1968 Daytona 500
Richard | Jan 04, 2012 | Comments 2
\Now that the Holidays are behind us it is time for everyone to begin to look forward to the Daytona 500 and reflect on what that race means to your cars. The 1968 NASCAR season was the first time the new corporate Ford sportback body showed its aero advantage to the competition. In 1968 it was still powered by the 427 engine.
This combination turned out to be a very dominate package for the year and the hand writing was on the wall with the running of the 68 Daytona 500!
The following video is a clip edited out of an Autolite movie/commercial from that era. We must thank Tim Lopata for again making this possible.
When this race was run there were no Ford Talladegas, no Mercury Cyclone Spoilers or Spoiler IIs and there were no Boss 429s. However, it is these cars and their aerodynamic shapes that led to the development of all of the above.
Filed Under: Back Track • Featured • Ford Talladega • Historical Paperwork and Memos • Mercury Spoiler • Mercury Spoiler II • Race Cars and Drivers
Great videos from one of the greatest periods of stock car racing in history – the late 60s and the early 70s. Does anyone have access to all of the races from 68 – 70? I think those were some of the greatest races ever held. It was a time when they still raced cars that at least had their origins in stock cars (even if they were actually race cars that were built in sufficient numbers (and available for sale to the public) to class them as “production cars.” It was the greatest time in history to purchase a “show room race car” from the manufacturer of your choice, provided it was a: Ford, Mercury, Dodge, or Plymouth!
Thanks!
Carl, I don’t have them all but working on it! I have a few already. Watch for the Atlanta 500 and Darlington over the next few weeks as well as the 1969 Daytona 500! We will post all we can get our hands on. I also have some Daytona 24 hour stuff from that vintage and some other Trans Am videos I will be posting at http://www.LegendaryCollectorCars.com