Full Throttle

During the second half of the 1969 NASCAR Grand National season, Dodge rolled out the Daytona, a massive shark-nosed machine that featured an addition that looked like something out of the Hollywood hit, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a giant rear wing that rose several feet above the rear deck lid.

When Richard Petty looked at what Chrysler was offering as race fodder for 1969, and then looked over at the long-nose Ford Torino Talladega, King Richard opted to put Petty Blue and the number 43 on a Ford for the year.

By the mid-Seventies the Detroit manufacturers had cooled in their enthusiasm for NASCAR—the country seemed to be more concerned with fuel economy than high performance. But then, when no one was looking, Chevrolet introduced the Laguna Type-S3 version of its midsize Chevelle and began dominating the premier series.

If ever there was a car shaped to go fast it was Ford’s 1987 Thunderbird. From the point of its slick beak to the slightly elevated trunk lid, the ‘87 T-Bird was shaped like a perfect projectile — three - quarters bullet and one-quarter B-1B wing.
Even more than two decades later, Bill Elliott’s T-Bird is [...]

Ford’s ‘83 to ‘86 Thunderbird presented a special challenge for NASCAR. It was clearly more aerodynamic than any car in General Motors’ race-eligible stable.

Number six on the list of Daytona’s best stock cars had a four year reign and ushered in both one of today’s biggest, most successful stars and was part of arguably one of NASCAR’s most emotional winner’s circle of all time.

The 1966 NASCAR season was marked by the re-introduction of Chrysler’s legendary Hemi engine and Ford’s departure from the sport. With less competition and more power than ever, Chrysler was a frequent visitor to the winner’s circle early in the season, though Ford’s boycott took a big bite out of attendance.

Back in 1955, NASCAR stock cars were still virtually indistinguishable from true stock production vehicles. Sure, there was some rudimentary safety equipment aboard and race numbers on the doors, but the race cars themselves often still had license plates and real headlights.

In the early days of NASCAR there was no such thing as a star. Well, at least there wasn’t until the Fabulous Hudson Hornet showed up and the car became The Star of the fledgling racing series.

Richard Petty may have earned his legend driving blue Plymouths in the ’60s, but the car he drove the longest in competition was actually the 1971 to 1974 Dodge Charger.