The 1970 Winged Cars Showdown

By Skip Clayton Host of WBCB Radio’s Racing Wrap Levittown, Pa.

Towards the end of the 1969 NASCAR Cup Series season, Dodge brought out its Dodge Daytona Charger to try and stop Ford and Mercury from dominating the Superspeedways.

After Richard Petty had his super season in 1967 driving a Plymouth and winning his second championship with 27 wins - which included a record 10 straight - Ford and Mercury struck back with a vengeance in 1968, especially on the Superspeedways.

Cale Yarborough won four Superspeedway races in 1968 driving a Mercury. Donnie Allison, David Pearson, who won the championship, and LeeRoy Yarbrough each won one in a Ford. Yarbrough switched over and also won one in a Mercury. The other three Superspeedway races were won by Petty in a Plymouth whileBuddy Baker and Charlie Glotzbach won races in a Dodge.

The 1969 season, Ford got stronger as Petty joined the Ford family. He started off the season taking the 500-mile road race at Riverside. More Superspeedway races were added that year as tracks at Dover, Michigan, Talladega and Texas opened up. The Dodge Daytona Charger with the big wing on the back was scheduled to made its debut at Talladega after Labor Day, but the top drivers, citing tire problems at the new facility, boycotted the race. Richard Brickhouse went out and won in the new car. The Dodge’s made three more starts. First up was Charlotte and Rockingham, but it was the same old story as Ford captured both races. In the season finale at Texas, Bobby Isaac put the new car in Victory Lane for his first Superspeedway win. It was also Dodge’s lone Superspeedway win that year. To make it a complete year for Ford, Pearson won his second title in a row and Petty was second. On the Superspeedways, Ford posted 10 wins and Mercury added four.

Meantime, Plymouth was nowhere to be seen in 1969. After flying all their flags at half mast at their dealers, they decided to get Petty back in time for the 1970 season.

Richard Petty won five NASCAR Cup Series races in the Plymouth Superbird in 1970, including the “Mason-Dixon 300” at Dover on Sept. 20. DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PHOTO

“We were with Ford in 1969 and they waved the Superbird at us,” When the next Superspeedway race was run at Charlotte two said Petty. “In the last part of 1968, we heard that the Dodge was weeks later, Jim Paschal, no stranger to Petty Enterprises, took over coming out with the big wing on the back of the car for the Super- the ride for one race. In his first start back in a Superbird at Michigan, speedways races. I went to them and asked if they were Petty led 80 of the first 109 laps but ignition problems ended his day. going to build a Plymouth with a wing? They told us they weren’t, The following week, Petty led 149 of 153 laps and easily won the 400 that I would run with the regular car. I told them I couldn’t run miler at against something like that and I asked for a Dodge. They said they Riverside. couldn’t do that because I was Plymouth. I told them I’ll go across Meantime, the Dodge Daytona Chargers with four drivers won the street and talk to Ford. They gave me one of those ‘Ha ha ha, go only four races. Bobby Allison won at Atlanta, Buddy Baker at Daron.’ So I went across the street and got a Ford for 1969.” lington in the Southern 500 and Charlie Glotzbach won a 125-mile

During the 1969 season, plans were drawn up for a Plymouth qualifying race at Daytona and a 400-miler at Michigan. Bobby Isaac with a wing to get won the championship that year but failed to post a win in his DaytoRichard back home in 1970 before the Dodge even ran its first race. na Charger. Bobby Allison was second in his first bid for a champion-

“They wanted to know what it would take to get me back and I ship. Petty was able to salvage a fourth place finish in the standings told them a car that would run compatible to a Dodge,” added Petty. despite missing seven races. “In late May or early June, they showed it to me on a drawing board Dodge and Plymouth didn’t leave much on the table for the Ford and once I saw it, I said, ‘Let’s work out a deal.’ We only had a one Talladega’s or the Mercury Cyclones on the Superspeedways. Ford year deal with Ford.” won only four races. Donnie Allison won at Charlotte and Daytona

The Plymouth Superbird made its debut at Riverside before the while David Pearson won at Darlington and A.J. Foyt took the season Daytona 500. Petty Enterprises would run two cars on the Super- opening race at Riverside. speedways, plus the first 500-mile Cale Yarborough gave Mercury race at Riverside. Dan Gurney three wins beginning at Daytona in got the nod to drive the second the first 125- mile qualifying race. He car at Riverside and he quickly added wins at Michigan and Rockput it on the pole. That was just ingham in his final start for the Wood a sample of what was to come. Brothers. The final Mercury win went

Pete Hamilton who was the to LeeRoy Yarbrough at Charlotte. Grand National Rookie of the This turned out to be Yarbrough’s Year in 1968 took over last NASCAR Cup Series win. the second car for Petty Enter- “We had the car and we had a prises for the rest of the season big hemi engine in it,” said Petty. “I beginning at Daytona. He put always felt the Dodge was a little the first win in the books for better race car. The cars handled the Superbird when he won great. Anybody with those cars the Daytona 500. There were 11 never complained on the way they factory cars entered in the race and Hamilton probably would have been the last one picked to win the biggest stock car race but he did just that, holding off Richard Petty drove this street-ready 1970 Plymouth Superbird tribute car around the Monster Mile during pre-race ceremonies before the “AAA 400 Drive for Autism” NASCAR Cup Series race on June 4, 2017. DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PHOTO handled. They were really just a Superspeedway car. Dover was a mile and it was okay with it but anything smaller than a mile was too big a car for us.” David Pearson in a Ford. With speeds mounting during the

Hamilton later added wins two wins at Talladega. In the second 1970 season, beginning at Michigan for the final 15 races that year, race, Pete set a Talladega record for the most laps led in a race. He NASCAR issued restrictor plates for all the cars on all tracks. had his Superbird in front for 153 of 188 laps. “NASCAR said everything was getting messed up,” added Petty. “It

Petty won five races in the Superbird. He scored 500-mile wins is really not a stock car anymore and after the restrictor plates were at Rockingham and Atlanta, a 400-mile win at Riverside and 300- put on, they told us they wouldn’t let us run the Superbirds or the mile wins at Trenton and Dover. The victory at Atlanta, Petty led 90 Daytona Chargers beginning in 1971 with the wing unless you ran a percent of the laps, 295 of 328. At the Monster Mile, he led 186 of 305 cubic inch engine. Then they started handicapping the hemi and 300 laps. Bobby Allison was second and Charlie Glotzbach third, all by 1974, we were all running the smaller engines.” in Dodges while David Pearson and Benny Parsons were fourth and The winged cars might have been around for a little over a year. In fifth in Fords. 1970, they won 12 of the 20 races while Petty Enterprises with Petty

In two of the Superspeedways races, Petty didn’t run a Superbird. and Hamilton took eight. The first was at Darlington when he wiped out his car in practice For one year, they made a big mark in NASCAR and they were cars and he had to run his Roadrunner, his car on the short tracks. He that won’t be forgotten. crashed that car during the race and was out for a month.