Ford. At the time, his family owned the Sox Sinclair Service, a combination Sinclair gas station and repair shop. the family business developed into a high-performance tuning and speed shop operation where young Ronnie gained both knowledge and customers for his rapidly expanding skills. It was out of that service station that he began running Chevy 409-powered cars and gained a reputation as a skilled driver and power tuner. His '62 409 Chevy "Bubble Top" Bel-Air sedan was a feared competitor in the Optional/Super Stock classes in the Carolinas, or wherever he chose to run his four-speed 409 Chevy.

In 1963, Ronnie partnered with another local Burlington, North Carolina, drag racer, Buddy Martin. The two had previously been competitors, but teamed up to campaign an aluminum front-end, '63 Z-11 option, 427 Impala in the new A/Factory Experimental class. Thus was born the fabled Sox & Martin racing team. Ronnie's own drag racing career would include notable accomplishments during each of the next four decades.

Ronnie Sox (right) talks it...        read full caption Ronnie Sox (right) talks it over with fellow Pro Stock competitor "Fast Eddie" Schartman. Sox and Schartman (who drove a factory-sponsored Mercury Cougar) were fierce competitors on the track and good friends everywhere else. Like Sox, Schartman began driving and tuning race cars and power-shifting manual four-speed transmissions. On this day, they were on hand for an early spring, round-robin-style, Pro Stock shoot-out at Detroit Dragway. Sox was very much an old school racer, fully capable of turning wrenches and making tuning adjustments. Fortunately, the S&M teams were so professionally organized that other team members like Jake King allowed him to concentrate solely on driving. Without mechanical distractions, he excelled at timely starting line leaves and his legendary four-speed wizardry.

Ronnie Sox's first Pro Stock...        read full caption Ronnie Sox's first Pro Stock 'Cuda leaves the starting line on a time trial run at Detroit Dragway. Ronnie, Eddie Schartman from Ohio, Bill Jenkins from Pennsylvania, Bill Hielscher from Texas, Don Nicholson from California, plus Dave Lyall and Mike Fons from Detroit, were booked into Gil Kohn's famed Detroit Dragway for a round-robin-style Pro Stock event. Kohn owned tracks at Detroit, New York, and Kansas City.

Although Sox & Martin ran...        read full caption Although Sox & Martin ran a 426 Hemi-powered Belvedere sedan in NHRA Super Stock Eliminator, they fielded this considerably more radical '66 Barracuda coupe in match races and AHRA heads-up competition. The Barracuda featured an altered wheelbase, gutted interior with full rollcage protection, fiberglass front end, a straight axle front end, American magnesium five-spoke wheels up front, and Keystone Kustomags on the rear with M&H Racemaster tires. Power came from a Jake King-built, 426 Hemi running Hilborn injectors (note the long intake stacks protruding through the hood) on heavy doses of nitro methane and alcohol fuel. The toothy Barracuda painted on the door became a S&M trademark. Sponsors were scarce, but included Gate City Motor Company, a Plymouth dealer in Greensboro, North Carolina; Doug Thorley, who built headers to fit the car at his California shop; and the Hurst Corporation.