by David Vizard
At this present pace, Judson Massingill could–by the time he retires–be a prominent motive force behind
more race wins than any one else on the face of the planet. A bold statement for sure, and who might you
say is Judson Massingill? If you›re a pro in the business of making cars go fast, or win races, then
the name will be almost as familiar as say Smokey Yunick, but if not then you can be forgiven for wondering
who this gentleman might be. Well wonder no more because GM High–Tech Performance considers this rising star
more than worthy of an in–depth interview. First though, let›s set the scene. Judson Massingill is, along
with his wife, the owner of the School of Automotive Machinists – or SAM for short.
Graduates from this school constitute one of racing›s largest source of top–notch race mechanics,
engine builders and race engine machinists. Want some numbers? For starters, in the year 2000 race
season, nine of the top ten points leaders in Winston Cup and four of the top NHRA Pro Stock teams
employed SAM graduates. You could also add the world champions in NHRA Funny Car and Top Fuel,
plus the most features wins in the World of Outlaws.
With such a high level of success you might suspect, and rightly so, that there is more to SAM and
Judson Massingill than just being a good teacher. No doubt most of you have heard the expression "those
that can–do, those that can’t –teach." In simple terms, this means those that can build race–winning
motors build motors that win races. Those who build motors that just fall short of making the grade,
teach. In reality, we find that some teachers are so far short of making the grade their efforts would
not even qualify.
Judson Massingill set his first national record on the drag strip when he was 23 with his ’69 Z28 Camaro,
a car he still owns today and with only 11,800 miles on it. (Done in quarter–mile increments no doubt!)
Judson left drag racing when the "breakout" rule was introduced to his class and headed for the oval track.
He set a track record and was the track champ on Houston’s ½ –mile asphalt track in his first year of
competition. Next, he went SCCA road racing in the GT1 class where he won rookie of the year honors. It
was apparently about this time he realized he could not afford to race while building a business, so he
left driving to his engine customers.
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