When Ray Whitney returned to his home in Wallingford, Conn., from a trip to Daytona Speedweeks in February 2007 his friends had a big surprise waiting for him: While he was vacationing they had stripped his 1962 Chevy station wagon as the first step of transforming the car into a racer.

Although Whitney’s friends expected him to be thrilled with their initiative, at first he was not. “I was really upset because what they did took me out of my comfort zone,” Whitney said. “I had no desire at that point mentally or financially to work on the car.
    
“But in the week that followed I was glad they did it,” Whitney said. “They motivated me. I give ‘em all a hug when I think about it now. Everyone who’s involved with it is having such a blast. It has surpassed our expectations.”

Diane Kubicke Photo When Ray Whitney returned to his home in Wallingford, Conn., from a trip to Daytona Speedweeks in February 2007 his friends had a big surprise waiting for him: While he was vacationing they had stripped his 1962 Chevy station wagon as the first step of transforming the car into a racer.

Although Whitney’s friends expected him to be thrilled with their initiative, at first he was not. “I was really upset because what they did took me out of my comfort zone,” Whitney said. “I had no desire at that point mentally or financially to work on the car.
    
“But in the week that followed I was glad they did it,” Whitney said. “They motivated me. I give ‘em all a hug when I think about it now. Everyone who’s involved with it is having such a blast. It has surpassed our expectations.”
    
Whitney, 72, related that the Chevy, which has a 409-inch engine and competes in NHRA F/S, closely duplicates the one he raced in 1966-69 with Dennis Kutsavage. He was a long-time NHRA Division 1 racer who also gained notoriety as an announcer, specifically at the former Connecticut Dragway. The original car, which also ran in F/S, hitting 12.50s at 119 mph, carried the name “Dogcatcher.”
    
“We ran all over the East Coast and had so much fun,” Whitney said. “I would drive occasionally, but Dennis was so much better in the seat. He was real good at the start, real consistent, and easy on equipment. We won all over the place and were runner-up at the Super Stock Nationals at York U.S. 30 in 1968 or ’69.”
    
When the pair stopped competing, Whitney took the drivetrain and Kutsavage the body. Their friendship endured throughout the years, and one day in 1997 Kutsavage surprised Whitney by giving him another ’62 Chevy wagon in stock condition. But, since he did not have the interest, the money, or anyone to help him work on the car, it was covered up and put in a corner of his shop.
    
Unfortunately, Kutsavage never saw the reincarnated racecar. He died in 1999 of a heart attack at age 57.
    
Whitney said nothing was overlooked in building the car, beginning with removing the body from the frame and reinforcing it and its components to prevent some of the breakage he experienced when racing in the ‘60s. “I want to work on the proficiency of the tune-up rather than fix stuff,” he said.
    
And work on the engine Whitney must. “It’s a real challenge to make work,” he said. “It has trouble breathing and has heavy pistons that break. It is not an efficient engine like the small-block Chevy, so it’s a reward when it works.”
    
The engine, which has been enlarged to 422 inches, has two 500-cfm Carter AFB carburetors, so it has a factory horsepower rating of 409, which NHRA has factored to 385. Actual horsepower is 500, and torque is 485 foot-pounds. Making those numbers possible are Ross pistons, Comp Cams cam, MSD ignition, and Stahl headers.
    
Behind the engine are an 11-inch Centerforce clutch, Jerico four-speed with 3.00 low gear, 12-bolt rearend with 4.88, 5.14, or 5.38 Richmond gears, and Hoosier or M/T 9×30-inch slicks. All the components helped propel the 4,220-pound car to a best of 12.10 on an F/S index of 11.80. Whitney said the car eventually should run 11.70s.
    
Since being finished in August 2010, the car has seen limited time at Lebanon Valley Dragway in New York and Island Dragway and Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey. A broken valve and blown rod ruined Whitney’s first two engines, but he is optimistic about the potential of the third, which will be fine-tuned in 2013 with more track time.
    
Whitney has the time to work on the car in his 2,500-square-foot shop because he retired in 2005 and closed Whitney’s Garage in Wallingford. His father started the repair business in 1949.
    
The wagon, the only one of its kind in NHRA competition, is driven by Alan Peters, 69, of Enfield, Conn., who began Stock Eliminator racing 50 years ago. His accomplishments include the 1984 NHRA national championship, five NHRA national-event wins, one IHRA national-event title, TRW All-Stars wins in 1985-87, three Division 1 season titles, and six top 10 national points rankings. All were achieved in a small-block 1969 Camaro he built in 1977 and has begun to race again in L/S after being refurbished by Whitney.
    
Peters and Whitney connected after Peters’ son Alan Jr. met Whitney at a swap meet in 2010 and learned he would like to find someone to drive the wagon. Alan Jr. had his father call Whitney, and “we hit it off,” Peters said. “It’s worked out real good.”
    
Despite Peters’ Camaro weighing 1,000 pounds less, he said driving the two cars is similar due to the torque characteristics of the engines. “What will make a difference with the wagon is getting more passes on it,” he said. “It’s a tough engine to work with.”
    
Regardless of where the car competes, it draws a lot of attention. “    Every race is like a car show because people are all over the car,” Peters said. “It is so different with the 409, the dual quads, and the four-speed.”
    
Whitney is gratified by people’s interest in the car and its performance. He is grateful for the work done by Kenny Williams, Franny Wojcik, Billy Herbst, Joe Simone, Paul Kovel, and Rich Hulett. To help buy parts for the car, Whitney’s wife Carol delayed her retirement by working four extra years at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

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