Big Racy Red gets Restored
Story and photos by John Gunnell
from Chambersburg had a new car. Faubel already held five class and Stock Eliminator wins and top speed records at Mason-Dixon Drag-O-Way with his ’61 Dodge B-Stocker Police Pursuit model and A/SA Plymouth Fury. But Bud had come to the dragstrip the previous Sunday with a sleek ’62 Chrysler 300 hardtop equipped with Mopar’s new, ultra-high-performance 413-cid 405-hp engine that featured a special “short ram” induction setup.
“Bud Faubel--piloting his big red Chrysler 300 1962 B-Factory experimental--lapped up the gravy again this past Sunday at the Mason-Dixon Drag-O-Way at US Rt 40 East,” read a newspaper article about Harry “Bud” Faubel’s racing feats. “Charles Anderson, Clark County, Va., was duelling Bud in his 300 Challenge, but was drawn down in two consecutive runs by only 3/100ths of a second by Faubel.” The newspaper documented that Anderson was racing The powerful Chrysler broke all Mason-Dixon A-Stock class top speed records with consistent runs at above 105 mph and low ET’s a much lighter fuel-injected B-Sport ‘61 Corvette. Bud Faubel’s Chrysler 300—later nicknamed “Big Red”--was ordered especially for the Flying Mile competition at Daytona Beach, Fla., during the 1962 SpeedWeeks. But it was not the first Chrysler 300 that Faubel raced at Daytona. Time sheets dated Feb. 18, 1961 show results from the 1961 NASCAR Beach Run where Harry Faubel of Chambersburg, Pa. came in first in the Unlimited Displacement class with a ’61 Chrysler that went 156.657 mph heading north and a 136.570 mph heading south for an average of 145.926 mph. Of the top 10 cars that ran in 1961, six were Chryslers. Faubel also took a Class Z first for cars up to 390 cu. in. with a ’61 Dodge that averaged 136.003 mph. A Nov. 26, 1961 article by J. R. Huntzberry noted that the popular driver 32 MUSCLE CAR PLUS MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2021
The bright red Chrysler 300 had an equally bright red interior.
