RONNIE SOX, HEMI HERO Apr 27, 2006 Author: Bobby Martin The Dons ruled drag racing when I first became a fan back in the seventies. Big Daddy Don Garlits, Don the Snake Prudhomme, Dyno Don Nicholson, Don Grotheer, Don Carlton and of course, the Shoe, Don Schumacher. One guy not named Don ranked right up there. He was Ronnie Sox. It is with great sorrow that I learned of the death of one of my all-time favorites, and a true hero of the sport. Ronnie caught the attention of a young, impressionable Bobby Martin not only with his dominating performances, but the class with which he went about his business. The red, white, and blue Sox & Martin Plymouths were instantly recognizable from the grandstands or on TV. They always looked impeccable. Ronnie himself was always sharp. Sox & Martin were so revered that they toured the country doing perfomracne clinics at the dealerships, and they built cars for other teams. Sox & Martin ruled Pro Stock. Ronnie's class and carisma, along with S&M's top-of-the-world status caused one magazine to label Ronnie the "Glamour Boy of Pro Stock." Sox & Martin's professionalism would be a model for the drag racing teams of the future. I began touring with the Battlestar Daytona in the early '90's. It was then, as a fellow professional match racer, that I had the opportunity to meet Ronnie Sox. He was a legend, and I was just starting out. But he blew me away by speaking to me as a pier. He was friendly and fun, and was in no hurry to end the conversation. Even so, I had to ask for an autograph, which he happily signed. It's one thing to be good at something, it's another to be good to people. Ronnie was both. He was well loved on and off the track. I have tons of magazines dating back to 1970 and a die-cast Duster to remember him by. But there will never be anyone to replace "The Boss."