I've had a long relationship with General Motors and part of that program with Oldsmobile was that they wanted their own engine They didn’t want to use a Chevrolet engine, a generic GM engine. They wanted their own identity. That was part of the program, for me to design an engine for their 500 cubic-inch Pro Stock efforts. That's where the DRCE1 came
from, and then I redesigned it in 1991 for the DRCE2, and then in 2001 for the DRCE3. I've been involved in the design work of all their drag racing engines.
"We didn’t want to completely invent the whole wheel, so we used the same crankshafts that they used in the Chevrolet and that was really the only piece that we used out of the Chevrolet. We were up against some extremely tight time constraints on it so we had to basically use what was available, what was something involved in long-term production, and at that point in time it was anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks to get a crankshaft. The whole program started in October, so with that in mind, the Winternationals was not that far away, so we elected to use the Chevrolet crankshaft. It had proven to be a very durable piece already so there was no sense in fixing something that wasn't broken."
Which is one of the most successful engine designs in drag racing?
WJ: "It's won a majority of races I'd have to say. It's been a very durable piece and it’s held up nicely over the years, although it's needed a tune-up every so often. I'm currently working on another version right now that we'll debut in another year or so. If we can get the funding for the tooling, we'll make another impact again."
It also seems like you've raced nothing but GM brands, at least since the early 1970s.
WJ: "Actually, I started out with the Chevrolet stuff, the Camaros. In the early '70s, actually, I started out with a Vega, then a Camaro, and then I built a 1979 Oldsmobile Starfire, which was basically the same body as the Monza was. Dale Smith from Oldsmobile took note of that and that's where the whole relationship with Oldsmobile started back in '79, and then he formally offered me that program in 1983."
Who have you enjoyed racing against over the years?
WJ:"Obviously, Glidden and I had, at least on the surface, a considerable rivalry going. But I got along fine with Bob and we probably raced each other for 15 years, 20 years down there, and he won some and I won some. Fortunately, it was a Ford versus Chevrolet thing which was great as far as the fans were concerned. That was probably one of the better, it wasn't really a rivalry, but it was probably the best publicized of the people I raced. That brought a lot of fans in the stands, especially being a Ford versus Chevrolet thing, and it was in the muscle-car era, it was a great battle. Then you mix in the Mopar stuff on top of that, and I raced quite a few Mopars over the years. It seemed to work out very well as far as the fans were concerned."
