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BY NATE VAN WAGNEN
After almost 40 years of experience at Chassis Engineering , which celebrated 40 years in business in 2021 , Clayton Murphy has seen good times and bad times in drag racing . He ’ s learned that the economy is cyclical , and that this year ’ s “ soft ” election year economy will eventually recover . But he also knows that to make it through the seasons when racers maybe aren ’ t buying as many go-fast parts , businesses that cater to hobbyists must adapt and overcome . On this busy Thursday afternoon , Murphy takes stock of all the projects in progress at Chassis Engineering . They ’ re one of the few fab shops in the Riviera Beach , Florida , area with certain equipment and machines , so they take on light industrial work from local businesses like car washes . The team is also in the process of wrapping up T-shirt carts for Street Outlaws : No Prep Kings racers Paige Coughlin and Robin Roberts . Finally , Murphy and his team are working on a street rod project for an undisclosed racer that may or may not involve stuffing a 959-cubic-inch nitrous engine into an otherwise stock-appearing ’ 69 Camaro .
Though Murphy points out outside factors like
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developers threatening racetracks or the aforementioned economic worries , Murphy remains optimistic about drag racing , both in its present state and its future .
“ There ’ s a lot of good things that are going on in drag racing ,” says Murphy , who purchased Chassis Engineering from founder Bill Edwards in 2013 . “ Big-dollar races are still happening . You ’ ve got the DI Winter Series races that Wes [ Buck ] is doing , the stuff that PDRA is doing , the stuff that NHRA is doing . We ’ ve just recently started running some NHRA races and it seems like the spectator count ’ s still there and the quality
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of cars is still there .
“ Obviously , Pro Mod right now really is probably the biggest thing going ,” Murphy continues . “ The fan base still wants to see Top Fuel and things of that nature , but I think racers themselves want to see the Pro Mod stuff . It just seems like that ’ s where the most excitement is .”
Murphy works with numerous customers competing in different classes , but his primary responsibility these days is serving as crew chief for fellow South Floridian and longtime friend Daryl Stewart , who competes in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock and NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock .
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHASSIS ENGINEERING AND TARA BOWKER |