In the second half of the sixties, engine technology yielded diminishing returns in stock car racing. New engines were still being developed, but offered a modest increase in horsepower, while requiring a mammoth investment of brainpower and cash power.

In 1968, NASCAR teams had a race car engine, but not a race car body. Aero was the limiting factor. Ford and Chrysler started realizing that in order to make their cars faster, they needed to turn their attention to aerodynamics.

So far, the cars used in NASCAR were regular production cars. Race teams put the majority of their effort in tuning the engines and suspension to keep the cars running fast and maintain proper attitude at high speed. But the bodies required factory effort, since NASCAR homologation rules required these cars produced and offered to the public before racing on the oval track.

Aerodynamics were heavily developed for aerospace and military applications, but not cars. Cars of the 60s were still fairly brick-shaped with flamboyant grills, recessed features, vanity fins, and whatnot.

And since Fords were lacking in power, the Blue Oval first started experimenting with aerodynamics on the track.

1966 Ford Galaxie – The Yellow Banana

Arguably the first aero car was the infamous “Yellow Banana” – a chopped up 1966 Ford Galaxie built by Junior Johnson to race in the Dixie 400. Johnson cut the body up and angled the roof, as well as the entire engine compartment forward.

Amazingly this passed through technical inspection and was allowed to race. Space was so tight upfront, that driver Fred Lorenzen had to enter the car from the rear. The car looked like crap and earned many nicknames.

However, it actually worked and was in the lead when a tire blew, sending the Banana along with driver Lorenzen into the fence.

The 1968 Ford intermediates paved the way for the Aero Wars

1968 was a milestone year for the entire automobile industry. Fully immersed in the muscle car movement, every manufacturer redesigned its existing models and created new ones to satisfy the market.

Ford created the Torino and redesigned the Mercury Cyclone, giving them coke-bottle bodies, heavily sloped fastback rear ends, and sporty intentions. The intermediate cars also had smaller frontal areas, meaning they needed to punch smaller holes in the air.

Thus, the Torino and Cyclone were quickly designated for racing in NASCAR. The aerodynamics proved very effective on the longer faster superspeedways.

In the capable hands of Cale Yarborough, the Mercury Cyclone recorded the fastest speed with 189.22 mph at the 1968 Daytona 500 and won the race. LeeRoy Yarbrough was second with another Mercury Cyclone and Bobby Allison 3rd with a Ford Torino. Al Unser was 4th with a newly redesigned 1968 Dodge Charger.

These three cars would become the foundation for all outrageous aero warriors to come in the following years.

The season went towards Ford and Mercury. The Blue Oval scored 27 victories in 49 total races. Ford driver David Pearson won the 1968 NASCAR Grand National title with 16 wins.

The Hemis were still very strong in the short courses, where huge power was advantageous. Plymouth and Dodge scored 21 victories. Richard Petty tied Pearson with 16 wins also.

However, on the longer tracks, it was apparent that the aerodynamic bodies of the Cyclone and Torino outperformed the Charger and Road Runner.

Chrysler teams had to think outside the box to compensate the bad aerodynamics

Wings hadn’t made their way into the automobile yet. So, most teams had to run the cars in a super raked configuration, with the nose slammed down into the ground and the back lifted high up. This combination turned the entire body into a makeshift wing, providing enough downforce to maintain some control over the vehicle, however introducing even more drag, slowing it down.

In 1968, the Dodge Charger received a redesign, gaining the massively popular coke bottle body shape and deeply recessed grille. It’s arguably the best looking Charger ever.

However, it featured some of the most horrible shapes ever to put on a race car. The grille caused so much drag and turbulence, the front end of the car would lose grip at high speeds. The recessed rear window generated some lift, which caused the rear wheels to lose grip as well.

These cars were dangerous, to say the least.

The new-for-1968 Plymouth Road Runner was even worse. The body of the Road Runner was practically a brick. The Petty team had to improvise a sheet metal cover to block the choppy grille and concave front end, so the wheels could maintain at least minimum traction.

The Road Runner’s vinyl top was less slippery than painted sheet metal and caused increased drag. Due to the sheer speed, the vinyl would wear increasingly and begin to separate from the car.

In the 1968 Daytona 500, photographers captured a moment etched into NASCAR history. During a pit stop, Richard Petty exited the car and joined the pit crew in a frantic effort to nail and tape the torn vinyl back on the roof, so he could at least finish the race.

In fact, the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner was so underwhelming, Petty asked Chrysler to switch over to a Dodge Charger. Chrysler wanted him to stay with Plymouth instead, so at the end of the season, Petty bailed on Mopar altogether and switched to the brand new Ford Torino Talladega.

The 1969 Ford Torino Talladega and it’s sister car the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II were specifically developed to win at NASCAR and featured significant aerodynamic improvements. These cars mark the official start of the NASCAR Aero Wars of 1969 and 1970, when aerodynamics development bloomed feverishly.

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