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Many of you I'm sure will be aware of the outstanding career of Al Ecksrand aka 'The Lawman' more especially fans of the Drag Racing scene both in the UK and USA. Al's illustrious career involved time with Chrysler & later Ford through their 'Boss Mustang.
"Lawman" history Part 1.
The Era when Elton "Al" Eckstrand was a TOUR DE FORCE in the sport of Drag Racing is unique in the annals of Detroit's Major Vehicle manufacturing history. Major manufacturers were actively involved in building performance machines for the American car buying public.
 The weekend battles on the Drag Stripes & oval tracks of the nation were assisted by the big manufacturers to win new car customers, who wanted machinery that looked and, at times, actually performed, like those they watched in the competition sector. The birth of Chryslers now revered 426 inch Hemi head engine was a direct result of this effort. Reintroduced in 1964 as a purebred race engine, this 425 HP engine was created solely to bring in those "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" customers.
When the leadership of NASCAR banned the engine in 1965 and stated that all vehicles on the growing circuit had to be production -based, Chrysler spent the season raiding drag races nationwide. The following year they did the unthinkable and created an only slightly detuned version for the street. This not only made the engine legitimate for track use again, but also created a legend of street performance unequalled even to this day.
Al Eckstrand was part of this performance revolution but, after posting a career of race victories, the former Chrysler Corp Lawyer retired from his competion role in late 1965. The Sport was changing dramatically and, despite his love of performance, he recognised that the advent of the latest muscle cars could have an immense potential for disaster. This was especially true among the large number of American servicemen returning to civilian life after their tours of duty; these men were a growing statistic among the 50,000 fatalities on the highways at the time.
Working with upper management at Chrysler Eckstrand was given a 1966 Hemi Charger to use in a tour of US military bases in Europe. This unique machine was Dodge's first press-pool Charger, driven by the media in spring of 1966 prior to the cars formal into to the USA public. Like the street Hemi engine, the Charger was new for that year, featuring fastback styling and a performance orientation. Unlike virtually any other car, the example given to Al was never sold through a dealership & to date has never been titled.
The Press car, which left the Chrysler: Lynch road Assembly plant on April 1st of 1966, was flown to Europe, where Al began to do a series of driving demonstrations at race facilities on the continent. More importantly, he also began to present safe-driving courses to US military personnel stationed in Europe.
This car, together with others that Chrysler later presented for this programme, gave these men a primary and critical look at the high powered cars that were being created by Detroit's major manufacturers.
During the ensuing eight years, this program (supported by various corporations and the UAS Marine Corps) eventually went all the way to the Southeast Asian war theatre, where Al ands the USA Motor sports Association that he founded gave demonstrations to 250,000 outgoing soldiers.
 After living in Europe for three decades, Al returned to the USA back in 1999, bringing the Dodge that started it all back with him. Although he could have been a major force as drag racing grew into the world-class sport it is today, his desire to pursue this new cause in 1966 was to benefit both the sport and the driving attitude of returning servicemen. This car, the original tribute to that effort, also marks the introduction of both the Charger & the Hemi 426 engine. As a result of its historical significance, the "Lawman" Charger was selected to join the collection of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills Michigan.
THE "LAWMAN" SAGA CONTINUES NEXT MONTH
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