"It was his uncompromising bullheadedness, however, that contributed to the conquering of the "Lions" share of Marcellus and Borsh's competition, as well as their procurement of many AA/FA performance plateaus; the first in the 8's, the first in the 7's, and the first to eclipse 200 mph in one of these highly unpredictable suicide machines.

Ironically, this same attitude that garnered these men all of the accolades (Willie was voted Car Craft Magazine's Competition Eliminator Driver of the Year in 1973; he did not even compete in that class that year) also severed a friendship and an inspired collaboration, a creative partnership worthy of Weill and Brecht, or Lennon and McCartney. After Marcellus had procured some dough from Revell Models, the duo seemed to be on their way to Easy Money, U.S.A. Before the ink was dry on the contract Borsh insisted on propelling their new Dodge funny car with a big-block Chevrolet, apropos of nothing. They had always run Chrysler hemis, Mousie insisted, why sabotage a winning combination? Unfortunately, these creative differences began to swell. They detonated when Borsch refused to put on his shirt at a photo shoot for the Revell people. Marcellus in effect handed Willie the keys to the tow-vehicle, telling Willie he had become too stubborn to work with. The Revell deal lasted a few months for Borsch, but without Mousie the combination never gelled. Their frienship was shattered, a friendship that began at a South Central Los Angeles elemetary school in the 1930s, not to be reconciled until the waning years of Willie's life.

Yes, let us applaud and bow to the spirit and zeal of Marcellus and Borsch. It was the yen and yang exemplified. But we must remember this: Neither man was the same without each other. And because of Borsch stubborn independence, many race fans never got a chance to appreciate his genius, a brilliance he showcased every time they ran their race car. When it comes to the art of drag racing I think corporate America can go fuck themselves too, Mr. Borsch. But If you had only put that shirt on, Willie..."

Story by: Cole Coonce.