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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:

Holley Moparty 2025 – Special Live From The Event

This week on The MuscleCar Place, the tables turned a bit. While I (Rob) stayed back home to support Dallas as he chases his racing dreams, the rest of The MuscleCar Place Network gang headed out to Bowling Green for one of the wildest weekends in the Mopar world — Holley Moparty 2025.

Bernie, Corndog, Scott, Jimmy, and Nathan Warren roamed the show grounds with recorders in hand, tracking down legends, innovators, and diehard enthusiasts. They came back with stories, laughs, and interviews that capture the true heart of Moparty. Buckle up — this one is packed.

 Paul Rossi —
Direct Connection Drag Racing Legend

You don’t just bump into a guy like Paul Rossi — he’s one of the cornerstones of Mopar drag racing history. Bernie, Scott, and Corndog caught up with Paul, and he took them (and us) on a trip through decades of high-octane history.

Paul started like so many racers do: on the streets of Detroit. When Detroit Dragway opened, he shifted his passion to the strip — and soon discovered the raw potential of Mopar power. In the mid-’60s he was asked to tune a Max Wedge 426. The results were eye-opening; it outpowered the Corvette he’d been racing, and he saw an opportunity.

Paul convinced a local dealership to sell him a new car at cost if he ran their name on it. He then did what only Paul would do: stripped it to the bone. He scraped off undercoating, trimmed metal, even cut the ends off bolts — every ounce of weight mattered.

At Detroit Dragway’s biggest race of the year, Paul lined up against 150 cars, including many big-name racers. When the tire smoke cleared, only two were left: Paul Rossi and Dick Barton’s Ramchargers entry. That race cemented Paul’s name as a serious contender.

From there, Paul toured the country, taking on challenges that would scare most racers. When told he had to race the 440 (a combo many thought couldn’t hang with the mighty Hemi), Paul took it as a dare. He eventually unlocked its secret: torque. If you could hook it up, it could run.

Paul is still passionate about the sport today, and thankful that the rear-wheel-drive performance car never disappeared.
Learn more about his incredible story at PaulRossiRacing.com.

Steve Sparkman —
Holley Performance Products

Holley is the powerhouse behind so much of the innovation we see on the Moparty show floor, and every year we love hearing what’s new from them. Scott, Bernie and Corndog met up with Steve Sparkman, who found a shady spot to talk about Holley’s latest game-changing gear.

Steve explained how the Holley Terminator X is giving builders total control, letting them dig into tuning and extract every ounce of performance. He also highlighted Holley’s in-tank electric fuel pumps, which not only help with fuel delivery but also cool the motor better and run whisper-quiet.

And the big crowd-pleaser this year? The new Bluetooth-equipped Sniper 2. No more fumbling with dash-mounted screens — you can now tune and monitor your setup directly from your phone. It’s a sleek solution for modern builds that still want that old-school soul.

Check out all of Holley’s newest tech at Holley.com/products

Dave Swearinger —
Rust Bucket Restorations

If Moparty is where Mopar legends gather, it’s also where new ones are born — and Dave Swearinger may just be the next big name you’ll want to watch.

We found Dave at the Mopar Connection booth, standing beside a mean green Super Bee nicknamed “ZomBEE,” a car that once belonged to Kevin Shaw. But the real story was in Dave’s phone: he scrolled through build photos showing the painstaking, behind-the-scenes work that most people never get to see.

Dave came all the way from Ogden, Utah, and entered the Grand Champion competition — the ultimate way to squeeze every drop of track time from the weekend. With a full QA1 suspension setup, the ZomBEE has gone from showpiece to serious track threat.

Dave’s passion, attention to detail, and willingness to flog his car as hard as he polishes it make him a standout — and a future star of the Mopar scene.
Watch his builds come alive at Rust Bucket Restorations on YouTube

Blake Anderman —
Sublime Technologies

No Moparty trip is complete without a stop at the Sublime Technologies booth. Blake Anderman has become a fixture here, and every year he raises the bar. This time, he was standing beside a live test stand, surrounded by curious onlookers, ready to prove just how simple modern Mopar power can be.

In under three minutes, Blake hooked up a salvage-yard Hemi engine with all its modules, pumps, sensors, and switches — and fired it up. The crowd erupted. It’s this blend of know-how and showmanship that makes Sublime such a force.

But Blake says the real secret to Sublime’s growth is listening: staying close to their customers, hearing what challenges they’re facing, and creating solutions that actually work in real builds. They’re constantly testing different engine years and configurations, and Blake pointed out that 2015+ engines offer huge benefits — from modern 8-speed transmissions to full dash functionality.

If you want to see how they’re reshaping the modern Mopar swap world, visit SublimeParts.com or follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/diyhemi. You can even email Blake directly at Blake@sublimeparts.com

Wrapping It Up

Huge thanks to Bernie, Corndog, Scott, Jimmy, and Nathan for hitting the Moparty battlefield to bring back these incredible stories. From legends like Paul Rossi to rising builders like Dave Swearinger, Moparty 2025 proved once again why the Mopar community is one of the most passionate in the world.

Now hit play — you don’t want to miss a minute.

— Rob Kibbe

This interview is sponsored by our pals at National Parts Depot – your premier source for muscle car restoration parts!

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