{"id":46197,"date":"2020-12-17T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=46197"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:22:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:22:08","slug":"the-man-who-made-sox-martin-media-superstars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/racing\/2020\/12\/the-man-who-made-sox-martin-media-superstars.html","title":{"rendered":"The Man Who Made Sox & Martin Media Superstars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re a Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> enthusiast, you\u2019ve probably heard many stories and tales about Sox & Martin and their dominating HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> V8 engine-powered Plymouth Super Stockers and Pro Stockers. These red, white and blue racecars conquered drag strips across America during the 1960s and into the early ’70s. It was a team effort \u2013 the talented driving skills of Ronnie Sox and his ability to cut good lights while powershifting his way down the track paired with the meticulously prepared 426 HEMI engines built by crew chief Jake King, and the always thinking Buddy Martin who managed the team operations while constantly thinking two steps ahead of the competition. It was Buddy Martin who ran the race team like a business and made sure to leverage the many sponsor partners to the fullest and keep the cash flow steady. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With wins racking up, many of these automotive and aftermarket companies had their logos plastered on the Sox & Martin cars and were more than happy to \u201cride with the winners.\u201d Buddy made sure to cross-promote these brands and products to keep them front and center in the eyes of muscle car buyers and performance parts DIYers alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The team\u2019s biggest sponsor, Chrysler Corporation (or more specifically, the Plymouth brand) was the partner that Buddy focused most of his energy on. Remember, it was Plymouth and Dodge that had the marketing foresight to get their factory-backed racers out of those flimsy, unsafe, time bomb, nitromethane-guzzling A\/FX machines (the precursor to the Funny Car class) and into vehicles that actually resembled what was coming off the assembly line and into dealer showrooms. \u201cThe last time I checked, we don\u2019t sell nitro Funny Cars,\u201d was a sentiment echoed by many of the top marketing brass at Chrysler during the early fall of 1966. With Sox & Martin already running under the Plymouth banner starting in 1965, Buddy Martin and his team received their marching orders for 1967; they were to campaign a pair of brand-new Plymouth Belvedere GTX models in Super Stock. The new sponsorship agreement also required the Sox & Martin team to hold \u201cSupercar Clinics\u201d at select Chrysler\/Plymouth dealerships across the country. It was a groundbreaking idea when the program kicked off, as it spurred more sales of both performance cars and parts at dealers across the country by allowing the Sox & Martin team to meet current or potential customers face-to-face and talk about high-performance cars and parts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With an intense racing and dealership clinic schedule heading into 1967, Buddy Martin made a decision that was almost unheard of at the time; he knew that in order to keep all the sponsors happy without impacting the team\u2019s focus of winning races, he\u2019d need to find someone with solid PR and marketing experience. Enter Tom Richardson, a young Texas Tech University grad from Lubbock, Texas, who was a Finance Major but spent his weekends racing a Super Stock HEMI engine-powered Dodge Coronet A990. Tom understood drag racing and needed no lessons on the importance of working with sponsor partners in a racing operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tom Richardson in his 1965 426 HEMI engine-powered Dodge Coronet A990 Super Stocker takes on Bill Jenkins at the 1966 NHRA Finals in Tulsa<\/strong>. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before Tom landed with Sox & Martin, he had worked for Hurst Performance in Warminster, Pennsylvania. The iconic performance parts company supplied their famous four-speed shifter as a factory-installed option on virtually all muscle cars and was the shifter of choice among professional drag racers. With their business growing (they were contracted to build the infamous Super Stock HEMI Darts and Barracudas in 1968), Hurst needed a media and marketing professional to ensure the company would continue to grow while looking for other marketing opportunities. The Texas native loved working for Hurst, but after experiencing his first Pennsylvania winter of sub-freezing temps and two-foot snow falls, he had enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A young Tom Richardson poses proudly with his 1965 Dodge Super Stocker in late 1966. Little did he realize that he\u2019d be the PR Manager for one of the greatest teams in drag racing in less than 12 months.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter that first winter at Hurst, I was ready to move to a warmer climate,\u201d reminisced Tom. How Tom ended up moving is an interesting story of how fate works at times. \u201cMany Funny Car and Super Stock teams would stop at the Hurst facility to service their racecars and equipment on their way to and from races on the upper east coast. One team happened to be the Sox & Martin,\u201d said Tom. \u201cIt was during a casual conversation I was having with Buddy Martin while he was stopping over at Hurst that he (Buddy) mentioned the team was expanding and asked if I\u2019d be interested in joining their operations and move to their headquarters in Burlington, North Carolina. It may not be Texas, but it\u2019s a heck of a lot warmer than Warminster in the winter, so I immediately said yes,\u201d laughed Tom. Even though it was Buddy that hired Tom, it was actually Dodge PR manager Jerry Gross that suggested Buddy reach out to Tom. Before getting hired by Chrysler, Gerry had spent time on the road with Dick Landy travelling across the country to NHRA events and Match Races. Since Landy was doing his \u201cDodge Performance Clinics,\u201d Jerry knew Sox & Martin would be overwhelmed unless they had someone dedicated to work on the Supercar Clinic dealership program and media relations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upon arrival in Burlington, Tom was surprised when he first laid eyes on the Sox & Martin building \u2013 it was not much bigger than a gas station with one bay door. The building was loaded with Plymouth Super Stockers, 426 HEMI engines on stands and boxes of parts stacked on the shelves. \u201cWhen I first got hired by Sox & Martin, they hadn\u2019t constructed their new building yet and I was working out of the old shop. I had to schedule the team\u2019s appearances standing outside the door on a pay phone, because it was always noisy in the shop with all the activity,\u201d reflected Tom.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tom was in charge of producing many marketing materials during his time with Sox & Martin. Here\u2019s the 1969 Plymouth Supercar Clinic booklet that contained everything from facts about the racecars and crew, to tune-up tips for enthusiasts looking to make their Mopar vehicles fast.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tom had many duties, including scheduling the Sox & Martin team\u2019s appearance at dealerships and new car shows on behalf of Plymouth. While at the Supercar Clinics, Ronnie would talk about proper driving techniques while Buddy and Jake would discuss things like the best camshaft to run in a 440 or what\u2019s the optimum clutch for street and strip behind a 426 HEMI engine. While the clinic was going on, Tom would be on the road, sometimes in another state setting up Sox & Martin\u2019s next appearance or meeting with dealers on upcoming Plymouth Supercar Clinics. \u201cTom came to us from Hurst and did an excellent job,\u201d said Buddy Martin. \u201cHe\u2019d do anything we asked, including driving our brand-new 340 Barracuda from our shop in Burlington to Pomona for the 1968 NHRA Winternationals. Tom arranged to have Hot Rod<\/em><\/strong> magazine editor Jim McFarland race the Barracuda in Stock Eliminator and thus get more exposure for Plymouth and their new hot small-block Pony car that was just released. The Barracuda won its class and runner-up for the eliminator. After the race, we had a U-Haul trailer hooked up to the Barracuda with extra parts, including wheels and tires. Tom got into a situation in which he had to back up the car while it was still hooked to the trailer. He struggled a bit and got frustrated. His comment to us was \u2018Did you ever try to push a rope?\u2019 we all had a good laugh after that,\u201d smiled Buddy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When not on the road, Tom crafted many of the Sox & Martin press releases and press kits. While most race teams barely sent out press or news releases or even results, Tom was hammering away on his typewriter and sending out press kits to news outlets and magazines. He made sure the Sox & Martin cars were on the front cover of every major performance automotive publication including Hot Rod<\/em><\/strong>, Super Stock<\/strong>,<\/em> Car Craft<\/em><\/strong> and many more. Tom also made sure the press kit covers had bold and wild colors and releases were well written and to the point. The Sox & Martin press kits also contain numerous action photos so the magazine and newspaper editors could simply drop them into the feature. To say Tom was ahead of his time in regard to applying his PR skills to a racing team would be an understatement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n