NASCAR Collector

CHECK OUT MY COLLECTION! THESE NASCAR FANS HAVE TURNED THEIR PASSION FOR WATCHING NASCAR INTO A HOBBY AND ARE BUILDING MEMORIES ONE COLLECTIBLE AT A TIME.BY VAN COX

In this digital day and age, even the most obscure racing information is just a keystroke away. It wasn’t always that way. Just a few short years ago, those with a hunger for NASCAR knowledge were forced to sift through countless books, magazines, programs and any other printed material they could come across. Consequently, many a learned stock car racing historian compiled an extensive library during that elusive quest for knowledge.

Dave Todd, a retiree living in western Massachusetts, has amassed so much reference material that he has literally lost count of just how many pieces of motorsports media he has in his possession.

“If I counted it all, it would be several thousand pieces,” he said. “I don’t mean for that to sound like I’m bragging. But if you count books, magazines, record books, programs, media guides … I gave up trying to keep track of just how much I have 10 or 15 years ago.”

Todd’s vast collection initially took the green flag in the late 1960s with his first purchase of a copy of Stock Car Racing magazine.

“I picked it up off the magazine rack in the local pharmacy of all places,” he recalled. “Of course, I was just a kid, so one magazine at a time was all I could afford. But after a few months of raiding the magazine rack every month, I saved up enough to buy a subscription, and I was hooked!”

Soon, the titles on Todd’s required reading list was growing by leaps and bounds. If it had anything to do with NASCAR or high performance, it was going on his bookshelf.

Todd considers the centerpiece of his library to be his extensive collection of vintage Official NASCAR Record Books. He owns early copies documenting the sanctioning body’s statistical history all the way back to the early 1950s.

“I think I have all of them except for a couple,” he said. “Record-keeping during the early years of NASCAR was sometimes a little ‘iffy,’ and I think there were a couple of seasons that they didn’t publish the Record Book. But I have most of them from the beginning right on up to present day.”

Originally published specifically for members of NASCAR and the working media, these Record Books contain many facts that aren’t readily available anywhere else.

“The Record Books give pertinent information on all of the top drivers and virtually every division of NASCAR,” Todd explained. “They even cover every NASCAR-sanctioned weekly track and document their point standings from the previous season. It’s amazing the information you can find in them. Without a doubt, they are my most prized possessions.”

Like many collectors of vintage memorabilia, Todd acknowledges that the advent of the internet auction platform eBay, more than two decades ago, has been a godsend to his hobby.

“It has enabled me to purchase books and magazines that I could have never dreamed of finding 30 years ago,” he said. “People are cleaning out their attics and basements and selling books you would never have seen years ago.”

Internet auctions allowed Todd to significantly add to his collection, including two pieces that would have once been nearly impossible to obtain. He has been a big Curtis Turner fan since childhood, so it should come as no surprise that the legendary driver was the topic of two items on Todd’s mostwanted list.

“One was the book, ‘Timber on The Moon,’” he elaborated. “When I started looking for one, if you found one that somebody was willing to part with, the asking price was usually really steep. I also wanted the 1968 Sports Illustrated magazine with Turner on the cover and the story ‘King of The Wild Road’ in it. A couple of years ago, I was able to buy both of them on eBay within two weeks of each other for a very reasonable price. I felt like a kid at Christmas.”

The one aspect of Todd’s collection that evokes an added measure of pride is its diversity. His assemblage of motorsports journalism is by no means limited to traditional NASCAR publications. Here is a quick sampling that offers a glimpse at the depth of his library: • 1924 Charlotte (N.C.) Speedway (Board Track) Souvenir Program • 1957 Chevrolet Black Widow Competition Guide • 1950 Southern 500 Program • 1987 Allan Grice Aussie Assault Press Kit • 1978 Metrolina (N.C.) Dirt Track Rule Book • 1967 NASCAR Summernationals DRAG RACING

Program • 1998 Adam Petty Media Guide

While he readily admits that the computer age has brought a plethora of information to our fingertips in the blink of an eye, Todd insists that we should view the past with the reverence it deserves. He also believes that the younger generation is missing out on something,

“The internet is great,” he said matter-of-factly, “but there is still something special about being able to physically hold a book or magazine in your hand and flip through the pages. There’s nothing quite like it.”

They only graced the tracks of NASCAR for less than two seasons. Their 14 combined victories – while impressive – were far from overwhelming. Yet no cars before or since have left a more indelible mark on the face of NASCAR than the famed Chrysler “wing cars” – the Dodge Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird.

With their pointed nose pieces and high sweeping rear wings, they were designed specifically to do battle with the Ford Talladegas and Mercury Cyclone Spoilers in the aero wars of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Dodge Daytona made a triumphant debut with Richard Brickhouse’s victory at Talladega in September 1969. The aerodynamic marvel was joined by its sister car – the Superbird – the following year. Both Ford and Chrysler waged a relentless struggle for supremacy of the high banks of NASCAR until the sanctioning body legislated the exotic aero warriors out of existence through the implementation of severely restricted engines.

The Chrysler wing cars made their final appearance in the 1971 Daytona 500 when Dick Brooks piloted a lone Dodge Daytona with a small 305-cubic-inch power plant to a seventh-place finish. And as quickly as they appeared, the wing cars were gone. But they live on in racing lore, adored by hardcore fans and coveted by die-cast enthusiasts.

“I’ve been fascinated with the wing cars since I was very young,” said Christian Wilson, a 20-year-old whose healthy appreciation for NASCAR history is leading him into a career in motorsports media. “Even when I was a little guy playing with die-cast cars as kids often do, there was just something about those wing cars that sparked my interest. As I grew older and learned more about them, the more I wanted to share to newer fans about this special part of NASCAR history.”

Growing up in the Carolinas, Wilson was exposed to stock car racing nonstop throughout his formative years.

“Our family was in front of the TV watching NASCAR races almost every weekend at my grandparent’s houses,” he recalled. “We all had our favorites. My grandfather’s favorite was Dale Sr., and I have family members who were fans of Davey Allison and Jeff Gordon. I was a big Jimmie Johnson fan until he retired. My favorite current drivers are Aric Almirola, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott.”

As often happens, Wilson’s enthusiasm for stock car racing has manifested itself in a massive die-cast collection. He estimates the number of replicas he currently owns at somewhere in the range of 600-800 vehicles.

“When I first began collecting, I bought off the shelves at Target and Walmart,” he recalled. “Then, of course, I discovered that you could buy from dealers, buy on the internet, find cars on eBay. … That’s when my collection really took off.”

Of course, the wing car segment of his inventory makes up just a small portion of his total car count. But the Dodge Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds are by far his most prized collectibles.

“I currently have 29 wing cars in my collection, and four more on the way,” Wilson said. “It’s hard to say which of the wing cars are my favorite. Really, it’s impossible because there is something special about each one – just like the real cars they were based upon.” Wilson notes that shopping for wing car die-casts is a bit more challenging than the search for more common issues. That’s because not all wing cars have been replicated en masse by collectibles manufacturers. “That usually happens in the case of some of the smaller teams or lesserknown drivers,” he elaborated. “If you want a replica of one of those cars you might have to have it custom built. There are some builders out there who do a superb job of creating custom-made replicas of just about any car you could think of. Some of these cars are kind of expensive, but that is to be expected when you’re looking for a quality collectible.” According to Wilson, the striking authenticity of today’s die-cast replicas provides a comprehensive history lesson for collectors. That is true whether it is contemporary die-casts or historically significant recreations like the wing cars.

“You can learn a lot from die-casts,” he noted. “Just from looking at them, I’m amazed at the safety features that have evolved over the years. You can also learn a lot about how the bodies have changed over time.”

Wilson also notes that each wing car die-cast tells a story all its own. Some teams, like the Pettys or the K&K team, ran all the races, but they only used their wing car on the superspeedways. Other teams, such as the No. 99 Nichels team, only ran the big tracks, so they raced the Dodge Daytona exclusively. When you look at each of those die-casts, you are reminded of something the actual car accomplished. For instance, the blue No. 88 Dodge was the car that Buddy Baker drove when he broke the 200 mph barrier at Talladega. The No. 71 was one of the cars Bobby Isaac used to win the 1970 championship, and then broke an abundance of speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

“Every car has a story behind it,” Wilson said matter-of-factly. “It has been 50 years since they ran their final race and the Dodge Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds are still a huge part of NASCAR history and always will be.”