Westcott Sr. Claims Hemi “Chootout” Crown at Cajun SPORTSNats

Charlie Westcott Sr. the cagey head of the formidable father-son sportsman racing duo from Parma, Mich., added another piece of hardware to his racing mantle on Saturday as he collected the Hemi “Chootout” crown as part of the annual JEG’S NHRA Cajun SPORTSNationals at the No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La.

The “Chootout,” always the featured attraction at any event where the factory-built goliaths are on the fight card, bought 14 of the finest Hemi-powered ’68 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts in the land to compete in the first of a handful of such heads-up contests that place each season as part of the NHRA sportsman national and NHRA Full Throttle events.

Jim Daniels led the field into eliminations with a stout 8.39 effort in qualifying, but was sent packing in the opening round when the equally tough Jim Pancake welded him to the tree and stole one on a holeshot, 8.92 to 8.84. Westcott Jr. meanwhile, with a room full of Hemi Shootout trophies already to his credit, reeled off low elapsed time of the round at 8.42. But his march through the field came to an early and abrupt end as well, as Fred Henson left the outspoken “War Fish” pilot napping at the tree on his way to an 8.58, aided by a stellar .012 reaction time.

The elder Westcott, however, rode consistency (and that unbeatable Westcott Hemi power) through eliminations, taking a decisive opening round bout with Dan Zrust before earning a competition single in round two as scheduled opponent Steve Kent was unable to make the bell.

As they should, the semifinal and final rounds proved more of a challenge for Westcott Sr., as Henson tried to get the best of him with an .049 to .080 advantage out of the gate, but couldn’t run down the “War Fish” at the stripe. In the final, opposite Pancake, Westcott needed every but of his quickest run of eliminations – an 8.45 at 158.00 MPH – to earn the win after giving up a huge .043 to .122 gate job, reaching the stripe .0180-seconds (or four feet) ahead of Pancake’s Dart.