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Tignanelli Family / Shadowoods Racing

 
Robert, Thomas, and James Tignanelli
 
1930: Robert builds his first “race car” out of spare bicycle parts.
 
1939: Robert races his midget at local short tracks, including Motor City Speedway.
 
1946: Robert returns from WWII, builds a new midget and resumes racing until the birth of his children, at which point he discontinues driving in midget competition.
 
1965: Son Tom, now assigned to the Chrysler Performance Program, gets the chance to drive the 1963 Max Wedge Plymouth that had been sponsored by McCullagh-Ricci Chrysler Plymouth. Painted by father Robert, the Goldenrod makes headlines in Drag Racing competition.
 
1965: Robert buys a new A990 Plymouth sedan, alters the wheelbase for driver, son Tom, and it becomes the legendary UFO. Car and driver become champions in the NHRA Division 3 Competition Eliminator for two years.
 
1966-67: Robert begins painting all the funny car chassis for the Logghe Brothers Stamping Company. Ten paint jobs earns the Tignanelli family a “free” chassis, and the UFO Volume II, a ’68 Dodge Charger is born. Tom serves as the driver of the Woodward Garage/’68 Hurst Hemi Cuda that develops data for all the Chrysler factory-supported cars driven by Dick Landy, Ronnie Sox, Ramchargers, etc.
 
1969: Tom is involved in a serious wreck at National Trail Raceway, Hebron, OH. Robert then repairs the damaged ’68 Dodge Charger into a Dodge Daytona Charger with all hand built front end parts.
 
1970: Tom turns the UFO II into a ’70 Dodge Challenger funny car. This car was a fan favorite. At this point, Tom turns over the driver chores of the ’63 Goldenrod to Jim. The “Shadowoods” checkerboard paint scheme adorns a ’63 Plymouth and becomes one of the most copied/imitated paint designs ever.
 
1971-76: Jim drives the ’63 Plymouth, the ’64 Plymouth lightweight Hemi, and the ’68 Hurst Hemi Cuda to several victories in NHRA Super/Stock, also setting several national records.
 
2018: Tom and Jim, following the death of their father Robert, return to racing in the Nostalgia Super/Stock series with a ’64 Dodge Polara under the Shadowoods banner. Tom is inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame.
 
2020: The Tignanelli Brothers begin construction of a replica of the altered wheelbase Plymouth once built by their father Robert. This will be debuted in late summer, 2021