Charlie finally retired his Cobra II after an unsuccessful qualifying run at Daytona in 1981, where the car suffered a transmission failure. Charlie would continue operating the Ferrari dealership that he owned in Jackson, Mississippi, through 1984, briefly coming out of retirement to co-drive a Mazda RX-7 at Watkins Glen in 1985. Today, the Kemp Cobra II race car is owned by Ross Meyers and has just undergone a complete restoration by 3 Dog Garage in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. The car has been restored back to how it originally debuted at Daytona in 1976. Intriguingly, however, 3 Dog Garage has also assembled a second body kit (using original spare parts provided by Charlie himself), to convert the car’s appearance to an exact replica of its later slope-nosed and winged version when desired.

Through a career spanning no less than 400 races (of which he won nearly half), Charlie Kemp etched his personal brand of motoring excitement into history books as one of the sport’s greatest drivers. From his early days as an unbeatable dragster in his Thunderbird, to his record-setting list of victories in the winningest Shelby of all-time, through his triumphant exploits with other manufacturers – and finally to behind the wheel of the fastest Mustang II ever to lay rubber at America’s greatest road courses – Charlie has become a living legend. And so too, has his Kemp Cobra II.