The best performance cars we got were the byproduct of some racing format or another. Homologation models are among the fastest, craziest-looking, and surprisingly legal, vehicles to hit the roads.

Just think of all the abominations that were created to win at NASCAR, NHRA, Le Mans, and Group B.

Particularly in NASCAR, the 1960s saw an all-out total war between the big three. In the later part of the decade, a duel formed between Ford and Chrysler which gave birth to the wildest and most outrageous muscle cars ever existed.

The Aero Wars are mostly remembered for the 1969 Dodge Daytona and 1970 Plymouth Superbird, with their heavily sloped rooflines, pointy noses, and humongous rear wings.

However, five distinct cars emerged from that era with ostentatious aerodynamic features – some more successful than others.

• 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
• 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
• 1969 Dodge Charger 500
• 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
• 1970 Plymouth Superbird

Of course, each of them was powered by the most voracious V8 engines that Ford and Chrysler could produce… And get past NASCAR regulations.

As crazy as they look, these cars were sold to the public as part of NASCAR’s homologation rules. Back then, everything you saw racing on Sunday, you could buy on Monday – a notion that would dictate the golden decade of the muscle car.

In this series of articles, we’re going to explore the evolution of NASCAR during the 1960s and look into the details of how these cars came to be and why they are so important now.

Strap on tight, you’re in for a ride!

The early 1960s – GM tyrannized NASCAR

In the early sixties, NASCAR was a relatively new, but emerging series. It had picked up the pace, reaching TV broadcasts in some states and adding new tracks and states to it’s Grand National championship.

People began realizing it’s actually fun to watch cars go fast in a circle.

These drivers were going insanely fast with regular street cars. Yes, back then stock car racing also meant stock cars – as available from the dealership…more or less.

You could buy the same Plymouth which Richard Petty drove to his first-ever victory of many and that meant something.

Enthusiasts were identifying themselves with the driver who raced with their car in NASCAR. If “your” car won the race last Sunday, you were the hotshot, you had major bragging rights and everybody else wanted to buy the same car too.

This is where the plot thickens. As NASCAR made its way into CBS broadcasts and continued to expand its reach, it became apparent to the big three that winning races propelled car sales into the sky.

So far, all manufacturers were abiding, at least formally, to the 1957 ban from the Automobile Manufacturers Association. AMA prevented official factory participation in NASCAR and other racing series.

Behind the scenes, the big three were supporting private teams and setting up various entities to mask their involvement in racing development.

In the early sixties General Motors, the biggest automobile manufacturer in America at the time, was also dominating the Grand National series.

• In 1960, GM won 20 races. Ford got 15 and Mopar just 9.
• The following year, GM doubled up – Chevrolet won 30 races and Pontiac another 11 for a total of 41. Ford had only 7 and Chrysler just 4.
• 1962 brought further dominance to GM, who won 18 out of the first 20 races of the NASCAR Grand National series. Only two for Plymouth and a big fat zero for Ford.

Their wins in NASCAR perpetuated GM’s growth and the corporation eclipsed 50% of the market share.

This couldn’t go on.

No way Ford and Chrysler were going to let GM monopolize the auto industry.

1962 – Ford goes racing in NASCAR

By June 1962, Henry Ford II had had enough and announced that the Ford Motor Company was entering out of the AMA agreement and into stock car racing.

What a glorious day that was!

Of course, everybody in NASCAR cheered at the torrential rain of cash about to rain down from Detroit. Racing was becoming a mainstream sport, muscle cars were getting hot and NASCAR drivers were becoming superstars.

In August 1962, the Petty Enterprises team, running their No.43 Plymouth Savoy, kindly provided by Chrysler, won six consecutive races. Richard Petty was about to become the most significant name in NASCAR.

Ford and Chrysler geared up for a vicious war to dethrone GM from the oval track pedestal. What they didn’t know was that GM was going to beat themselves up.

At the time, General Motors was enjoying approximately 53% of the US market share. The Government threatened to break the corporation in pieces if they continued growing past 60%, to prevent a monopoly on the market.

To curb its growth and save the company, GM decided to withdraw from NASCAR and other racing initiatives at the end of 1962. The following year, Chevy and Pontiac had some sporadic wins, utilizing the final cars developed, but General Motors was already out of the game.

Stay tuned for new articles in the series to be published each Monday. Links will appear below as they get published.

• Part 1 – Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday – NASCAR’s Evolution in the 1960s
• Part 2 – Before the Aero Wars, There Were the Engine Wars
• Part 3 – First Shots Fired – 1968 Aerodynamics in NASCAR
• Part 4 – The First Aero Warrior – 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
• Part 5 – Blinding Speed – 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II