AutoWorld 1:18 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner: Sox & Martin

The Plymouth Road Runner is a mid-size car with a focus on performance built by Plymouth in the United States between 1968 and 1980. By 1968, some of the original muscle cars were moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained features and increased in price. Plymouth developed the Road Runner to market a lower-priced, basic trim model to its upscale GTX.

The 1969 model kept the same basic look, but with slight changes to the taillights and grille, side marker lights, optional bucket seats, and new Road Runner decals. The Road Runner added a convertible option for 1969 with 2,128 such models produced that year. All were 383 cu in (6.3 L) engine cars, except for ten which were equipped with a 426 cu in (7.0 L) Hemi.

An Air Grabber option (N96 code) was introduced this year; it consisted of a fiberglass air duct assembly bolted to the underside of the hood that connected to twin rectangular upward-facing vents in the hood with Rallye red vent screens. The fiberglass hood box had an "Air Grabber" sticker on the front. When the hood was closed, a rubber seal fitted over the large-oval unsilenced air cleaner. A decal with Wile E. Coyote saying "Coyote Duster" was on the air cleaner lid. The assembly ducted air directly into the engine. The vents in the hood could be opened and closed via a lever under the dashboard labeled "Carb Air."

The (A12) 440 engine option with 3X2 barrel Holley carburetors was added to the lineup at mid-year. The "440 Six Pack" had no wheel covers or hubcaps, only the 15x6" "H" stamped steel black wheels with chrome lug nuts. It featured a black fiberglass lift-off hood with 4 hood pins and a large functional hood scoop with a red sticker on each side saying "440 6BBL". The scoop sealed to the large air breather. All cars had a Dana 60 rear axle with a 4.10 gear ratio. Production of the 440 6-BBL A12 option Road Runner was approximately 1,432. The A12 option had an "M" as the fifth character in the VIN, rated at 390 hp (395 PS; 291 kW) at 4,700 rpm and 490 lb⋅ft (664 N⋅m) of torque at 3200 rpm,[6] the same torque as the Hemi but at a lower engine speed. The Plymouth Road Runner was named Motor Trend Car of the Year for 1969.[7] Domestic production for the three body styles was 81,125 with an additional 3,295 deliveries in Canada and other countries.

Ronnie Sox (c. 1938 – April 22, 2006 in Richmond, Virginia) was an American drag racer.

His family ran a Sinclair (SOX SINCLAIR) station on Church St. in Burlington, North Carolina, where got his start in drag racing in the 1950s when the Police Club of Burlington began hosting races at an airport.

He raced at tracks throughout North Carolina and became a national sensation in the 1960s and early 1970s. Sox won five National Hot Rod Association championships and more than 59 events. Together with racing partner Buddy Martin, Sox was the winningest Pro Stock driver (nine victories in 23 events) in the 1970-72 "four-speed era". Initially Martin and Sox were competitors, but Martin approached Sox to drive his car after concluding that he just couldn't beat him.

Sox drove a 1963 Chevrolet and then a factory-sponsored A/FX Mercury Comet in 1964.

In 1965, he drove an altered-Wheelbase Plymouth. He started the 1966 season in an injected, nitro-burning Barracuda Funny Car.

Later he drove Plymouths in Pro Stock and had "Clinic" cars with Plymouths.

Sox went on to drive a Mercury Comet in IHRA Pro Modified for a few years before retiring from drag racing.

Sox was ranked 15th on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000.

He died of prostate cancer at the age of 67.