Why so many COPO's from Ohio area?

[Salvatore]

One of the main reasons IMO was that NHRA DIV-3 is part of Ohio and that midwest area. Many stock and superstock drag racers lived out that way, and still do. A haven for fast cars. Most of those guys were buying short blocks over the counter and installing them to run A or B/Stock or even SS. I bet when the COPO came out with the 427's already installed the smart racers just gobbled them up like we do on Thanksgiving! Remember they were for drag racing, not the lawn ornaments they are today!