of "blue printing" engines not only kept Chief Technical Inspector Norris Friel on his toes but his methods adding substantial horsepower to stock engines were admired and questioned by Buick Engineers after his Buick sat on the "middle" pole at Darlington in 1959 - in spite of no other Buick having been raced for many years. Lee Iacocca, while in charge of performance engineering at Ford, also spent time with Ratus, brain picking him after His Ford dominated the field winning the southern 500 in 1962. Meanwhile, in major races, his drivers managed to crank out four finishes in the "top five" and 16 finishes in the "top ten." Again, in major races, only 85 laps were led out of 9976 laps - the equivalent of driving on regular roads. Walters managed to accumulate $42,365 at major races during his 7-year career as a NASCAR owner ($ when adjusted for inflation). In major races, his cars started an average of 17th place and finished an average of 22nd place. During a four-month suspension from NASCAR in 1959, Walters, himself drove his 1957 Ford at five dirt tracks (one track twice), winning one and finishing in the top 5 the other five times. In 1961, after Reds Kagle's tragic crash at Charlotte, Walters built a short track car which he drove himself. Driving 8 mostly "unsanctioned" races at tracks such as Manassas, Marlbora, Winchester and others, Ratus won five. Ratus Walters built his own cars and "blue printed" his engines during his racing career. References NASCAR team owners