2004 News:

Reincarnated “Christine” to make competitive Pro Mod debut in Rockingham

At first there were just whispered rumors, but as more and more people reported catching fleeting glimpses of a car thought long dead, only one conclusion could be drawn: the “evil mistress” of the drag racing world was stalking the earth once again.

Her name is Christine, and she is the namesake of the murderous Mopar from the popular Stephen King horror classic of the 1980s. Bright red and sporting the wild tail fins so popular when she was new, the 1958 Plymouth Fury was campaigned as part of a colorful Top Sportsman program in the days before Pro Modified even existed.

Like her cinematic opposite number, Christine the race car came to an untimely end, but also like her movie counterpart, she would rise from the ashes again to unleash a reign of terror on the world.

In this case, the Pro Modified ranks will now be her hunting ground, and with a new supercharged hemi under the hood, chances are she'll instill terror in the hearts of more than a few competitors.

Now owned by Dave Heitz of Waynesboro , North Carolina , Christine has undergone years of restoration after being damaged in a fire in 1991. With “Flyin' Bryon” Rich behind the wheel, she is finally ready to make her competitive debut at this weekend's IHRA national event, the 34th Annual Springs Nationals presented by Advance Auto Parts & Castrol at Rockingham Dragway.

“We had the car out at the Spring Open in Virginia in March, but we only managed to get a few passes under our belts, so we're still really learning just what the car wants and needs,” said Heitz. “We had some trouble with the rear tires rubbing on the body in Virginia , so we're changing to a combination of Mickey Thompson tires and American wheels in hopes of getting rid of the problem without having to cut into the body.”

“We also had Alan Pittman make some modifications to the chassis, and I've done some things with the engine, so hopefully we'll be able to put on a good show in Rockingham,” Heitz added. “Since we still have very little track time compared to the majority of the other teams, we'll be real happy to get the car straight down the track under power the first time out, and go from there.”

If Christine the race car has any of the personality traits of her evil twin, chances are she'll do everything in her power to be the last one standing at the end of the day, and that may prove to be a very scary proposition to a lot of racers in the very near future.

Re-Born to be Wild

In the cult classic horror flick “Christine,” the film's star was an evil-hearted '58 Plymouth that possessed the unnatural ability to regenerate to like-new condition despite numerous futile attempts to cause her destruction.

Now Dave Heitz' Pro Mod version of one of the planet's most famous cars thankfully doesn't have any supernatural powers, but during her storied competitive career, episodes of near-destruction and reincarnation have eerily paralleled those of her evil namesake.

The most notable difference between the two was, of course, that bringing the wounded drag warrior back to life after the worse of these incidents required years of time and plenty of cold, hard cash. In 1991, “Christine” caught fire inside her trailer, and it would be 9 long years before Heitz would purchase the car and undertake her restoration.

Now, however, to the delight of Pro Mod fans around the world, “Christine” is back in action. Running late last season with an innovative 506-cubic inch powerplant under the hood, the finned red beauty received a blown Brad Anderson Hemi transplant over the winter in preparation for a full-scale assault on the Pro Mod ranks in 2004.

Recently, Heitz, partner Dom Durinzi, driver “Flyin' Bryon” Rich and the rest of the Waynesville, North Carolina -based team went to Florida to test the new combination, and in spite of cold temperatures and stiff headwinds, the twisted mistress of the blacktop cranked out a 60-foot time of 1.015, running fat and safe right out of the box. Her eighth-mile number was 4.20 at 176, and after shutting down at 1,000 feet Rich cruised through the traps in 6.52-seconds at 195-mph.

Though basically satisfied with the team's first brief outing, Heitz is now looking ahead to the CompetitionPlus.com Spring Open presented by Torco Race Fuels where he and Rich plan to put the famous hot rod through her paces.

“We're coming to Virginia to let the rest of the teams know that there's a new girl in town, and she plans to play real hard to get,” said Heitz. After we get her dialed in, we plan to do some match racing in addition to running the Pro Mod tour, because this is a car that plenty of people want to see in action.

“Just like “Christine” in the movies, she's back, she's meaner than ever, and we're really looking forward to racing all the bad boys out there,” Heitz added. “We especially can't wait to meet up with Mike Ashley and his new Mustang GT500E, which is based on “Eleanor,” another famous movie car. Bryon and our whole team are looking forward to racing him, just to see who the baddest bitch really is!”