Full Throttle

By the 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National season, the transition from big to small engines was complete. All cars were equipped with the same-size engines and the restrictor plates were gone.

With a standard set of rules, stability had gained a foothold within the NASCAR kingdom. Despite smaller fields of competition, NASCAR Winston Cup racing was getting more television time as well.

The Detroit manufacturers had cooled in their enthusiasm for NASCAR as 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.

The Type-S3 was introduced midway through the 1975 model year and distinguished by its sloping shovelnose. The shape was magic for team owner Junior Johnson and driver Cale Yarborough.

The 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup season was filled with heart-stopping moments, from a last-lap crash between Richard Petty and David Pearson in the Daytona 500 to one between Dale Earnhardt and Dick Brooks at Atlanta International Raceway.

The season was filled with triumph as well: Not only did veteran Cale Yarborough win his first NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National championship, but NASCAR also welcomed female driver Janet Guthrie, who finished 15th at the World 600.

The Junior Johnson/Cale Yarborough combo started 1977 by taking the Daytona 500 and going on to win eight more times. Throw in six wins for Darrell Waltrip in his similar DiGard Chevrolets and NASCAR felt something had to be done.

So for the 1978 season the S3 was strangled out of competition with restrictive engine regulations. And NASCAR allowed the Chevrolet small-block V8 to be used under any GM body shell—Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac or even (theoretically) Cadillac. And that was that for the S3.

NOTES: For those that complain about NASCAR’s “fluid” rulebook and points system, NASCAR announced a new points system in 1975, the fourth different method of distributing points in the last five years.

Benny Parsons takes the lead three laps from the finish and wins the Daytona 500 when leader David Pearson spins on the backstretch. Parsons comes from the 32nd starting position to claim the upset win and the biggest victory of his career.

Qualifying for the 1976 Daytona 500 was unusual. A.J. Foyt, in Hoss Ellington’s #28 Chevrolet, was quickest with a speed of 187.477 mph. Aside from the quick laps turned in by Darrell Waltrip and Dave Marcis, virtually all of the others were 8-10 mph off the pace. The discrepancy led NASCAR to reinspect the quick cars. The times of Foyt, Waltrip, and Marcis were disallowed; Foyt and Waltrip because nitrous oxide bottles were found in their cars; Marcis for a radiator technicality.

Ramo Stott and rookie Terry Ryan were the unlikely front-row starters in the 500 as a result.

Donnie Allison drives a Laguna Type-S3 to a convincing win in the National 500 at Charlotte and survives a stormy post­race teardown to notch his first NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National victory since 1971.