'I'm back': Dragster returns to track 19 months after car was stolen and stripped to pieces
Stewart Addley is back on track.
Nineteen months after his 1965 Plymouth Satellite was stolen from a storage facility, and stripped to pieces, he returned the rebuilt dragster to the quarter-mile track Saturday in Sparta, Ont.
“It was like ‘I'm back, my car is back,’” says Addley, a drag racer from London, Ont.
“I’ve got a little bit of tuning to do to get it back to where it was. The car usually runs 9.20s at 144 miles per hour, so I'm not far off.”
In November 2021, his car and trailer went missing without a trace.
He posted to Facebook and a social media campaign by the racing community garnered over one million views.
With London police coming up empty in a search, Stewart attended a drivers meeting at St. Thomas Raceway Park (STRP).This is how Stewart Addley’s 1965 Plymouth Satellite dragster looked after it was recovered months after being stolen (Source: Stewart Addley)
“I spoke to a friend and he said ‘give me the message and I'll speak to some friends of mine,’” says Addley. “Within two and a half hours, I got the phone call saying they found my car.”
However, when he got it back, it was just a frame, drive line, and four tires.
“When we saw the car come back for the first time with body panels all over the place on the grass and the floor pans all stood on and folded up and we had no idea what we're going to do,” says Bob Dentry, a friend of Addley’s.
Dentry started to gather friends from the racing community to help start a rebuild.
“Bob came up to me and said ‘we need somebody, and we know you’re a welder and fabricator, and we know you know what you're doing,” says Robert ‘Chewie’ Molasky, who works as a starter at STRP.
“He asked ‘can you help us put this car back together?’ I said ‘sure, why not?’”This is how Stewart Addley’s 1965 Plymouth Satellite dragster looked after it was recovered months after being stolen (Source: Stewart Addley)
The two began documenting the journey from start to finish on Dentry’s YouTube page.
Addley didn’t ever insure the car, so they knew it was going to be difficult to start from scratch.
However donations of parts poured in from members of the racing community.
Alicia MacKenzie from Alicia Custom Paint in Ajax came forward to help with the body and paint.
An impressive list of others from all over Canada and the United States followed with parts.
“We went through a lot of emotions with this car,” says Dentry.
“It was anger, frustration, happiness, sadness. We ran the gambit.”
But they got it ready for opening day. Saturday Stewart was able to get four passes in on the track.
Robert ‘Chewie’ Molasky (Left) and Bob Dentry work on a rebuilt 1965 Plymouth Satellite dragster in London, Ont. on Sunday, May 7, 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)“My grandson was there,” says Addley.
“The smile on his face to just know grandpa's got his car back.”
Having spent 1,000 hours each on this rebuild, Dentry, Molasky and Addley are all a little sad that their time together working on this project has come to an end.
However, they are thrilled Addley is back in his happy place behind the wheel.
“All the labor that they put in and time away from their families,” says Addley.
“You don't get people like that anymore. We were friends at the racetrack, but we became so much closer and got to know each other so much better.”
They all agree, the racing community is “family.”
“We’re lifelong friends now,” says Addley.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.