Big Bad Brute
“All in the Family”
Copy by John Aschenberg
Photos by – John & Julia Aschenberg and owner
We all have memories of how we got started into cars, muscle cars, or the hot rod world for that matter. This is a story about a lady who was introduced to the automotive world from day one. You see, Denielle Armstrong from Waterford, Michigan grew up around the Motor City of Detroit, had a mother and father who were both into cars and both loved high performance machines, especially Mopars. This is about a ’62 Chrysler 300 Sport 2 door hardtop that has been in the family since it was new. Denielle’s parents, Jack & Anne Armstrong went out and ordered this 300 Sport with the 413 c.i., dual quad 380 horse big block, 3 speed on the floor, leather bucket seats, and a 4.11 posi Sure Grip differential. This Mopar Machine was ordered in the factory Bermuda Turquoise color, and has been in the Armstrong family for 53 years, which is incredible! The car seemed to feel pretty fast on the streets, so Jack & Anne decided to take it to Detroit Dragway to see what the “Big Bad Brute” would do. Well, it did so well at the strip they decided to race the car on a regular basis and started winning a lot of races. You could say Denielle has racing blood running through her, as her mother Anne was still racing the Ole Brute while she was 9 months pregnant. One weekend the Armstrong’s went racing and with Anne at the wheel, she beat seven guys in the process and had Denielle two days later and just 10 minutes after entering the hospital.
