"The longer I can keep that hood down at the track, the
better I can focus on my driving," Garth Ruttig said of
his racing passion, and moreover, his attention to priorities
with his 1970 Dodge Challenger. Capable of doing a quarter mile
in 10.56 seconds at 127 mph, it is a car built to be pushed
to its limits. "I'd rather do my work here (in the garage)
and go to the track and race."
The engine that sits in the corner of his garage is a testament
to what his powerful relic of American muscle can do to even
the sturdiest of power plants. The block lies listless against
the wall, covered by a box filled with the pieces of shredded
metal that once comprised the engine's most vital components.
Problems such as these ones, Ruttig said, are minimized when
you have a solid core of people who can help out when the
chips are down. "Part of my good fortune is having good
people and good connections," he explained. "After
a winter of working and theorizing the improvements, its nice
to get to the track in springtime and see it work out."
Ruttig, a Red River College Mechanical Technology grad, said
that while he has the educational background to keep such
a powerful car in prime shape, he relies equally as much on
his more 'street-smart' friends, such as longtime pal, and
one-time Challenger owner Daryl Klassen to keep the project
where it belongs; on the racetrack.
"I've got the tech background and book smarts, and he's
got the street smarts," Ruttig said of his friend. "We
can really go over the pros and the cons together before we
make any changes. After a winter of making and theorizing
improvements, it's nice to get to the track in spring and
see it work out."
Ruttig admitted his passion for racing cars and American
muscle has stretched back to his early days, when a few miscues
gave him the knowledge needed in later years to produce results
with his Challenger, most notably with his purchase of a 1968
Dart GTX. "I had no choice but to learn mechanics. I
broke it every week and it was always in the shop."
With Ruttig, a combination of white-collar knowledge and
blue-collar experience has ended up years later in one of
the most recognizable cars on the streets and tracks today.
Although, by his own admission, the Challenger and its 10.5-second
quarter miles, isn't a trailer-queen meant only for the races.
"We were crossing the border going to Brainerd (Minnesota),
and the guard said 'You're not going to race that pretty orange
thing?', and I'm like, 'You kidding? I'm going to beat the
hell out of it.'"
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