1965 Plymouth AWB - UFO

In June of 1963, Plymouth announced the development of the 426 cubic-inch 'Super Stock' or 'Max Wedge Stage II' V8 engine intended primarily for supervised drag racing and stock car racing. Tom tells the story of the birth of the UFO: “We rolled the car into Shadowoods Auto Center in Roseville, Michigan—my dad’s business—at the end of the 1965 race season in order to build it for Experimental Stock. It never left the shop until it was ready to race in the spring of 1966.

The UFO emerged from Robert Tignanelli’s shop as if it had been abducted by aliens. It was unbelievably faster. During the 1966 season, Dieter Nubel would create the UFO’s signature nose piece that would enhance performance. Tom was NHRA Division 3 Points Champion in XS, and earned a C/XS National Championship in his follow-up 1967 season. Additionally, numerous class wins and eliminator victories would pile up to establish the UFO as an extremely successful race car for Tom and the entire Tignanelli family.