Time to put your big boy pants on, I guess.

 

My first thoughts were a seized distributor, and the cam wiped out the distributor gear. Or the cam locked up (bad bearings), wiping out the gear. Or the oil pump locked up, distributor came to a sudden stop, and the cam wiped out the gear.

I have no idea.

 

As the OP indicated he has considerable mechanical knowledge & experience, and given he also indicated this is a stroker motor (but not built by him), and also he indicated camshaft damage:

My training indicates proper practice in this instance would be to remove the engine, and commence a complete strip down, carefully inspecting whether any other parts such as oil pump, lifters etc are not within spec, as I cannot see how else the camshaft can just be replaced without making sure its bearings were still good, and no other damaged parts.

I would make some inspections to confirm this diagnosis before proceeding, to be sure, but as @cruiser54 indicated, probably time to " break out the tool kit"

 

Agreed. And, I have an idea what could cause the failure.

 

Camshaft thrust?

 

That's what she said. Literally.

​​​​​​​(Sorry, it was there for the taking. Hope it didn't offend anyone)

 

Probably not.