Bob Cahill
Bob Cahill’s first experience with drag racing came when he made a personal appearance at Dodge-Plymouth dealership in Great Bend Kansas, to introduce the revolutionary new Polyspherical V-8 during the first NHRA Nationals in 1955. Although a quiet guy who watched from the sidelines, he knew the value of racing and winning when it came to new car sales. After all, he grew up in the shadow of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was Bob’s interest in motorsports that revived an old Chrysler trademark, Mopar, to become the performance arm of the corporation. While working in Product Planning in the mid-60s, Cahill created the Chrysler Performance and Safety Clinics which featured appearances by Sox and Martin for Plymouth and Dick Landy for Chrysler dealerships throughout the country. Between race dates, drivers gave tips and advice, to enthusiast on the merits of their respective brands cars, specifically performance equipment and drag racing in general. It was these clinics that help prove that drag racing had finally emerged from its greasy Levi’s image to a true product of high-performance development.